Cedar Seed Foundation, a group advocating for the rights of persons with disabilities and the Network of Women with Disabilities (NWD) have urged the government and stakeholders to take the issues of the environment more seriously while also calling for the inclusion of People Living with Disabilities (PLWDs) to be part of advocacy for climate change.
The call was made as part of activities to commemorate this year’s World Environmental Day (WED) with the theme ‘Land Restoration, Desertification and Drought Resilience’ by Catherine Akor, Shedrack Danladi, chief operating officer (COO), program officer of Cedar Seed Foundation respectively and Funke Alabede, executive member, Network of Women with Disabilities (NWD).
The event which was held at the Federal Secretariat Complex, Abuja saw participants taking part in environment cleaning and creating awareness for people to be part of a clean and healthy environment.
The Cedar Seed Foundation COO, while speaking with Tribune Online, said a clean environment contributes in no small way to the health of individuals and society and keeps all forms of infections and diseases at bay. She said the government and stakeholders in the environment line should be at the forefront of the campaign for an eco-friendly environment.
“Today, we came out to commemorate World Environmental Day. We came to clean the environment and we are extending our voices to everybody, all Nigerians, to ensure that their environment is clean. They should ensure proper waste disposal and not litter the environment.
“I want to seize this opportunity to call on government and stakeholders to ensure that the environment is kept clean because if we keep our environment clean and we do what we’re supposed to do, no one would have any cause to be sick because cleanliness they say is next to Godliness. A healthy population is a healthy nation.
“Charity they say begins at home, they can start with their houses. If your house is clean, mine is clean, we don’t litter the road, the environment is definitely going to be clean. So, wherever we are and wherever we find ourselves, we should try to keep our environment and surroundings clean for the sake of our own health because a clean environment gives good health and a dirty environment breeds all manners of germs that cause different types of sicknesses and diseases to our health,” Akor told Tribune Online.
Danladi in his contribution said, “People with disabilities play active roles when we are talking about advocacy for climate change. About 20 million Nigerians are living with one disability or the other and we think they should be part of this. Leaving them out will definitely create a huge gap. They are also members of the society and you cannot talk about the society without mentioning the environment.
“I want to appeal to government and stakeholders to take the issue of climate change seriously and not just climate change but see how people with disabilities can be part of action such as this. They are knowledgeable enough to advocate and contribute to solutions that aim at fighting climate change crisis.”
For Alabede, people should be more conscious and take proper care of their environment by not dumping refuse in the drainages and allowing free flow of water to avoid flooding and as well as water-related diseases.
WED is celebrated annually on 5 June and encourages awareness and action for the protection of the environment. First held in 1974, it has been a platform for raising awareness on environmental issues such as marine pollution, overpopulation, global warming, sustainable development and wildlife crime.
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