The Minister of Gender and Family Promotion (MIGEPROF) Dr Jeanne d'Arc Mujawamariya has called for support to persons with disabilities.

She made the call yesterday at the launch of the five-year strategic plan of ANFSMR-Umucyo, a national association of women with hearing impairments, a function at which she said that such people require special treatment to ensure that they are fully integrated in their communities.

The plan aims at conducting more quality interventions by reaching out to more vulnerable women and girls with such impairments and addressing their problems.

"Persons with disabilities need special treatment by the public because they are victims of double discrimination and stigma in the society,” she said.

Mujawamariya hailed ANFSMR-Umucyo for their strategic plan saying that it is aligned to the national strategies and clearly contributes to the achievement of Millennium Development Goals.

She stressed that this plan will be effective in the promotion of education, sustaining   socio- economic   initiatives and health related interventions, with a particular focus on the fight against HIV and AIDS.  

"No Rwandan will be left behind in terms of development, vulnerable or not. We should move on together as one family,” she emphasised.

The minister encouraged the physically challenged to have hope in whatever they do, adding that they should start cooperative societies to foster their development.

She told them that soon, sign language will be incorporated on the national television so that they are able to watch and understand aired programmes.

According to Pélagie Muhorakeye, the chairperson of ANFSMR-Umucyo, her organisation undertakes activities in the areas of advocacy, economic empowerment and   promotion of health in favour of persons with hearing deficiencies in general and in particular women.

"Our strategic plan aims at integrating  interventions by the organization in a well-defined framework to achieve the main mission of ANFSMR,” she said.

She added that women and girls with such impairments are prone to abuses such as rape, humiliation, sexual and mental abuse as well as gender based violence.

Muhorakeye explained that, the strategies detailed in the plan were formulated on the basis of gaps and challenges identified while conducting an assessment of their organizational capacity.

ANFSMR was created in 2005 by a group of women living with hearing disabilities.

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