Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) in Nasarawa State have advocated the creation of a Special Rapid Response Agency aimed at providing prompt relief and care for physically challenged people during flooding and other natural disasters.
Nasarawa State Women Leader of Association of Physically Challenged Persons, Mrs Asaaba Aveson, made the call on Sunday during the distribution of relief materials for victims of flooding in Lafia, the state capital.
The distribution of the materials which include food and non-food items was the initiative of the federal government under the National Special Economic and Livelihood Intervention for 2022 Flood Affected Persons and the Most Vulnerable anchored by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to enable households affected by floods and other natural disasters earn a living.
Director General of NEMA, Alhaji Ahmed Mustapha, while flagging off the distribution of the relief materials, said the intervention was targeted at giving succour to households who lost all their means of livelihoods as a result of floods in their areas.
The Director, represented by the Nasarawa State Programme Supervisor of the National Special Economic and Livelihood Intervention for Flood Affected Persons and the Most Vulnerable, Alhaji Tukur Abubakar, said the federal government would continue to remain responsive to the citizens especially the vulnerable during disasters.
The state Executive Director, Emergency Management Agency, Mr Zachary Allumaga who used the opportunity to clarify that the intervention was essentially to the most affected victims of flood and had nothing to do with fuel subsidy palliatives, called on residents of the state to desist from building structures along water wars.
Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, State Women Leader of Association of Physically Challenged Persons, Mrs Asaaba Aveson, also stressed the need for government at all levels to create a rapid response programme to offer quick assistance to persons with disabilities during disasters considering their conditions.
Mrs Aveson however commended the federal government for the intervention and called for inclusion of more persons with disabilities who had suffered losses in the next phase of the distribution.
Items distributed include water pumps, sewing and grinding machines, mattresses as well as food and toiletries.
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