The Federal Government on Thursday flagged off the distribution of relief materials to elderly persons with disabilities in Abuja.
The intervention is being facilitated by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Special Needs and Equal Opportunities in partnership with the National Emergency Management Agency.
Speaking at the event, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Special Needs and Equal Opportunities, Mohammed Abba Isa, said the programme forms part of efforts to improve the welfare of persons with disabilities.
He said the Federal Government, under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was making a deliberate commitment to improve the socio-economic wellbeing of persons with disabilities in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda.
According to him, the exercise marked the beginning of zonal distribution of support for persons with disabilities, adding that the intervention would be extended to other parts of the country.
Isa also commended the Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency, Zubaida Umar, for supporting the collaboration.
He added that persons with disabilities are often among the most vulnerable during emergencies and called for their inclusion in programmes designed to support vulnerable groups.
Also speaking, the Head of Operations, Abuja Office of NEMA, Zakari Abubakar, said the agency would continue to collaborate with stakeholders to improve support for vulnerable persons.
The National President of the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities, Abdullahi A. Usman, commended the initiative and urged that similar support be extended to persons with disabilities across the country.
Some beneficiaries who received the items thanked the government for the intervention and prayed for the continuation of the programme.
One of the beneficiaries said the support would help many elderly persons with disabilities, while another described it as her first time benefiting from such assistance.