The Kaduna State House of Assembly has said that it is set to review laws on caregivers to address the issues of abuse and human rights violations in the state.
The lawmaker representing the Kauru/Chawai Constituency at the State Assembly, Haruna Barnabas said this in Kaduna on Wednesday, November 20, 2024, at a Care Workers Summit 1.0.
The summit was organised by Transparency and Accountability in Totality, a non-governmental organisation committed to enhancing service delivery and fostering social inclusion.
The theme of the summit was “Bridging Gap and Empowering Unpaid/Underpaid Care Workers in Kaduna State”.
Mr Barnabas, who is also the chairman of the House Committee on Health stressed the need for employers of the care workers to ask the important questions of whether they were adequately catered for.
He emphasised that the care workers were equally humans who also deserved to be taken care of.
Also, the lawmaker representing Zaria Constituency, Isma’il Mahmud, said that the House was working towards enacting a law that would mandate employers of caregivers to give them the necessary support as members of the society.
Mr Mahmud, who doubles as the chairman of the House Committee on Education, applauded the organisers of the event.
In his address, the Team Lead of Transparency and Accountability in Totality, Halliru Khalifa, said the summit was aimed at raising awareness about the critical contributions of unpaid and underpaid care workers.
He added that the summit was also organised to advocate policies and legal frameworks that support care workers’ welfare including fair compensation.
Mr Khalifa emphasised the need to foster collaboration among government agencies, civil society organisations and care workers to address caregiving challenges.
The Head of Programmes and Partnership of the NGO, Musa Suleiman, stated that the summit would serve as a wake-up call for government and other relevant stakeholders to key into improving the welfare of care workers.
One of the participants, Haulatu Kamilu, shared her experiences as a care worker, saying that she was into care work because she had no choice.
Mrs Kamilu said she took the job to care for her young children who lost their father at an early age.
The summit drew participants from government parastatals, media, traditional rulers, lawmakers, civil society organisations and human rights groups, among others
