MoH to expand services for persons with disabilities – Dr Anthony

Government, through the Health Ministry, is working to ensure there is a range of services for persons with disabilities, and that the current programmes are extended to reach a wider spectrum.

This is according to Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony on Thursday during the COVID-19 update, and as Guyana joins in celebrating International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
“We do have people with a range of disabilities in our society, and one of the things that we have to look at is how we can improve service to this community…We would, in the coming months, be looking very closely at the other programmes that we have to have evaluation and see how we can expand these to provide more service to this community,” he said.
According to the Minister, there are other factors to improving the lives of persons living with disabilities which extend to the societal changes. He noted that Guyanese should display greater empathy towards persons with disabilities, enabling a civil environment. Presently, there is still some level of discrimination faced by these persons, which should not be the case.
“Ultimately, while we expand services and provide these things to the community, it is also how our society reacts to people with disabilities. As a society, we must be more civil and caring to persons who have disabilities. I think, if we have more empathy, then it certainly would help motivate these persons so that they can have a better life in society…There’s a lot to be done, because a lot of persons with physical disabilities and cognitive disabilities still face a lot of discrimination, and we have to change that.”
International Day of Persons with Disabilities is celebrated under the theme, “Building Back Better: Toward a disability-inclusive, accessible and sustainable post-COVID-19 world”.
The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Report on Disability shows that 15 percent of the world’s population, or more than one billion people, are living with disability. Of this number, some 450 million are living with a mental or neurological condition. Two-thirds of these people will not seek professional medical help largely due to stigma, discrimination and neglect.
During his message, the Minister reiterated that, “During the current COVID-19 pandemic, isolation disconnected (and) disrupted routines, and diminished services have greatly impacted the lives and mental well-being of people with disabilities around the world and, of course, here in Guyana. The Ministry of Health is committed to raising awareness of persons with disabilities as well as of the potentially detrimental impact on mental health, which is crucial as Guyana continues to fight against COVID-19.”
A survey conducted by the National Commission on Disability last year had revealed that 11,713 persons are living with a disability in Guyana. The survey was conducted in Regions Two, Three, Five, and Ten, while a pilot was done in Region Six in 2016. Region Three had the highest number of persons with disabilities, followed by Region Six.
Disabilities have been categorised as: physical/mobility disability; visual/seeing disability; hearing/speech disability; learning/cognitive disability; mental health and medical/other disability.
In Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), there have been 1,249 recorded cases, of which 40.1 per cent of persons had physical disabilities and 20.6 per cent had hearing or speech impediments, among other things.
In Region Three (Essequibo Islands–West Demerara), there have been 3,896 cases, of which 33.7 per cent had physical disabilities and 16.9 per cent had hearing disabilities.
In Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice), there have been 1,588 cases, of which 38.7 per cent had a physical disability, 20.2 per cent had a hearing disability, and 8.6 per cent had a learning disability.
In Region Ten (Upper Demerara -Berbice), there have been 1,718 cases, of which 31.5 per cent were physical, 16.4 per cent were hearing, 14.3 per cent were learning, and 28.5 per cent were visual.
This survey has also highlighted to the commission the number of unregistered persons with disabilities currently residing in the country. With this information, the Guyana Society for the Blind has already tapped into the Commission’s database to reach this demographic.