The state of disability in Nigeria : how society responds to persons with cerebral palsy

Abstract

This study looks at the problem of disability health care assistance in Nigeria. It argues that Nigeria does not have sufficient technical or political capabilities to address the health concerns of adults living with CP. It focuses on Cerebral Palsy (CP), a neuro-development condition caused by developmental brain injury, triggering adverse effects on an individual’s posture, movement or muscle control and persists throughout such an individual’s life. This research argues that a comprehensive approach intersecting the Social-Oppression and Capability Human-Rights models of disability is needed to better understand and bolster disability development in Nigeria. It further argues that such an approach encompasses the embodied experiences of an individuals’ impairment in direct correlation with the development of a rights-based approach, thereby fostering improved quality of life and care provision to people living with CP in Lagos State, Nigeria. Study findings were collected during a three-month field research employing semi-structured interviews with participants from six established organisations.