Easy access to public buildings and assistance in the form of walking sticks could soon become a reality for the Batswana as government reviews its policy for the disabled.
The review was prompted by a growing concern among non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that the scope of the existing National Policy on Care for People with Disabilities needed to be broadened.
Botswana has 58,976 people living with disabilities, which is 3.5 per cent of the total population, according to the Population Census Report of 2001. The government provides monthly cash benefits of about US$10 and monthly food rations worth about $27 to all its destitute residents, including those living with disabilities.
The existing government policy has no specific rehabilitation and community integration programmes for the disabled, pointed out Gladys Kokorwe, the deputy National Assembly Speaker, while addressing members of the Quadriplegics Association of Botswana, at a recent consultation meeting in the capital, Gaborone.
She said the review process would put together practical guidelines for the policy's easy implementation. It would also contain penalties for those failing to provide facilities for the disabled, for example, bus operators, who do not provide easy and free access to public transport for the disabled, could be fined.
The reviewed policy is also likely to compel public buildings such as shopping complexes, government offices, car parks and even polling stations to provide easy access to people living with disabilities.
Wider consultations are expected to be held across the country before the policy is finalised in early 2007.
Spelling out the problems facing the disabled, Daniel Kgatshe, a senior official with the Quadriplegics Association told IRIN that many of the people living with disabilities in Bostwana, particularly in the rural areas, were still grappling with stigma. "Many disabled people live in isolation and shame behind closed doors because of their condition. Some are suffering additional emotional pains arising from embarrassment due to an inability to accept their conditions...Many people link disability with superstition and revenge for the commission of crimes. The resultant attitudes then force the disabled to hide and shy away from seeking help even when it is available."
Many also lacked both financial and material assistance in the form of aids like walking sticks and wheelchairs while many affected children could not attend school, he added.
Acting health minister Lesego Motsumi said the government was working hard to ensure that people with disabilities are fully integrated into the mainstream society and given opportunities to lead normal lives. "We must create laws and that will allow for the equal treatment of disabled people and their socio-economic participation."
NGOs have been lobbying for laws to protect the rights and freedoms of people with disabilities.
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The review was prompted by a growing concern among non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that the scope of the existing National Policy on Care for People with Disabilities needed to be broadened.
Botswana has 58,976 people living with disabilities, which is 3.5 per cent of the total population, according to the Population Census Report of 2001. The government provides monthly cash benefits of about US$10 and monthly food rations worth about $27 to all its destitute residents, including those living with disabilities.
The existing government policy has no specific rehabilitation and community integration programmes for the disabled, pointed out Gladys Kokorwe, the deputy National Assembly Speaker, while addressing members of the Quadriplegics Association of Botswana, at a recent consultation meeting in the capital, Gaborone.
She said the review process would put together practical guidelines for the policy's easy implementation. It would also contain penalties for those failing to provide facilities for the disabled, for example, bus operators, who do not provide easy and free access to public transport for the disabled, could be fined.
The reviewed policy is also likely to compel public buildings such as shopping complexes, government offices, car parks and even polling stations to provide easy access to people living with disabilities.
Wider consultations are expected to be held across the country before the policy is finalised in early 2007.
Spelling out the problems facing the disabled, Daniel Kgatshe, a senior official with the Quadriplegics Association told IRIN that many of the people living with disabilities in Bostwana, particularly in the rural areas, were still grappling with stigma. "Many disabled people live in isolation and shame behind closed doors because of their condition. Some are suffering additional emotional pains arising from embarrassment due to an inability to accept their conditions...Many people link disability with superstition and revenge for the commission of crimes. The resultant attitudes then force the disabled to hide and shy away from seeking help even when it is available."
Many also lacked both financial and material assistance in the form of aids like walking sticks and wheelchairs while many affected children could not attend school, he added.
Acting health minister Lesego Motsumi said the government was working hard to ensure that people with disabilities are fully integrated into the mainstream society and given opportunities to lead normal lives. "We must create laws and that will allow for the equal treatment of disabled people and their socio-economic participation."
NGOs have been lobbying for laws to protect the rights and freedoms of people with disabilities.
on/jk/go
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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