Nepal Disabled Women Association (NDWA) has organized a discussion program with the stakeholders related to disability and inclusive development.

The program was organized on January 17 in Lalitpur.  The participants in the discussion focused on raising voices for disability inclusion in policies in political, economic, and social development by ending abuse, discrimination, and negligence of persons with disability.

The representatives from the service provider agencies said that there is a problem in working on disability inclusion due to a lack of clarity in their understanding of disability and confusion about the facilities and services they receive. They also added that the biased opinion of some policymakers creates difficulties and confusion during service delivery. They said that there is a problem during the delivery of services due to the lack of actual statistics on persons with disabilities and those who need services.

Anant Maharjan, registration branch of Godavari municipality informed that the municipality has started managing the data on the Social Information Management System (SIMS) of persons with disabilities within the municipality.

Shobha Kharel, Head of the Women’s Development Division of Lalitpur Metropolitan Municipality informed that a budget of 1.4 million rupees has been set aside for the disability sector and said that according to the Act on Persons with Disability 2074 , the municipality has identified 16 priority areas and prepared a 4-year action plan to work with the disability issues. She also informed that metropolitan city makes each ward responsible for legal awareness. She further added that a lift will be installed in the overhead bridge which will be built in Kusunti under the municipality.

Tara Kumari KC, Program Officer of Mahalakshmi Municipality, informed that a budget of 1 million NRP has been allocated for the distribution of assistive devices to persons with disability.

Stakeholders from the CSOs added they realized that the activities they have been implementing were not conducted keeping disability inclusiveness in regard and their concerns but now they will be aware of the inclusiveness of disability issues in days to come.

In the interaction, Tika Dahal, chairperson of NDWA emphasized that the government should pay attention to the inclusion of disability in the clusters cited constitution. She shed light that every program for women should work on the concept of Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion (JEDSI).

Vice person Meena Poudel emphasized the need for accessibility to all structures and services, which is not just about building a ramp. She added that while working on inclusion, priority should be given to those who are left behind.

General Secretary Dev Kumari Parajuli conducted the program.

35 persons including representatives of the municipality, representatives of CSOs and representatives of organizations working in the field of persons with disabilities participated in the interaction.