President commends efforts to integrate people living with disabilities but says ‘more still needs to be done’

President Savarin & wife (right) at a previous AGM of The Dominica Association of Persons with Disabilities (DAPD). From the left are former DAPD president, Michael Murphy and his wife Nathalie Murphy who is the organization’s Executive Director

President of Dominica, His Excellency Charles Savarin, has called for the removal of barriers to allow persons with disabilities to be given full participation in all spheres of society.

He made the statement as Dominica observed International Day of Persons with Disabilities on Friday.

 “This annual occasion is a great opportunity for us all to take actions towards making a world in which we live more inclusive for everyone,” The President said. “This could not be done in isolation. There has to be full and active participation of  the disability community, thus the importance of removing all barriers to the full and active participation of all persons living with both visible and invisible disabilities in all spheres of society and development, and this cannot be over emphasized.”

According to Savarin, this can be achieved through universal and inclusive design which makes provision for the design of products, programmes and services to be usable by all people to the greatest extent possible .

He said individuals must therefore, play their part and commit to working together to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons living with disabilities and to promote respect for their inherent dignity.

“We, here in Dominica, ought to be proud of the efforts and progress made so far in creating an enabling environment to allow persons with disabilities to live independently and participate fully in all aspects of life, but more still needs to be done,” Savarin stated.

International Day of Persons with Disabilities (December 3) is an international observance promoted by the United Nations since 1992.  The observance of the Day aims to promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities.

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1 Comment

  1. December 6, 2021

    KWA tried with much effort to get duty free giving prosthetic legs for zero $ and they never get threw. The Keep Walking Association project was conceived in France in July 2015 by three victims of road accidents who had to have various degrees of amputation to continue their lives.
    The goal of the KWA friends association is to help lower limb amputees in the small islands of the Caribbean archipelago. Many of these small islands do not have support systems or health care for tibial and femoral prostheses. Over the years in contact with prosthetic manufacturers, many refurbished leg prostheses and necessary components have been collected in France to be donated to those in need in the Caribbean. Professional volunteer orthopedists

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