More than a year after the Cabinet approved the National Policy on Persons with Disabilities, a move widely welcomed by both activists and communities of people with disabilities, there has been little progress in making public services and public facilities more inclusive. The policy had been expected to help accelerate efforts toward easing access to public services for people living with disability and, while it was in itself a step in the right direction and it’s still too early to question its impact, it has yet to live up to its promise. Most of the interventions designed to ensure inclusion of PLWDs remain fragmented and are primarily driven by the community of persons with disabilities. For instance, while some health personnel have trained in sign language (albeit to a limited degree), there has been no notable progress in other key sectors like the legal profession, public transport, and even education. The construction sector also continues to fall short, even in government-led housing projects. There is a need for greater efforts to sensitise the public on the need to integrate inclusion of people with disabilities in their services and projects, and to fully enforce the law as far as inclusive is concerned. Indeed, inclusion – of any kind – should not be a favour; it’s a requirement under the Constitution. Inclusion, including physical access and sign language, must be scaled up in all key professions and public services, as well as incorporating inclusive practices in mainstream schools and concepts for public facilities. But this can only happen if backed by a deliberate effort across the board. One of the ways this can be done is to require different professions and workplaces to hire sign language interpreters and to train more professionals in sign language, and to streamline the needs of PLWD in all public services and projects. Ensuring disability inclusion across all sectors would allow for full participation of people living with disabilities in all spheres of life, which is a fundamental right granted to them by the Constitution.
