The devices, from wheelchairs to white canes, went to the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities as Nigeria and Togo became the first countries to benefit from a new ECOWAS programme.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) handed over 670 assistive devices to Nigerian children with disabilities earlier this week, at a ceremony in Abuja where the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD) formally received the items.
The donation came under the ECOWAS Regional Programme for the Provision of Assistive Devices to Children with Disabilities in West Africa. Nigeria and Togo are the first two countries to benefit from the programme, after nearly two years of planning.
The breakdown of what was handed over: 10 laptops, 100 wheelchairs, 10 cartons of sunscreen, 100 wide-brim hats, 100 UV sleeves, 50 standing chairs, 50 bath chairs, 50 tricycles, 50 armpit crutches, 50 elbow crutches, and 100 white canes.
ECOWAS Commissioner for Human Development and Social Affairs, Prof. Fatou Sow Sarr, said the donation shows the regional body’s commitment to making sure vulnerable citizens, particularly persons with disabilities, are not left behind. “What we are doing here today is a demonstration of the commitment of the ECOWAS Commission to promote social inclusion of all vulnerable community citizens, including but not limited to persons with disabilities,” she said. She called on governments, development partners, and the private sector to work together on sustainable, affordable access to assistive technology.
NCPWD Executive Secretary, Chief Ayuba Burki Gufwan, called it one of the happiest moments of his life, and said assistive devices restore dignity, independence and opportunity, letting people take part fully in education, employment and community life. “There is ability in disability,” he said. “No matter the severity of a person’s disability, with the right environment and appropriate assistive devices, everyone can contribute meaningfully to humanity.
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Gufwan said more than 26 million Nigerians need one form of assistive technology or another, and that demand for quality, affordable devices is far ahead of what’s available. He said the commission has set up a dedicated Assistive Device and Technology Unit, and working with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and international partners, has developed the Nigerian Priority Assistive Products List, an Investment Case for Assistive Technology, and a National Assistive Technology Scale-Up Plan meant to widen access nationally. He also called for local manufacturing and assembly plants for assistive devices, arguing this would cut import dependence, lower costs, and create jobs.
Representing the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Senior Technical Adviser Dr. Barnard Doro reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to protecting the rights and welfare of persons with disabilities, and described the donation as more than a humanitarian intervention.
Representing the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD), Engineer Kaura Joseph Wakili said the devices would improve the lives of many beneficiaries by enhancing their mobility, independence and access to education, healthcare and economic opportunities.
Officials said the pilot phase of the programme launched in 2024, targeting Nigeria and Togo, after a 2021 regional study found a serious shortage of assistive devices across West Africa. Sarr pointed to the WHO-UNICEF Global Report on Assistive Technology, which found that while nearly 90 percent of assistive technology needs are met in high-income countries, access falls below three percent in some low-income countries. She named high equipment cost, weak public policy, a shortage of trained professionals, reliance on imported devices, and poor rural access as the main barriers to disability inclusion in the sub-region.
The programme has since expanded to Benin, Sierra Leone, and Guinea-Bissau, though implementation is at different stages in each country because of procurement and logistics.
