Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Farouq, has said that the federal government, through a local producer, is set to produce modern white canes with alarms and sensors, to help blind people live independently.

She stated this Thursday in Abuja during a press briefing to commemorate the 2020 White Cane Safety Awareness Day with the theme “Promoting Independence and Productivity”.
The White Cane is a silver-coated metallic white cane that is used by visually impaired persons to guide them in moving around. Since the invention of the White Cane, it has become a significant instrument to the blind persons, as well as an internationally recognised symbol that elicits help whenever and wherever their users find it difficult to move freely.

It alerts drivers and motorists that visually impaired persons are on the road and detects obstacles in the path of the blind.
Represented by Director of Humanitarian, Grema Ali Alhaji, the minister said  over a billion people were living with one form of disability or the other globally, decrying their high prevalence in Nigeria where it is estimated that up to 15 million Nigerians are living with disabilities.

She said: “Though there is no accurate data on the number of persons in Nigeria with blindness or visual impairments, an appreciable number of the People With Disabilities in Nigeria are blind or visually impaired.

“Globally, this day is being recognised to raise public awareness and sensitisation on the importance of the White Cane and the plight of millions of visually impaired persons in the world.
“One of our local producers is at the forefront of bringing technological modifications to the conventional White Canes, making it more of a utility tool for the blind and visually impaired.
“Thus, we look forward to modern White Canes with sensors and alarms as well as other features that will help the blind and visually impaired live more independently.”

The BluePrint