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Courtesies

His Excellency, the Vice President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, Dr Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh

The First Lady Dr Fatima Maada Bio,

Honorable Ministers of Government,

Heads of Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies,

UN agencies and Development Partners,

Members of the Diplomatic Corp,

Country Director, Handicap International/Humanity Inclusion

Commissioner, NACSA

Relevant stakeholders on disability issues,

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen,

On behalf of the UNDP in Sierra Leone, I am honored to join the government and people of Sierra Leone and other relevant stakeholders on the occasion of commemorating the International Day of the Persons with Disabilities. Let me take the opportunity to apologize for the absence of the Resident Representative who is currently away on official mission in South Africa but who would have definitely love to be at this very important meeting.

UNDP applauds the Government of Sierra Leone in its efforts to addressing issues of exclusion and marginalization and their attendant impact on persons with disabilities in the country.

Commemorating International Days like this are not a recent phenomenon in human history. Infact it even predates the establishment of the United Nations, but the UN has embraced and internalized them as a powerful tool to educate people on burning issues, mobilize political will and resources to address global problems, and to celebrate and reinforce achievements of humanity.

The annual observance seeks to promote the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities in all domains of society and development, and to increase awareness on issues affecting persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life.

It is evident that people with disabilities are among the most excluded groups in our society and are among the hardest hit in times of crisis in terms of fatalities. Extant data suggest that there are one billion persons with disabilities in the world, with 80% of these living in developing countries. It is further estimated that of 46% of people aged 60 years and over are people with disabilities. Data also indicates that one in every five women is likely to experience disability in her life, while one in every ten children is a child with a disability.  This grim data represents a significant signpost as to where the world should prioritize and spend its efforts and resources.

Addressing disability issues is an essential condition to upholding human rights, sustainable development, and peace and security. It is also key to the pledge of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to leave no one behind. It is therefore important to note that our commitment to realizing the rights of persons with disabilities is not only a matter of justice; it is an investment in a common goal.

Therefore, the UNDP is calling for an integrated approach to ensure that persons with disabilities are not left behind.  We firmly believes that an integrated approach will not only result in effectively supporting PWD’s but will also provide us with more robust systems capable of responding to complex situations in the future.

This year’s theme on the commemoration of ID of Persons with disabilities is; ‘’Transformative Solutions for Inclusive Development: The role of innovation in building an accessible and equitable Sierra Leone for the fulfillment of the Big five game changers for persons with disabilities. This theme is aptly chosen, given that even under normal circumstances, persons with disabilities are excluded, and are less likely to access training in digital solutions, employment and participate in development projects.

In this regard UNDP is supporting the activities to contribute to the well being of the Persons with disabilities in several fronts as well as build there capacities in transformative innovation:

• Through the Timbuktoo innovation ecosystem, UNDP is currently establishing a state of the earth innovation space call UNIPOD at the Fourah Bay colleage which aims to bridge the gap between academic knowledge and real-world applications in Africa by fostering innovation, entrepreneurship, and practical skills development through cutting-edge facilities like design labs, tech transfer offices, and TVET.
• The UNIPOD offers Skills Development: Through tailored skills-building bootcamps, through which PWDs can gain industry-relevant certifications and practical expertise in areas like advanced manufacturing and clean energy.
• Offer opportunities for PWD innovators to prototype and scale solutions addressing community-specific challenges, fostering independence and entrepreneurship.
• Create employment through collaboration with industry partners to provide internships and job placements tailored to the skills and contributions of PWDs.
• UNDP encourages stakeholders, including government, Private sectors and development partners, to support initiatives that enhance the participation of PWDs in technology-driven solutions.
• Advocate for collaborative efforts to create accessible innovation hubs that cater to the diverse needs of PWDs, ensuring they are active participants in Africa's innovation journey.

UNDP is supporting policy and programming aiming to ensure that PWDs in Sierra Leone are informed, engaged and empowered to contribute to sustainable human development and resilience of their communities. We are currently supporting the review of the PWD Act 2011 to address disability issues in Sierra Leone. It is evident that the Act in its current form have established structures that provide services to persons with disabilities but some of its provisions remain unrealistic and untenable which requires revision.

Supporting the development and roll out of training manual on disability rights among duty bearers and rights holders, including lawmakers, MDAs and leadership of Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) health providers, justice sector, Parliament and NCPD to ensure relevant knowledge gaps of different training groups are appropriately addressed.  

Supporting the development of the disability development fund in Sierra Leone for the economic empowerment of PWDs. The aim is to set a funding mechanism to supplement the effort of the Government of Sierra Leone to fund development projects for PWDs. The Fund is expected to become the main source of funding Programmes for the economic empowerment of PWDs.

UNDP have rehabilitated two skills training centers in Freetown and Makeni including rehabilitation of the welding workshop, Orthopedic Center, Soap Making, Bakery buildings in Makeni and a skills training center in Freetown for which resources have been provided to the Ministry of Social Welfare for the furnishing of the rehabilitated centers this 2024 to get them operational before the end of this year.

UNDP Sierra Leone looks forward to a continued good working relationship with the Government of Sierra Leone, through the Ministry of Social Welfare NGO’s working on issues of persons with disabilities as we seek to collaboratively address perennial issues that affect the lives of PWDs in Sierra Leone.

I wish you a fruitful commemoration. Thank you.