SCI to Provide Healthcare Support for 1,000 Children with Disabilities in Kaduna Under ROOSC Project
By Uangbaoje Alex, Kaduna
In a groundbreaking move to promote inclusive education in Kaduna State, Save the Children International (SCI), in partnership with the Kaduna State Government with support from the Islamic Development Bank, is set to provide medical and assistive support for 1,000 children with disabilities under the Reaching Out-of-School Children (ROOSC) project in 2025.
The initiative was unveiled during a one-day planning workshop on Medical Outreach Assessment for Children with Disabilities, held in Kaduna on Thursday, to design strategies for conducting community-based medical assessments in nine LGAs in the state.
The workshop brought together medical professionals from different Federal government owned healthcare institutions and development partners.
Masturah Baba, Gender and Disability Inclusion Specialist for the ROOSC Project, who disclosed this, emphasized that reaching children with disabilities is a core component of the initiative and that healthcare assessments are crucial to ensuring not just access, but also quality learning.
“We are very deliberate about reaching children with disabilities under the ROOSC project,” she said.
Masturah added that “It’s not enough to simply enroll them in clubs or learning centres or mainstream them back into school. What’s more important is ensuring they are learning actively participating and receiving quality education.”
According to her, the ROOSC project is currently implemented across nine local government areas and targets a total of 10,000 out-of-school children in 2025, with at least 1,000 being children with disabilities.
“These children will be assessed for a variety of conditions including visual, hearing, physical, and cognitive impairments,” she explained.
To make this possible, Save the Children and its partners are collaborating with key federal health institutions such as the National Eye Centre, National Ear Care Centre, and the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital.
“These medical institutions will support the field assessments, diagnose impairments, and recommend appropriate support mechanisms.
“If a child needs glasses, hearing aids, wheelchairs, therapy, or even surgery, the project will ensure that is provided with the consent of government and caregivers.
“We want to ensure that when these children go into classrooms, they are truly able to see, hear, move, and learn,” Masturah said.
She added that the first round of community medical outreach assessments will take place in June 2025, followed by a second round in September or October, targeting children in the project communities with mobile screening tools and professional evaluations.
Earlier in his remarks, Tanko Muhammed, State Team Lead for Save the Children International in Kaduna, reaffirmed the organization’s long-standing commitment to inclusive education and child protection in the state.
“SCI has been operating in Nigeria since 2001, with our first office established here in Kaduna. Today, we run multiple projects in Kaduna, and our work in education is aligned with our 2025–2027 Country Strategic Plan focused on protecting children and ensuring they receive quality education,” he said.
Muhammed highlighted that children with disabilities face deeper layers of marginalization and that this intervention aims to bridge the equity gap in access to education.
“We believe no child should be left behind. Through this initiative, we want to make sure every child, regardless of their condition, has access to tools, services, and support to survive, learn, and thrive,” he stated.
He also expressed concern about the rising number of out-of-school children in Nigeria, many of whom are victims of insecurity, poverty, and systemic exclusion.
According to him, a targeted approach that includes healthcare and social support is necessary to truly transform education outcomes.
The SCI ROOSC project integrates health and education to ensure that children not only return to school but are equipped to succeed once there. The goal is to scale up from nine to all 23 LGAs in Kaduna State by the end of the year.
The success of this healthcare support initiative is expected to serve as a model for other states looking to implement inclusive education strategies that address the needs of marginalized children.
