Santigie Kargbo, the President of Sierra Leone Union on Disability Issues (SLUDI), has said that physically challenged persons find it difficult to access medical care, housing facility, toilet facilities and pipe borne water. He attributes their lack of access to such basic social amenities to the fact that their statuses as persons living with disability cause them not to attract employment which in effect means they are marginalized in society.
He made this statement during an outdoor visit by Premier Newspaper in commemoration of International Day for Disabled Persons. The commemoration was themed: “Building Back Better: towards a disability-inclusive, accessible and sustainable post COVID-19 World.” The commemoration was on Thursday December 3rd, 2020.
The International Day for Disabled Persons Day was recognized as an international day to reflect the circumstances of people living with disability through a proclamation in December 1982.
The year 1983-1992 was recognized as United Nations Decade of Disabled Persons with more activities and programs designed to improve the situation and status of persons with disabilities. Emphasis was placed on raising new financial resources, improving education and employment opportunities for persons with disabilities, and increasing their participation in the life of their communities and country
According to the WHO World Report on Disability, 15% of the world’s population, or more than 1 billion people, live with disability. Of this number, it is estimated that 450 million live with mental or neurological conditions— and two-thirds of these people will not seek professional medical help, largely due to stigma, discrimination and neglect.
Kargbo condemns the tendency of most people to limit their understanding of ‘persons with disability’ to only include persons who are physically paralyzed. He reiterated also in the category of persons defined as persons with ‘disability’ also includes Albinos, those with speech impairment, the deaf and those who because of their mental illness are deprived of their fundamental human rights.
He spoke to the fact that most persons who are physically challenged beg on the streets because they have no job unemployed and could not provide daily bread for them and their families.
“Because of our inability to walk and speak, we are in most times left out of governance. The government failed to incorporate us in governance as provided by the Disable Act of 2011 and most importantly most offices are not disable friendly,” Kargbo said.
He also furthered that in spite of their physical challenges, they also possess huge human potential, which if tapped into, will contribute to governance and produce remarkable improvement in the development of Sierra Leone. He went on to assert that they as disable persons sometimes have certain attributes, characteristic aptitude etc which gives them an extra edge over persons categorized as able.
During a nationwide television broadcast, the President of Sierra Leone Dr. Julius Maada Bio, said the theme of this year’s celebrations encourages everyone to focus on spreading awareness and understanding of disabilities which are not immediately apparent.
His Excellency alluded to government’s scaling up of investments in mental health infrastructure like equipment, medical supplies, staff training, and service delivery.
“As part of our radical inclusion approach to education, we are developing comprehensive strategies to support all learners with cognitive and physical disabilities. My Government has also provided grants to Organizations of persons with disabilities and Special Needs Schools for effective service delivery to learners with special needs,” he furthered.
He cited that the National Commission for Persons with Disability and the Ministry of Social Welfare have conducted the first ever accessibility audit of some Government buildings citing that the report lists accessibility challenges and possible strategies for addressing those challenges.
President Bio noted that during his tenure Government has increased budgetary allocation to the National Commission for Persons with Disability to implement activities that will better the lives of persons with disabilities.
“I have directed the Ministry of Social Welfare to fully study the root causes and patterns of street begging among persons with disabilities, and to develop a comprehensive strategy to tackle the issue. We believe that through skills training, financial inclusion, and economic empowerment programmes those citizens can earn dignified and sustainable incomes,” President Bio alluded.
LEGAL LINK, an organization in the business of human right activism and advocacy for good governance in Sierra Leone, has in a press statement highlighted several concerns raised by persons living with disabilities among which are; limited access to free tertiary education; limited access to free health care; disability unfriendly infrastructure and environment; discrimination and stigmatization; lack of disability units in government ministries, departments and agencies; increased unemployment and social marginalization; and lack of a comprehensive disability mainstreaming agenda to cater for the special needs of the various categories of persons with disability.
“Even under normal circumstances disable persons are less likely to access health care, education, employment and to effectively participate in the governance architecture of their communities. It is crystal as clear that human rights abuses and violations have been meted against PWD’s during this COVIDS 19 pandemic,” the Organization asserted in the release.
LEGAL LINK then called on the Government of Sierra Leone to comply with its obligation under International Human Rights Law to ensure that it respects, protects, fulfills and promotes the rights of Persons with Disabilities, throughout the country.
By George M.O. Williams, Yeanoh Sesay and Theressa Taylor
7/12/2020. ISSUE NO: 7963