The Kaduna State Government has reaffirmed its dedication to strengthening disability-inclusive healthcare services as the Inclusive Family Planning (IFPLAN) project, implemented by Sightsavers, officially closed out on Monday.
Speaking at the close-out ceremony held at the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua Hall, Murtala Muhammed Square, the Commissioner for Health, Hajiya Umma Ahmed, said the project had transformed approaches to equity, access, and dignity within the state’s healthcare system.
She explained that IFPLAN was designed to ensure that Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) could access family planning services without fear, discrimination, or physical and communication barriers. According to her, no society could claim genuine progress while excluding any segment of its population.
Ahmed highlighted several achievements recorded during the project’s implementation, including:
- Training healthcare workers on disability-inclusive, confidential and respectful family planning services, which improved provider attitudes and strengthened communication with clients living with disabilities.
- Provision of assistive devices such as wheelchairs, artificial limbs, hearing aids, and learning aids to eliminate longstanding barriers to service access.
- Renovation and construction of health facilities with ramps, accessible consultation rooms, clear signage, and other disability-friendly features.
- Development of a Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) Policy for PWDs, described as a landmark framework to guide future actions and improve accountability.
She said the project’s closure signaled the beginning of an even greater obligation for the state to sustain and scale the gains recorded, emphasising the need to embed inclusivity as a core culture in the health system.
“Our vision is to build a health system where inclusivity is not a project but a culture, not a pilot but a statewide and national standard,” she said.
Ahmed commended Sightsavers for its technical expertise and long-standing partnership, saying the collaboration demonstrated what was possible when government, communities, and development partners worked together.
Earlier, Sightsavers’ Programme Director for Neglected Tropical Diseases, Anita Gwom, said the five-year project trained 1,500 healthcare providers on inclusive healthcare delivery. She disclosed that:
- More than 1,900 persons with disabilities were reached through community interventions.
- Over 544,000 PWDs received family planning information.
- Stigma reduction messages were broadcast to over three million people without disabilities through radio and digital platforms.
Gwom further noted that accessibility audits were conducted in 24 health facilities, leading to renovation works in 23 of them. Disability desk officers were deployed across all 24 local government health authorities and in 23 project-supported facilities, while eight persons with disabilities now serve on various health committees.
The IFPLAN project—funded by UK Aid and led by Sightsavers—was implemented in collaboration with BBC Media Action, the Kaduna State Government, the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD), PENDA and the Network of Women with Disabilities.