Govt launches disability mainstreaming plan
Deputy Minister for Disability Affairs in the Presidency Alexia Manombe- Ncube launched the National Disability Mainstreaming Plan last week during the commemoration of International Persons with Disabilities Day held in Windhoek.
The day was commemorated under the theme ‘ Strengthening integrated systems to promote access to services for persons with disabilities in Namibia’.
Ma n omb e - N c u b e described the finalisation of the National Disability Mainstreaming Plan as a great achievement for the disability sector and a milestone in the long journey of disability inclusion in Namibia.
“We need to foster the implementation of national, regional and international development agendas aimed at the empowerment of persons with disabilities,” she said.
According to ManombeNcube, the plan emanated from the realities of the lives of persons with disabilities, their families, communities
and their service providers - and it was informed by the gap between the domestic and international legislative framework and the experiences of persons with disabilities.
The deputy minister also told Nampa the plan will be used by other government stakeholders, including
ministries, agencies and organisations of persons with disabilities as a working tool to facilitate the mainstreaming of persons with disabilities in all areas and sectors.
“This plan will be used to encourage government, private sector, civil society organisations, communities and families to include issues affecting persons with disabilities in their planning, and execute programmes with the aim of ensuring that such persons are included and enabled to succeed in all their endeavours,” she explained.
Manombe- Ncube also urged the National Disability Forum to utilise the document to foster change, saying if successfully implemented, the disability mainstreaming plan will make Namibians champions of disability inclusion in Africa and beyond.
The plan identifies 12 themes that require disability mainstreaming, including expansion of knowledge on disability legislation and policies, formulation of sustainable support networks, creation of barrier- free environments in public and private spaces, prioritisation of housing and land provision with inclusive sanitation for persons with disabilities, increasing the economic empowerment of persons with disabilities and reduction of barriers for persons with disabilities using public and private transport. -Nampa