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The National Action Plan on Disability has been approved. The National Coordination Committee on Disability (constituted under the Disability Welfare Act 2001) convened this morning (September 24, 2006) and with the authorities bestowed upon it under the legislation, passed the National Action Plan on Disability. With this approval, a journey that began almost five years back has finally seen the light of day. But this journey was not an easy one at all! The Disability Welfare Act-2001 was adopted in the National Parliament of Bangladesh, on 4th April 2001. The President of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh gave his consent to this Bill on 9th April, and by a gazette notification, from the Ministry of Social Welfare it was put into effect from 1st August 2001. While the Act was passed in the Parliament as a Finance Bill, any financial allocations against it would naturally need specific set of plans. On 5th December 2001, the Ministry of Social Welfare convened a meeting comprising of senior level representatives from 18 ministries and departments of the Government of Bangladesh, and leading NGOs in the Disability Development field. The meeting felt a need to formulate a draft National Action Plan on Disability. On 13th May 2002, the Ministry of Social Welfare circulated a notice to form an Inter-Ministerial Taskforce in order to formulate the said National Action Plan. The Taskforce convened at its first meeting on 2nd June 2002 at the Conference Room of the Ministry of Social Welfare. At this meeting, the President of the National Forum of Organizations Working with the Disabled (NFOWD) proposed the formation of a smaller working sub-committee for drafting the plan, which then could be shared back in the Taskforce. This was unanimously accepted, and a nine-member sub-committee headed by the Director General, Department of Social Services was formed. On behalf of this sub-committee NFOWD compiled, consulted and took into cognizance the National Policy on Disability (1995), The draft Action Plan (developed in 1996 in view of the Policy), The Disability welfare Act – 2001 (especially its Schedules), different research studies & documents on disability issues in Bangladesh (for their host of recommendations), general recommendations from different workshops/seminars, Regional and International commitments etc., and drafted the plan. This was shared amongst the members of the sub-committee in a day-long workshop on 5th August 2002. Incorporating all the necessary recommendations and suggestions, the sub-committee submitted the draft to the Ministry of Social Welfare on 10th August 2002. Three months later, upon a request from the Inter-Ministerial Taskforce, NFOWD segregated the draft Action Plan for different Ministries of the Government of Bangladesh, and the Ministry of Social Welfare forwarded them the relevant sections for approval. This process required a further six months. The Inter-Ministerial Taskforce worked on the comments/suggestions of the different Ministries and finally in August 2004 forwarded the final draft of the Action Plan for final approval. NFOWD on the other hand initiated a campaign to get it included into the national Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP). This was only made possible with the support of the Ministry of Social Welfare. On 6th December 2004, while inaugurating the First National Disability Fair at Dhaka, the Honorable Prime Minister of the Government of the Peoples’ Republic of Bangladesh pledged the commitment of the Government afresh towards approving the plan. Meanwhile, many developments in the national and international scenario had also take place. At the same time, frequent turnovers at the top level bureaucracy of the Ministry of Social Welfare and the National Foundation for Development of the Disabled (NFDDP) also had halted the progress to some extent. In a consultation meeting on 26th July 2006, with the members of the National Coordination Committee and the National Executive Committee, NFOWD again raised the demand. The Secretary, Ministry of Social Welfare promised that he would do all within his powers to get this approved within two months. It finally was included as an agenda in the meeting of the National Coordination Committee this morning and was unanimously approved. The Government currently in power has only about a month in hand of its five-year tenure, and it remains to be seen how much of this Plan will actually be implemented in the future! In about a month’s time, as a Nation we are heading towards a transition phase; and about four months from now we should have a new Government in office. NFOWD has a huge task ahead, of convincing the different. “Geettobitan” is now accessible to the visually challenged people Shamampti Roy, a promising singer who is visually challenged was known nationally through a singer-searching program organized by a satellite TV channel of Bangladesh. Considering her appeal, Titu Chowdhury started to translate Geetobitan into Braille version. He completed a huge task as the songbook has five volumes containing two thousand and two hundred nice creations of Rabindranath Tagore. Titu Chowdhury has not done something for Shamampti Roy only, but also done a great job for a number of visually challenged people who were deprived to have the taste of Tagore, the great writer of bangla literature. Admiring the initiative of Titu chowdhury NFOWD, Handicap International and Answer Brand Smith Ltd. jointly sponsored the publication of the book. The Launching Ceremony of this publication was celebrated at Dhaka Reporter’s Unity auditorium on 6 August 2006; 22 Sraban 1413 (Bangla), the 65th death anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore. Political parties for including disability & development issues into their respective political agenda and election pledges. Such that, whoever wins the next National Elections and forms the Government, they can build on this foundation, and plan for a better and more meaningful future for the 14 million persons with disabilities in this country. Only then, the National Action Plan will have some real and tangible meaning. This approval now indeed is a colossal milestone in the disability. Campaign of Education for Visually Challenged Person International Council for Education of people with Visual Impairment (ICEVI) is a global association of individuals and organizations that promotes equal access to appropriate education for all children and youth with visually impairment so that they may achieve their full potential. It was formed in 1952 and it welcomes any group of person who wishes its aim. ICEVI now has individual and corporate members in over 170 countries. It is now working on to achieve a specific goal to ensure access and full participation in education for all children and youth with visually impairment by 2015. For becoming a part of this global movement NFOWD took the responsibilities in the field of Bangladesh as the president of NFOWD has been elected as the Country Representative of Bangladesh for ICEVI in its 12th world conference. Analyzing the present scenario is important before starting a journey. Considering this NFOWD and Handicap International decided to sponsor the workshop “ Education for Visually Challenged Women in Bangladesh: Problems and Prospects” organized by ICEVI on 16 September 2006 at Baptist Shongho School for Blind Girls, 77 Senpara Parbata, Mirpur, Dhaka. A total number of 65 visually challenged women from different schools, colleges and universities participated in that workshop. The workshop was effective enough for understanding the present scenario of education for visually challenged women in Bangladesh. Two more workshops have been scheduled after this one. This can be anticipated that workshops with different group will be helpful for the campaign that is going to initiate for ensuring appropriate education for all children and youth with visually impairment in Bangladesh. Observing International Literacy Day To observe the International Literacy Day, NFOWD organized “Education for PWDs: Present and Future”, a consultation meeting in LGED Auditorium on 9 September 2006. Person with disabilities, government representatives, teachers from Dhaka University, national and international NGO representatives and relevant stakeholders were present in that meeting. Persons with different disabilities presented the situation of education relating to their disability. Chairman of University Grand Commission Dr. M. Asaduzzaman was present in the meeting as Chief Guest. For understanding the present scenario of education for PWDs in Bangladesh the meeting was very effective. |