There are laws, policies, charters and strategies for the protection of persons with disabilities and coordination between public and private organizations should be increased to implement these.
Emphasis should also be laid on ensuring employment of persons with disabilities in the informal as well as formal sectors.
The speakers made these remarks at a roundtable titled ‘Skill Development Training and Inclusive Employment for Persons with Disabilities’ jointly organized by ADD International Bangladesh and Prothom Alo on Wednesday.
The speakers also emphasized on the need to change the existing negative mindset about persons with disabilities.
Rashid Khan Menon, Chairman, Parliamentary Standing Committee on Ministry of Social Welfare, who was the chief guest, said, “There is no dearth of legal framework to protect persons with disabilities but we are lagging behind in capacity building and ensuring employment for them. Many initiatives are not working. It was announced to set up a sign language institute for hearing and speech impaired persons but it has not been implemented yet. New technologies are being introduced for visually impaired people but we are efficient Individuals are failing to prepare. At the same time, the government and private sectors should work in unison to address the statistical discrepancies related to persons with disabilities.”