Wednesday, 27 October 2010
For immediate release
Abuja Conference launches new guidelines aimed at empowering millions of
Africans with disabilities
ABUJA (ILO News) -The 4th CBR Africa Network Conference (CAN) today
launched new guidelines designed to empower persons with disabilities by
supporting their inclusion in health, education, employment, social,
skills training and other community services.
The Community-based Rehabilitation (CBR) guidelines resulted
from the joint efforts of four U.N. and international organizations are
expected to impact on millions of people with disabilities in Africa,
many of whom now live in poverty and exclusion.
The new CBR guidelines, under development since 2004, were produced by
the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Labour Office
(ILO), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) and International Disability and Development
Consortium (IDDC), in close consultation with other key stakeholders on
disability and development globally.
Nigerian First Lady Dame Patience Goodluck Jonathan, wife of President
Goodluck Jonathan, officially opened the conference - 'Linking CBR,
Disability and Rehabilitation' - and launched the guidelines at the
gathering of some 350 delegates from 30 countries in the Africa region,
the Middle East, Asia and Latin America.
The event also heard a welcome address by the Minister for Women Affairs
and Social Development, Ms. Iyom Josephine Anenih MNI, FNIM, and
included the participation of high-level Nigerian government officials,
in addition to international development partners, United Nations
agencies and CBR practitioners.
Nigerian government support for the landmark conference comes in the
wake of its recent ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and its Optional Protocol and ILO
Convention No. 159 on Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled
Persons) Convention which aim to ensure that people with disabilities
enjoy their rights on an equal basis with all others.
"The new CBR Guidelines will make a fundamental difference to the up to
80 million people with disabilities in Africa, lifting them out of
poverty, in a process that involves them centrally", said CAN Executive
Director Ms. Joan Okune.
Dr. Etienne Krug, Director of the WHO Violence and Injury Prevention and
Disability Department said "the Guidelines on community-based
rehabilitation provide an important additional tool to implement the
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and strengthen
community-based development involving people with disabilities."
Echoing this support, Rehabilitation International Secretary-General
Venus Ilagan said "the CBR Guidelines highlight the importance of all
stakeholders - including disabled persons' organisations as well as
government and social partners - working together to achieve a shared
goal of full participation with equality of persons with disabilities."
IDDC and its partners across Africa, Asia and Latin America, having
contributed to the development of the Guidelines, are expected to put
into practice this fundamental shift toward a multi-sectoral approach
involving all parts of government in partnership with people with
disabilities, their families and communities.
Speaking on behalf of the ILO, Ms. Barbara Murray, Senior Disability
Specialist, said "the Guidelines will be an essential part of the
campaign to keep the promise of the Millennium Development Goals for
people with disabilities who represent more than a one in 10 of the
worlds' population."
The new guidelines provide guidance on using CBR programmes
to implement the CRPD in low and middle income countries; promote a
strategy for community-based inclusive development; shift away from the
old approach which separated people with disabilities from the
mainstream of society to a new approach that seeks to empower and
include them in decision making; and, promote dignity and rights for
all.
To access the guidelines: http://www.who.int/disabilities/cbr/en/
Note to correspondents
The conference is being held at the Nicon Luxury Hotel in Abuja and will
conclude on Friday, 29 October. It is open to the media and disability
experts are available for interviews.
Further information contact:
Chapal Khasnabis, WHO: +41 792493545
Karen Heinicke-Motsch: +1 541 515 8535 (Co-Editor, CBR Guidelines)
Svein Brodtkorb, NAD: +47 99624407 (Chair, CBR Task Group, International
Disability and Development Consortium, IDDC)
Joan Okune, CAN: +234 (0)813 889 3947
Barbara Murray, ILO: +4176 3984554
Diane Mulligan
Programme Development Advisor
Tel: 44 (0)1444 446753
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