Laurine Emenike
As part of measures to remove chronically sick persons from major roads in Rivers state, an association of Catholic Sisters, Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent De Paul, is advocating for a law to support the rehabilitation of the sick persons.
Coordinator, Strategic Committee for the succour of chronically ill persons, Sister Marie Therese Okon, who stated this at a consultative forum on the review of the Chronically Ill Persons (Management and Rehabilitation) draft bill, said the bill would soon be forwarded to the Rivers State House of Assembly for passage.
Sister Okon expressed concerns how the streets of Port Harcourt had been littered with persons chronically ill, with some individuals who make money off them.
Sister Okon pleaded with the government to enact an enabling law to give them legal backing for practical rehabilitation efforts.
Rivers State Director of the National Orientation Agency, Mr Young Ayo-Tamuno and a representative of the State Ministry of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation, Mr Iminabo Fubara noted that they decided to support the need for a law to provide succour to the chronically ill persons along the streets.
Mr Ayo-Tamuno and Mr Fubara stressed that the law would give legal authority to the Daughters of Charity to operate without restrictions.
Also present at the meeting were stakeholders from the Civil society organizations, security agencies, FIDA, representative of the Ministry of Justice and the Media were all in attendance.
