Barriers to Domestication and Implementation of the Disability Act in Southeast Nigeria

Abstract

Persons with disabilities (PWDs) in Nigeria are still being excluded from social, economic, and political spheres of life due to non-functional national policy on disability. Many states are yet to domesticate the Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2018 and a lot of barriers prevent its full implementation in some states where it has been domesticated. In Southeast, Nigeria, Anambra state is the only state that has domesticated the Act. Our study sought to investigate how these barriers have hindered the domestication and implementation of the Act in Southeast Nigeria. One hundred and thirty participants (80 PWDs and 50 key informants) were purposively selected through a multi-stage sampling process from the five states in the Southeast. Focus Group Discussions and Key Informant Interviews were used in collecting data while thematic analysis was employed for data analysis. Findings show the barriers to the domestication of the Act differ among the states. They include a lack of political will, neglect of target beneficiaries, lack of funding, and internal altercations within the ranks and files of PWDs. The study recommends that social workers should intensify action for the domestication and implementation of the Act through awareness creation, advocacy, lobbying, and interface with, relevant stakeholders, among others.