- NCD Conducts Two-Day Validation Workshop for People With Disabilities
By: G. Bennie Bravo Johnson
With assistance from the United Nations Development Program, the National Commission on Disabilities will conclude a two-day validation workshop on its 2023–2027 action plan, a four-year national action plan for the inclusion of people with disabilities, today, November 9, 2022.
The two-day validation workshop, which began on November 8, 2022, brings together people with disabilities under the theme “Disability is not Inability” to review the first four-year action plan, which covers the years 2018–2022, and to provide a clear description of the goals and functions of the draft 2023–2027 national action plans.
Kathleen Deery, an international consultant on disability for UNDP, discussed the objectives and functions of the new national action plan via Zoom. She stated that the new national action plan focuses on the realities of Liberia and Africa in order to make the rights of people with disabilities a reality.
She added that the new national action plan will elaborate more on the successes of the previous 2018–22 national action plan, which had six thematic areas that provided, among other things, inclusion, and access to justice, livelihood, and education for people with disabilities.
Ms. Deery added that the NAP 2023–2027 is aligned with the national strategic disability roadmap, with the NAP focusing on the policy level and the national strategic disability roadmap emphasizing the direct implementation of the new action plan at the local level.
Louis Kuukpen, the program’s deputy resident representative, stated that the validation workshop is a realization of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and an alignment of the new NAP with national strategy, the pro-poor agenda for prosperity and development, with an emphasis on pillow one of the PAPD, which empowers the people, and the sustainable development goal matrix of “Leaving no one behind.”
During his presentation, Mr. Kuukpen pledged the UNDP’s assistance in collaborating with all stakeholders to ensure that the new national action plan is consistent with the UN convention on human rights, which states that everyone should be able to fully enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms. According to him, the NAP is carried out in accordance with the UN convention.
He stated, “Incapacity is not a disability.” Disability is a complex developmental and human rights concern. Inclusion of individuals with disabilities is a crucial component of this accomplishment and its primary objective to “leave no one behind.”
In addition, he guarantees that the UNDP is a leader in the inclusion of individuals with disabilities in the workplace, social benefits, and justice for all. People with disabilities are essential to the UNDP’s human capital, according to the agency’s strategy to eliminate discrimination and stigmatization against those with disabilities.
The new NAP is comprised of nine thematic areas, including inclusive governance, health and wellness, and access to justice.
The chairperson of the national commission on disabilities, Diantowon Domah Pay-Bayee, praised the UNDP for ensuring that the disabled community has the opportunity to ensure that their rights are respected through the commission.
Pay-Bayee added that the UNDP’s support through the national action plan ensures that people with disabilities have the opportunity to improve their education, health, and political security by ensuring that national strategies are coordinated.
