Ziguinchor, January 14 (APS) – The regional prevalence of disability is 9.3% in the Ziguinchor region (south), compared to 7.3% at the national level, a rate requiring the establishment of a multi-sectoral regional committee responsible for this issue.
“The Ziguinchor region is at 9.3 points for the population of disabled people compared to 7.3% at the national level, i.e. in absolute value a population of disabled people estimated at one million 210 thousand 736 disabled people,” he said. he declared.
The director of promoting the protection of disabled people at the Ministry of Health and Social Action spoke during a regional development committee (CRD) on the establishment of the multi-sectoral regional committee for disability management.
The deputy governor of Ziguinchor in charge of development, Alsény Bangoura, proceeded with the installation of the said committee, in the presence of health actors, department heads and administrative authorities and the regional director of Social Action, Seydou Nourou Thiam.
This governance system is built “on a pyramidal base with a technical committee for disability management at the top,” said Mr. Faty during this meeting which served as an opportunity to share the implementation status of the ATscale project.
The ATscale project aims to improve disability support both at central and peripheral levels, according to the director of the national orthopedic equipment center in Dakar, the doctor-colonel Seydina Ousmane Ba.
This project, lasting three years, will “support disabled people in the field of hearing aids and will inject significant resources into the field of learning and assistive technologies,” he said. noted.
“It will ensure complete support for assistive technology in everything that revolves around equipment, technical aids, in particular crutches, wheelchairs, glasses, among others,” detailed Seydina Ousmane Ba.
He added that the ATscale project targets orthopedic fitting centers, but also any structure offering services in the context of physical medicine.
This assistive technology project, implemented by the Ministry of Health and Social Action, in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO), targets 700,000 people in three years, according to Seydina Ousmane Ba.
As part of the implementation of the social orientation law 2010-15 relating to the rights of people with disabilities, the State is implementing the national action plan on disability for the period 2023 and 2027, recalled the director of promoting the protection of people with disabilities.
“This action plan, as well as the sectoral policy letter from the Ministry of Health and Social Action, is aligned with the new framework of national public policies relating to disability,” noted Mamadou Lamine Faty.
The establishment of a multi-sectoral regional committee for disability management in Ziguinchor “is necessary due to the high prevalence rate of disability in Ziguinchor”, where the latest statistics indicate a prevalence rate of 9.3%, reports the Deputy Governor in charge of development.
“It’s a fairly high rate,” commented Alsény Bangoura, recalling that the said committee existed “since 2013, but it had to be upgraded taking into account several factors, notably the national transformation agenda for 2050 with new visions”.
MNF/BK/ASG
