Peace rally to highlight issues of differently-abled people : KathMandu,Nepal

The Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare, in collaboration with the National Federation of Disabled Nepal (NFDN) and Unicef Nepal, is organising a peace rally on Sunday to highlight issues of the differently-abled people.

The rally will begin at 8 am from Bhrikutimandap and move along Padmodaya Mod and Putalisadak up to the City Hall. Children, celebrities, civil society members, diplomats and NFDN representatives from all 75 chapters are expected to join the rally . After the rally , Unicef will launch its ‘State of the World’s Children Report 2013-Children with Disabilities’ in the City Hall. The NFDN will also launch a Disability Bazaar to showcase products developed by differently-abled people from across the country.

The bazaar will remain open till Monday noon. The NFDN hopes to make it an annual event, raising awareness and allowing ordinary people to interact with the differently-baled.

According to the 2011 census, 1.94 percent of the total population in Nepal lives with disability. NFDN President Shudharshan Subedi, however, believes this number to be much higher, at around 20 percent. 

“Disabled Protection and Welfare Act, 1982 does not adequately define disability,” said Subedi. “It ignores internal disability such as people with haemophilia, with pacemaker or those who have undergone kidney transplants.”

John Brittain, communications chief at Unicef Nepal said a lack of comprehensive data on the differently-baled people is a problem everywhere, not just in Nepal. The most cited statistics is from the World Report on Disability published jointly by the WHO and the World Bank in 2011, according to which 15 percent of the world’s population is disabled. 

The good news is that the United Nations has now woken up to the real needs of differently-abled people. “The UN will be heavily involved with issues of disability from now on,” said Brittain. “In Nepal, Unicef supports the NFDN and the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare to implement laws on disability issues.”

Brittain hoped that the launch of the State of the World’s Children Report will create a momentum to keep children with disabilities on the political map.

“The key message in the report is the issue of discrimination children with disabilities face every day,” he said. Nepal is one of 76 nations which have signed and ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2006.

Source : E-Kantipur , 1st June 2013