Véronique Tognifodé hands over 1,422 chance equality cards to persons with disabilities in Benin
Benin has handed out another 1,422 chance equality cards to people living with disabilities, taking the number of documents produced under the scheme past the 6,100 mark.
Social affairs and microfinance minister Véronique Tognifodé formally presented the new batch, which was produced by the National Agency for the Identification of Persons (ANIP) and passed to her ministry for progressive distribution across the national territory.
A card grounded in disability law
Created under the law on the protection and promotion of the rights of persons with disabilities in Benin, the chance equality card is far more than an administrative identity document. It operates as a legal and social instrument built to secure priority and preferential access to a set of essential services.
What card holders can claim
- Health care: preferential pricing and free access to certain specific treatments or orthopaedic devices in public health facilities.
- Education and training: exemption from, or reduction of, school fees in public institutions, plus priority access to study grants and vocational training.
- Transport and employment: easier access to public transport and support measures encouraging entry into working life in both the public and private sectors.
Turning vulnerable citizens into ‘privileged’ ones
At the handover ceremony, the minister said the initiative reflects the government’s determination to turn vulnerable people into genuine ‘privileged citizens of the Republic’ by dismantling the barriers of stigma and economic exclusion.
Medical checks and strict traceability
The issuing process relies on tight traceability managed jointly with ANIP and the network of one-stop social protection offices (GUPS) set up in the communes. Every applicant undergoes a medical assessment carried out by state-approved doctors, which formally establishes the level of incapacity and the nature of the disability before a card is produced.
Distribution pushes on across all 12 departments
Speaking for the beneficiaries, the Federation of Associations of Persons with Disabilities of Benin (FAPHB) welcomed the continuity of the programme while urging families and entitled claimants to complete the paperwork at the GUPS offices so their rights can be recognised. ANIP and the ministry of social affairs are pressing ahead with distribution operations in the country’s 12 departments, with thousands of files still being processed.
