The Federation of Disability Organisations in Malawi (FEDOMA) has appealed to government and relevant stakeholders to consider people with Disabilities in all developmental activities at all levels in the country.
The appeal has been made in Lilongwe during the official launch of the National Disability Mainstreaming Strategy and Implementation Plan and the National Coordinating Committee on Disability.
In an interview with YFM, just after the launch, Chairperson for FEDOMA, Nita Hanjahanja said their organisation is optimistic that the newly launched strategy will address the gap that has been for a long time.
“We have received this strategy with the hope that it will work very nicely from the town going to the villages, to stakeholders, even to the chiefs and to the parents,” said Hanjahanja.
According to the 2008 Malawi Population and Housing Census, there are nearly 498,122 people living with disabilities which translates into a national prevalence of 4.0% of the population which is similar to the results from the Living conditions survey.
It is for this remarkable reason that persons with disabilities can now afford a smile following the official launch of the National Disability Mainstreaming Strategy.
On her part, Minister of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare, Dr Jean Kalilani said the strategy has come at a right highlighting that it will help in addressing challenges that persons with disabilities face in the country.
“This is very important because disabled people have got obstacles to many things like education, health and many things, thus with coming of this strategy, barriers will be removed such that disabled people have adequate access to services”, she said.
The Launch of the National Disability Mainstreaming Strategy upholds government`s commitment aiming at implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which Malawi signed and ratified in 2007 and 2009.
The strategy has been launched under the theme “National Disability Mainstreaming Strategy: A tool for building an inclusive Malawi.”
