Sana’a - SABA:
A consultative workshop was held today in Sana’a to enrich the executive mechanism for comprehensive access of persons with disabilities to service facilities, as part of the implementation plan of the National Strategy for Persons with Disabilities.
Organized in cooperation with the Disabled Rehabilitation and Care Fund and funded by UNICEF, the workshop included representatives from relevant government bodies. It aimed to strengthen institutional partnership between government and community entities to ensure a safe and accessible environment for persons with disabilities in public facilities.
The workshop discussed working papers addressing implementation mechanisms for directives related to the national strategy, inclusive designs for service facilities, the perspectives of persons with disabilities on service accessibility, and the role of traffic police in organizing public parking and routes.
At the opening, Minister of Social Affairs and Labor, Samir Bajala, described the workshop as an important step toward empowering persons with special needs, commending efforts at the local level and stressing the collective responsibility to provide suitable services and environments, especially ahead of the upcoming Mawlid celebrations.
The Head of the Social Affairs Committee at the Capital Secretariat, the Deputy Minister of Social Affairs for Social Care, and the Housing Official at the Ministry of Transport emphasized the need for cooperation and integration among relevant bodies, particularly amid the ongoing aggression and siege affecting Yemen.
The Deputy Minister of Local Administration and Rural Development noted that the ministry has directed local leadership in the capital and governorates to implement the national strategy for persons with disabilities, emphasizing the Ministry of Social Affairs’ role in monitoring and achieving its objectives.
The President of the National Union of Associations for Persons with Disabilities, Abdullah Banyan, affirmed the right of persons with disabilities to access public services and called for improving services to meet their needs, highlighting that they constitute approximately 15% of Yemen’s population.
The workshop concluded with several practical recommendations, including:
- Involving local executive offices in planning, implementing, and maintaining infrastructure to ensure integration of disability needs in current and future projects.
- Enhancing coordination with the Ministries of Transport and Public Works, Local Administration, the Social Development Fund, and the Public Works Project.
- Mandating businesses and establishments to implement disability-specific technical standards as a condition for annual license renewal.
- Forming local committees to follow up on strategy implementation with the participation of civil society and target groups.
- Allocating special parking spaces for persons with disabilities in public and private facilities, establishing traffic signs, and imposing fines on violators.
- Raising public awareness about the strategy’s goals and the roles of concerned entities.
- Expanding technical standards to cover all types of disabilities, not just mobility impairments.
- Activating the Persons with Disabilities Rights Law to better protect their rights.
| more of (Local) |