Medical Law Digest - Q4 2025

Stakeholders Urge Reform of the Disability Commission

Stakeholders at the 2025 Disability Rights Advocacy Network Roundtable held recently in Lagos have called for a comprehensive overhaul of the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD). Participants noted that the Commission, in its current form, lacks the structure, reach, and resources required to effectively enforce the rights of persons with disabilities in Nigeria.

Speakers at the roundtable stressed that although the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2018 provides a strong legal framework, enforcement is still weak. They observed that persons with disabilities continue to face barriers in accessing public services, healthcare, education, and built environments due to inadequate implementation of disability laws.

Participants also highlighted the need for decentralising the Commission's operations, improving funding, and establishing more accessible offices at the state and local government levels.

Civil society groups and legal experts at the event emphasised that an empowered disability commission is essential to addressing discrimination and ensuring that persons with disabilities can fully enjoy their rights.

Strengthening the disability commission directly affects enforcement of healthcare access rights, protection against discrimination in medical settings, and compliance with standards ensuring safe, inclusive, and equitable health services for persons with disabilities.

Doctors Call for Anti-Discrimination Laws to Safeguard People with Diabetes

Medical experts and diabetes advocates in Nigeria have publicly called for anti-discrimination laws to protect people living with diabetes, especially in the workplace. At a World Diabetes Day webinar organised by the Nigerian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism, doctors highlighted widespread stigma and discrimination that many Nigerians with diabetes experience, including job loss and poor workplace support. They emphasised that Nigeria currently lacks specific legal protections against discrimination for workers with diabetes, unlike countries such as the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland that have robust anti-discrimination legislation for chronic health conditions.

Speakers noted that the absence of binding legal safeguards means many workers hide their condition, which can worsen health outcomes. They stressed the need for legal frameworks that explicitly prohibit discrimination, increased public and employer awareness about diabetes, and workplace accommodations schedules, breaks for blood sugar such as flexible monitoring, and education for colleagues and managers.

Anti-discrimination protections influence access to healthcare, workplace health rights, and legal accountability for equitable treatment of people with chronic illnesses, ensuring their health needs are legally recognised and protected.

Senate Bill to Establish Sickle Cell Research Centres Scales Second Reading

The Nigerian Senate has taken a significant legislative step by passing for second reading a bill to establish Sickle Cell Disorder Research and Therapy Centres across the six geopolitical zones and the Federal Capital Territory. The proposed law - the Sickle Cell Disorder Research and Therapy Centres (Establishment) Bill, 2025 (SB.893), sponsored by Senator Sunday Marshall Katung (Kaduna South) — aims to create a legal framework for the administration of specialised centres focused on sickle cell diagnosis, treatment, research, education, and patient support.

Proponents of the bill emphasise that it will expand access to specialised care, enhance data collection on the disease, support families affected by sickle cell disorder, and strengthen public awareness and preventive education. If enacted, the legislation would provide for the creation of management boards, staffing structures, and funding mechanisms for the centres.

This bill is remarkable because it establishes statutory authority for specialised healthcare infrastructure, reinforces legislative oversight of national health priorities, and strengthens legal support for equitable care and research for sickle cell disorder a major public health concern in Nigeria.

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