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– 90% within region unemployed
THE OVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated some existing problems that affect persons living with disabilities in societies, and over one billion of them with diverse types of disabilities are confronted with challenges.
This is according to CARICOM Special Rapporteur on Disability, Senator Dr. Floyd Morris.
Since 1992, International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) has been annually observed on December 3 around the world.
The theme for this year’s celebration is titled, “Building Back Better: Towards a Disability-Inclusive, Accessible and Sustainable Post-COVID-19 World”.
Dr. Morris said issues relating to access to quality health care, adequate social protection for persons with disabilities, access to quality education, access to employment, and access to public facilities have been prominent in the global discourse as it relates to persons living with disabilities and the COVID-19 pandemic.
He sees International Day of Persons with Disabilities as more than just a day dedicated to the promotion of an understanding of disability and its myriad challenges.
“It is a time that the world is required to celebrate the achievements of persons with disabilities, whilst at the same time recognising the major challenges that the over 1 billion citizens who are living with diverse types of disabilities are confronted with,” Dr. Morris emphasised.
He noted that the theme for this year’s celebration is fittingly appropriate, and appropriately fitting, in light of the global health crisis precipitated by COVID-19.
The CARICOM official said the disease has directly affected over 50 million individuals, and claimed the lives of over three million. Undoubtedly, some of these individuals are persons with disabilities.
The challenges persons with disabilities are facing, he said, surrounds accessing education, modern technologies to support their education and work, access to health care and health facilities, and inadequate social security mechanisms for their protection in this global crisis.
“It is indeed a difficult time to be living on earth for all of us. However, it is even more difficult for persons with disabilities, who have been marginalised over the years,” Dr. Morris said, adding: “Can you imagine how difficult it is for indigenous persons with disabilities who are living in their communities? Can you think of how problematic it is for women and girls with disabilities living across the Caribbean? Or can you fathom how traumatic it is for parents and children with disabilities in the region during this COVID-19 pandemic? Indeed, it is a challenging time, and we must strengthen the resolve to build back stronger.”
OPPORTUNITY TO REBUILD
The pandemic, he noted, presents a great opportunity for everyone to rebuild and strategise for the future.
“It has shown us how vulnerable we are as human beings. We must, therefore, make a concerted effort to build a genuinely inclusive and non-discriminatory society, where persons with disabilities are placed at the front and centre of development. Hospitals must be built with accessible features to accommodate persons with disabilities,” Dr. Morris underscored.
Simultaneously, he stressed that health professionals must be trained on how to relate to persons with disabilities, and that persons with disabilities must be given priority treatment at health facilities.
Education, Dr. Morris said, is the key to social transformation and empowerment, and schools must be built with the necessary features to accommodate persons with disabilities.
Further, he said that teachers must be trained how to deal with students with disabilities, and governments must assist persons with disabilities to access the requisite technologies that will aid in their learning experience.
Relatedly, he added that measures must be put in place to provide employment for persons with disabilities throughout the region.
“We cannot have sustainable development when approximately 90 per cent of the population of persons with disabilities in the region are unemployed,” Dr. Morris said, adding:
“We must ensure that we fix our antiquated social protection systems to make them more responsive to the needs of persons with disabilities. These systems need to be more targeted and inclusive of persons with disabilities.”
As he went on to explain, there needs to be a fast-tracking of the legislative landscape throughout the Caribbean for the protection of persons with disabilities. Only six countries within the Caribbean, he said, currently have legislation to protect persons with disabilities, and this needs to be corrected, if we are to build back stronger in a post-COVID-19 environment.
Of equal importance, he said, is that governments throughout the region must create an environment where persons with disabilities can have a seat at the table of decision-making.
“Spaces should be created for persons with disabilities to participate in the decision- making processes of schools, health facilities, sports, politics, and all other important social institutions,” Dr. Morris said. “This is imperative if we are to build back stronger in a post-COVID-19 environment in the Caribbean,” he emphasised.
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