IDPD 2021: Persons with disabilities will be given equal opportunities – President Ali

In observance of International Day for Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) 2021, President Dr Irfaan Ali has affirmed his Government’s intention to ensure this vulnerable section of society is provided with equal opportunities as every other Guyanese.

According to the World Health Organisation (WH0), more than one billion persons, globally, have some form of disability. That represents 15 per cent of the world’s population fighting for a chance for basic human rights, a chance for equality in their societies.

With the deadly novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic hitting Guyana in March of 2020, the people of Guyana were hit along with it. Those people including PWDs, some of whom require home care and other forms of special care, whether it be from family members or healthcare workers, who were all affected by COVID-19.

Commenting on how the COVID-19 pandemic affected PWDs, President Ali said, “This year, 2021, finds the disabled still reeling from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. As is known, persons who require home care and other forms of special care were disproportionately affected by the pandemic. As such, greater attention needs to be paid to protecting the vulnerable sections of society during the ongoing recovery.”

The Head of State went on to state that “my Government is committed to establishing an inclusive democracy that will give voice to and involve constructive engagement with the disabled community.”

He said that Government is prepared to work with PWDs to guarantee a greater role for them in “decision-making, to generate their own pathways to personal development and to tap into their undervalued potential.”

In his message, Ali mentioned that PWDs are entailed to all human rights laid out by the Constitution of Guyana, one of those human rights being free university education, “eventually, by 2025”.

He also said that emphasis will be placed on empowering PWDs, both, economically and socially, while enhancing their skills, supporting them with long-term social protection, and also providing rehabilitate care where necessary, while seeking sustainable solutions to the plight of the disabled along the way.

Respected and promoted

Among the entities representing PWDs is the Guyana Council of Organisations for Persons with Disabilities (GCOPD) which in a statement released on Friday, strongly urged the Guyanese community to play a role to “ensure that the rights of PWDs are respected and promoted”.

“Please remember, disability affects all of us at some point of our lives.  No one is invincible.  A disability can be acquired in an instant.  Stop pretending that PWDs are a different breed of people.  PWDs are human just like every other member of society, with the same basic human rights.  Guyana, we need to do better.  We need to create meaningful change in the lives of PWDs,” the statement read.

The GCOPD also called on stakeholders to take action and join in the fight against discrimination against PWDs in Guyana, while hoping for: more opportunities for equal employment in both the private and public sector; an opportunity for a meaningful education; access to public buildings without any barriers; access to sports and recreational facilities; equal access to all services without discrimination; the opportunity to meaningfully participate in decision making; and more for PWDs.