Breaking Barriers for the Inclusion of Persons with Disability in National Development

Abstract

People with disabilities (PWD) have the same rights as everyone else in the community. Most people with disabilities have limited access to education and skills training due to a combination of factors including: the lack of a coherent national policy and technical support system to address their particular learning/education/ employment/empowerment needs. Particular needs and issues affecting people with disabilities generally are ignored in the national development agenda and their well-being is often treated as a matter of welfare rather than as a fundamental human right. On the other hand, people with disabilities lack the means to advocate for and claim their rights as citizens. As such, little formal effort has been made to effectively address their basic needs with regards to access to basic social services including education, skills training and sustainable livelihood opportunities. In light of this and recognising that education is a fundamental human right for all, as well as a key instrument of development and social empowerment, The Breaking Barriers For Inclusion Of People With Disability In National Development aims to assist people with disabilities to gain access to quality education, government services, natural resources and to raise people with disabilities’ consciousness about their fundamental human rights. In order to address the challenges faced by people with disabilities and in particular, to enable and include them in national development, there is the need to empower them by removing socioeconomic and cultural barriers to their development as well as by creating an environment supportive of inclusive social progress.