RIRE — Readdress
Inclusion Rights &
Empowerment
FFF's RIRE Project identifies and confronts the compounded vulnerabilities faced by People with Psychosocial Disabilities — particularly during and after the COVID-19 pandemic in Lagos State.
RIRE Project Launch
Lagos State · Festus Fajemilo Foundation
Addressing the Gap for PPD
Lagos State · 2021 Project Launch
Psychosocial
Disability
What is the RIRE Project?
The Festus Fajemilo Foundation launched the RIRE (Readdress Inclusion Rights and Empowerment) Project in partnership with the Pan African Network for Persons with Psychosocial Disabilities (PANPPD) and the International Disability Alliance (IDA), with funding from the Open Society Foundations (OSF).
The project is centred on creating awareness about the plight of People with Psychosocial Disabilities (PSD) during and after the COVID-19 pandemic — a population that has been systematically excluded from preventive measures, health services, and socio-economic support networks.
Who are People with Psychosocial Disabilities?
People with Psychosocial Disabilities (PSD) live with conditions — including anxiety, mood disorders, and chronic physical health conditions — that affect their ability to interact socially and participate fully in everyday life.
Social Interaction
People with PSD often experience significant difficulty engaging and interacting with others socially, leading to isolation and reduced community participation.
Daily Stress
Coping with everyday life stresses — which most people navigate automatically — becomes a significant challenge, compounded by fatigue and low energy levels.
Concentration & Tasks
Focusing on simple tasks and completing activities — especially those with deadlines — causes distress, as the pressure intensifies difficulty with cognitive engagement.
Multitasking
The ability to hold multiple things in mind simultaneously is affected — PPD can typically only focus on one task at a time, reducing productivity and independence.
Feedback Processing
Understanding and constructively handling feedback from others is difficult, as it can be perceived as overwhelming or threatening rather than helpful.
Anxiety & Mood Disorders
PSD typically arises from known mental health conditions such as anxiety and mood disorders, but can also occur in individuals with chronic physical health conditions.
Vulnerability
The compounding effect of PSD leaves PPD disproportionately exposed to unemployment, poor health, relationship difficulties, and inadequate housing or homelessness.
PSD leaves PPD
most vulnerable to:
Unemployment & economic exclusion
Poor physical and mental health outcomes
Difficulty maintaining relationships
Inadequate housing or homelessness
Exclusion from COVID preventive measures
Limited access to MHPSS services
A Pandemic That Left PPD Doubly Behind
The psychosocial trauma of COVID-19 is well documented — WHO data showed a global surge in substance use, anxiety, insomnia, and depression. Yet the most vulnerable groups, People with Psychosocial Disabilities, were left out of national responses.
Despite this documented crisis, only 16% of Low-Middle Income Countries like Nigeria allocated funds towards Mental Health and Psychosocial Services (MHPSS) during the pandemic. The lack of information and funding meant PPD were excluded from preventive measures at the national and sub-national levels.
Project
Creating Awareness for PPD
Lagos State · RIRE Programme Activities
What RIRE Sets Out to Do
Identify & Enumerate Challenges
The immediate objective of RIRE is to identify, document, and enumerate the specific challenges that People with Psychosocial Disabilities faced during the COVID-19 pandemic — building an evidence base for advocacy.
Build an Advocacy Network
RIRE's long-term goal is to create the foundations of a robust, sustainable support and advocacy network for PPD in Lagos State — ensuring their voices are heard in policy and programming decisions.
Raise Awareness
Through targeted campaigns and community engagement, RIRE creates awareness about the plight of PPD — countering the stigma, misinformation, and neglect that leave this population vulnerable.
Policy & Inclusion Advocacy
RIRE works with national and sub-national governments to ensure PPD are included in the rollout of preventive health measures, social protection schemes, and economic empowerment programmes.
Reduce COVID Vulnerability
By highlighting the specific risks to PPD during and after the pandemic, RIRE aims to limit the exposure of this group to illness, economic hardship, and psychological distress — directly improving quality of life.
Economic Empowerment
RIRE recognises the link between psychosocial disability and economic exclusion. The project seeks pathways to enable PPD to participate meaningfully in socio-economic activities that support independence and reduce distress.
Who Makes RIRE Possible
FFF is the implementing partner for the RIRE Project, drawing on its established network, community relationships, and experience in disability-focused advocacy across Lagos State.
PANPPD brings continental expertise on psychosocial disability rights and supports the project with technical guidance, research frameworks, and advocacy networks across Africa.
OSF provides the financial foundation for the RIRE Project, enabling FFF and its partners to conduct outreach, research, community engagement, and advocacy for PPD across Lagos State.
International Disability Alliance
IDA is the global network of international and regional organisations of persons with disabilities. IDA's collaboration on RIRE ensures the project is grounded in international disability rights standards and amplifies its advocacy reach globally.
Help Us Readdress Exclusion.
Your support for the RIRE Project directly enables FFF to reach, document, and advocate for People with Psychosocial Disabilities in Lagos State — a group chronically left behind in health and social policy.
Trusted Partners & Members
