Gambia: ' Over One Billion People Live With Some Form of Disability'

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By Lamin B. Darboe

http://allafrica.com/stories/201312051382.html

Gabou Jarjue of the Department of Social Welfare has said that over a billion people or 15% of the world's population currently lives with some form of disability and are more likely to experience poverty, discrimination as well as have less access to social services. Jarjue made this disclosure on Tuesday during the commemoration of the World Disability Day held at the Arch 22nd in Banjul.

According to him, disability is a development issue that requires concerted efforts to address, in order to achieve all internationally agreed goals. He commended the Gambia's leadership for creating the enabling environment for yet another successful commemoration this year. Jarjue also lauded the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare for pushing the agenda for the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Disabled and officials of BCC for opening their doors to The Gambia Federation of the Disabled (GFD) and by extension all organizations of the disabled in the country.

For his part, the clerk of the Banjul City Council (BCC) Mattar Njie speaking on behalf of the mayor of Banjul Abdoulie Bah, said the World Disability Day is a day that people all over the globe celebrate annually. The day he said has also been set aside to raise awareness on disability and accessibility as critical development issues at both national and international levels. Njie said the day was meant to highlight the benefits that the society can get by harnessing the potentials of all its people without discrimination. He noted that as societies evolve, they face many challenges that will require the indiscriminate mobilization of their human resources.

This day, Njie went on, serves as the yardstick to assess the achievements made and constraints faced in empowering people who are physically challenged with a view to mapping out strategies on how to better their lives.

He described the theme for this year's commemoration as relevant and timely saying it complements the agenda of the Heads of State and Governments meeting which was held earlier this year under the banner 'The Way Forward: a disability inclusive development agenda towards 2015 and beyond".

"In this regard, we are proud of the efforts and programmes of The Gambia Government under the leadership of Professor Alhaji Dr. Yayha Jammeh for putting the welfare of people with disability at the top of the country's development agenda," the BCC clerk told the gathering.

Njie said that this has been manifested in the work of the Ministry of Health and the Department of Social Welfare as they continue to pay more attention to the needs of the disabled in the country. The chairperson of The Gambia Federation of the Disabled, Isatou Sanyang, said though people with disability are in the minority , they will never rest their case until they break the barriers between them and the rest of society. , even though they knew that this goal cannot be achieved in isolation.

She said her federation together with Education for All Network The Gambia will continue to advocate for inclusive education for all, while Global Action Week in May 2014 will focus on Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for children with disability.

The commemoration started with a procession from the July 22nd Square to Arch 22 punctuated with entertainment by the Disability Cultural Troupe.

ที่มา: http://allafrica.com/stories/201312051382.html
วันที่โพสต์: 10/01/2557 เวลา 03:31:12

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