The Union Government is committed to removing barriers for Persons with Disabilities-PWDs – to ensure that they can enjoy equal rights and participation throughout society.
To fulfil their needs we need to know what they require, because needs for individuals might be different. Therefore, grading and registration for Persons with Disabilities is necessary to ensure that the PWDs can enjoy their rights and fundamental freedoms. The grading and registration tasks do not reflect discrimination, but it would help us learn the real situation and needs of each PWD. It is also an important step to provide benefits under existing laws to PWDs nationwide.
Achieving this goal means relying on cooperation between all regional and state-level working committees tasked with grading and registration of PWDs for organizations of Persons with Disabilities.
All are obliged to contribute to building an ideal country that encourages Persons with Disabilities to enjoy equal rights and participation by removing barriers for the disabled, who have a harder time in accessing healthcare and education, entering society, politics and the economy, finding employment, all while receiving a lower income.
The Myanmar people, who possess the fine traditions of perseverance, friendliness, generosity and sympathy, always participate in humanitarian tasks and philanthropic works.
Persons with Disabilities have a more difficult time accessing healthcare and education, entering society, politics and the economy, and finding employment, compared to the rest of society.
Also, PWDs face higher rates of poverty and unemployment, while earning lower incomes.
There are one billion people living with some form of disability around the world, according to the 2010 World Report on Disability conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank.
Myanmar signed the CRPD on 7 December 2011 and, since then, the Union Government has been working to make certain that over 2.3 million PWDs in Myanmar can exercise their rights and are entitled to their freedom.
Myanmar’s legislature passed the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Law in 2015 and the bylaws on 27 December 2017. Additionally, the National Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, formed on 14 September 2017, is serving as a beacon of hope for the PWDs community.
In fact, the modern world is facing a multitude of global issues which can be solved, hand in hand, with Persons with Disabilities, if all relevant government departments and other organizations are committed towards sustainable and resilient societies for all.-GNLM
