The Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD), Anambra State chapter, Wednesday, reiterated her calls for total inclusion of needs of their members in governance
The state chairman of JONAPWD, Comrade Ugochukwu Okeke, who made the call in his international youths day message, said that whatever affect young people affect them in a more complex way due to societal neglect and discriminations.
“Access to education, employment, health care and social services, also affect youth with disabilities, but in a far instance, attitudinal, institutional, architectural barriers and other forms of discriminations are the major challenges preventing youths with disabilities to participate actively at the local/community programs and thereby hampering their proper engagements and inclusion expected.
“Therefore, as we reflect on this year’s theme: YOUTH ENGAGEMENT FOR GLOBAL ACTION, it important that all hands should be on desk to ensure that the Eight Guiding Principles of the Convention on the of Persons with Disabilities( CRPD) are strictly followed to ensure the over all inclusion of youths with disabilities in every developmental processes,” he stated. According to him, the guiding principles include respect for inherent dignity, freedom to make one’s own choices, and independence of persons, non-discrimination, full and effective participation and inclusion in society, respect for difference and acceptance of disabled people as part of human diversity and humanity.
Others were equality of opportunity, accessibility, equality between men and women, and respect for the evolving capacities of disabled children and respect for them to preserve their identities and others make it much more difficult for them to go to school, to find work or to participate in local activities.
