Fifteen-Point Attention Letter on Disability Rights Submitted to Gandaki Health Minister

  September 30, 2024 By: INSEC

INSEC, along with other organizations, submitted a 15-point attention letter to the Health Minister of the Gandaki Provincial Government on 27 September, Krishna Prasad Pathak. Shiva Prasad Khakurel, coordinator of INSEC Gandaki Province, informed that the letter was submitted to Minister Pathak by INSEC, the National Federation of the Disabled-Nepal (NFDN), and the Independent Living Center, demanding the rights of persons with disabilities.

They demand to ensure that hospitals, health posts, and offices in Gandaki Province are made disability-friendly. The attention letter highlights the need for arrangements beyond just wheelchair access, including tactile indicators and information boards with sign language to accommodate individuals with various types of disabilities.

Necessary Actions for Health and Rehabilitation of Individuals with Disabilities

  • To make hospitals, health posts, and health-related organizations across Gandaki Province disability-friendly/accessibility-compliant.This involves more than just providing wheelchair access; it requires implementing provisions that cater to all types of disabilities. For example, tactile indicators should be available for individuals with visual impairments, while information boards featuring sign language should be provided for those with hearing impairments.
  • Establishment of disability support units in hospitals, equipped with Nepali sign language interpretation.
  • Separate wards for the health treatment of individuals with psychosocial disabilities.
  • Set up units for physiotherapy as well as other therapies such as speech and occupational therapy.
  • Provide medications used by individuals with psychosocial disabilities free of charge from local health posts.
  • Ensure necessary factor treatments for individuals with hemophilia are available for free.
  • Arrangement of accessible safe houses within hospitals for individuals with disabilities who have experienced violence in collaboration with OCMC.
  • Provision of necessary assistive materials for individuals with disabilities, including measurements, directly from hospitals.
  • Orient healthcare workers employed in various organizations on disability-related issues.
  • Provision of training for health volunteers on disability, classifications of disabilities, the concept of disability, and disability identification.
  • Include assistive materials and rehabilitation services in health insurance.
  • Ensure free health insurance for all types of individuals with disabilities.
  • Develop and implement a province-level rehabilitation strategy related to health.
  • Redefine assistive materials as essential services rather than goods.
  • Develop profiles for individuals with disabilities who require assistive materials and health-related services.

 


Sanjaya Ranabhat