An online portal has been launched to help people easily access information concerning people living with disabilities in Rwanda.

Dubbed Resource Map, the system was launched on Tuesday in Kigali by the National Council of Persons with Disabilities (NCPD) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Emmanuel Ndayisaba, the Executive Secretary of NCPD, said Resource Map will help connect people living with disability with stakeholders wishing to support them.

"Due to lack of information about people living with disability in Rwanda, there has been poor coordination between different stakeholders and, therefore, rights of people with disability were not being addressed in a sufficient manner,” he noted.

Ndayisaba noted that some people living with disability do not know which organisations and people to approach for help.

He believes that this system will be an efficient platform through which anyone in this category would find help and air their challenges to be addressed by the responsible parties.

Ndayisaba called upon well-wishers and companies to maintain support for people living with disability in ways such as facilitating their access to education and health services.

He commended JICA for its contribution in the ICT sector in Rwanda through such innovations, which he said make people with disability feel accepted and useful in society.

With Resource Map, people with disabilities will no longer need to make unnecessary movements as service providers would be ready locate them.

Tomonori Nagase, senior representative of JICA in Rwanda said the system will be able to address many challenges of PLWDs such as lack of essential equipment like wheel chairs and walking sticks among others.

Nagase added that through this platform, the rights of people with disability will be respected since accessing information about them will be effective through this online system.

Through the system people with disability will be able to acquire various services as more people will be able to come up and offer help, he said.

NCPD and Tumba College of Technology are discussing technical cooperation for maintaining and improving the system for effective and efficient use, according to officials.

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