RC: Buildings be user-friendly for people with disability

BY THE GUARDIAN REPORTER

Kilimanjaro Regional Commissioner Leonidas Gama has instructed all district councils in the region to monitor closely all public structures being put up in order to ensure that they are user-friendly to people with disability.

Gama said this over the weekend when opening a one-day seminar to sensitise government officials in the region on issues related to people with disability.

The seminar was organised by a non-governmental organisation which provides health services to people with disability - CCRBT, whose theme was: "Strengthening services to people with disabilities for sustainable social development".

He said many people have only been looking out for themselves, which is why most public places and buildings are built in a not-so user-friendly for people with disability.

“In our society, and elsewhere around the globe, disability goes hand in hand with stigma deeply rooted in traditions. There is a misconception that people with disability are dependent and cannot survive on their own. We need to correct this thinking," he said. He said the region was planning to provide training in sign language to government officials in a bid to curb challenges facing people with disabilities so that they can communicate effectively with people with hearing disabilities.

Earlier, Dr Henry Nyamubi said being disabled was very costly due to misconceptions in the society, particularly towards education, development, employment and economic opportunities.

He said currently, it was difficult to give accurate figures of people with disabilities in the country and around the world, but estimates in the country put the figures between 3.5 million and 5 million, whereas in Kilimanjaro Region alone there are between 150,000 and 220,000 people with disabilities.

For his part, the Chief Executive Officer for CCBRT, Etiwn Telemans, said that in order to recognise the challenges facing people with disabilities, they have been running different programmes including those on HIV/Aids to create awareness.

He said that these projects have been getting support from USAID and other organisations, and that so far a total of 51 health centers in 15 Districts of Tanzania Mainland have been constructed.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN (18/09/2012): http://www.ippmedia.com/frontend/index.php?l=45938