Disabled people still getting a raw deal

DESPITE the African Union (AU) having declared 1999 to 2009 the African Decade of Persons with Disabilities, disabled people in Namibia say policies and programmes meant to address their needs and aspirations are still falling short.

The Disability Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister and the Secretariat of Persons with Disabilities held a three-day workshop in Windhoek last week to come up with ways of monitoring and evaluating these programmes. “There is a gap between policy and practice, and the lack of monitoring and evaluation of the effectiveness and impact of policies and programmes is resulting in people with disabilities not getting the intended benefits,” said the Chairperson of the National Federation of People with Disabilities in Namibia, Martin Tjivera, during a media briefing on the workshop yesterday.He substantiated his claims by pointing out that, three years after Parliament passed the National Disability Council Act in 2004, this council is yet to be established.Adding injury to insult, people living with disabilities are not adequately represented on bodies that are supposed to decide on their future, whether on national, regional or local levels, Tjivera said.This, he said, prevents any progress in the fight for better education, healthcare or services provided to them.”Access to primary, secondary and tertiary education to people with disabilities, given their special needs, is not sufficiently facilitated and this results in people with disabilities being denied the right to education.Access to special schools is very limited while inclusive education is virtually non-existent,” he said.Budget cuts, the cost of assistance devices and a shortage of paramedical professionals, he said, are also hampering adequate access to healthcare and medical services.A lack of access to public buildings and services such as transport are other problems they face.The group strongly objected to able-bodied people using the names of people with disabilities as proxies to acquire land, tenders, mineral concessions and fishing quotas.The group called on Government to increase the number of paramedics in the public health sector to ensure quality and affordable healthcare for living with disabilities.”We strongly urge that representation, including self-representation, of people with disabilities be promoted at all levels.In this regard we call for the representation of people with disabilities in all levels of governance,” Tjivera said.”There is a gap between policy and practice, and the lack of monitoring and evaluation of the effectiveness and impact of policies and programmes is resulting in people with disabilities not getting the intended benefits,” said the Chairperson of the National Federation of People with Disabilities in Namibia, Martin Tjivera, during a media briefing on the workshop yesterday.He substantiated his claims by pointing out that, three years after Parliament passed the National Disability Council Act in 2004, this council is yet to be established.Adding injury to insult, people living with disabilities are not adequately represented on bodies that are supposed to decide on their future, whether on national, regional or local levels, Tjivera said.This, he said, prevents any progress in the fight for better education, healthcare or services provided to them.”Access to primary, secondary and tertiary education to people with disabilities, given their special needs, is not sufficiently facilitated and this results in people with disabilities being denied the right to education.Access to special schools is very limited while inclusive education is virtually non-existent,” he said.Budget cuts, the cost of assistance devices and a shortage of paramedical professionals, he said, are also hampering adequate access to healthcare and medical services.A lack of access to public buildings and services such as transport are other problems they face.The group strongly objected to able-bodied people using the names of people with disabilities as proxies to acquire land, tenders, mineral concessions and fishing quotas.The group called on Government to increase the number of paramedics in the public health sector to ensure quality and affordable healthcare for living with disabilities.”We strongly urge that representation, including self-representation, of people with disabilities be promoted at all levels.In this regard we call for the representation of people with disabilities in all levels of governance,” Tjivera said.