The Trust Gap
In most sectors, credentials are the minimum expectation. A doctor must be licensed. A pharmacist must be registered. Yet in disability therapy — an area that profoundly affects children and adults at their most vulnerable — the standards are inconsistent and the verification mechanisms are weak.
Why It Matters for Families
When a child begins speech therapy or occupational therapy, their progress depends heavily on the quality and consistency of the intervention. Poor therapy — or worse, harmful therapy delivered by an unqualified person — can set a child back by months or years. Families who cannot afford to stop and start again bear the full cost of that mistake.
What Verification Would Look Like
A verified provider registry would give families access to a curated list of practitioners who meet defined qualification criteria. It would show the provider's training background, areas of specialisation, and any professional standing with relevant bodies. It would not replace clinical judgment, but it would dramatically reduce the information gap that currently leaves families vulnerable.
Barriers to Implementation
Building and maintaining a verified registry requires regulatory will, institutional capacity, and a functioning credentialing ecosystem. Nigeria is at an early stage in developing all three for the disability sector. DICAF's advocacy pushes for incremental progress: first, agreeing on what qualifications should look like; then, piloting a registry; and finally, integrating it into the broader public information infrastructure.