FREETOWN, Sierra Leone, 20 February 2023 - The Steering Committee of the United Nations Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD) programme in Sierra Leone held its second meeting on Monday 20 February to evaluate progress towards achieving its key objectives.
The UNPRPD programme on ‘Advancing Disability Inclusion in Sierra Leone’ was launched by the Government of Sierra Leone and the UN Country Team in August 2022. The programme is aimed at building knowledge and capacity of multi stakeholder actors involved in advancing disability inclusion, strengthening the persons with disabilities act, and enhancing monitoring of disability inclusive SDGs. The programme is implemented by UNFPA, UNDP and UNICEF, together with the Ministry of Social Welfare, the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, other government entities, organizations of persons with disabilities, and civil society.
Speaking at the Steering Committee meeting, the UN Resident Coordinator, Babatunde Ahonsi, noted that disability rights are a core element of the UN’s 2020-2024 Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework with the Government of Sierra Leone, with one of the four outcome areas of the framework focusing on ‘Protection and Empowerment of the Most Vulnerable’. He assured partners of the UN’s readiness to work collaboratively with the Government of Sierra Leone in domesticating the provisions of the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in the country, and commended the Ministry of Social Welfare and implementing partners for their interventions in capacitating stakeholders and in the review of the 2011 Persons with Disabilities Act.
The Minister of Social Welfare, Honourable Baindu Dassama-Kamara, in her statement underscored the significance of the disability inclusion programme, applauding the contributions made by the UN Country Team and partners in the implementation of the UNPRPD programme in the country. She added that the Ministry of Social Welfare is making robust strides to ensure that a revised Persons with Disabilities Bill is passed into law to strengthen protections.
The UNFPA Sierra Leone Representative, Nadia Rasheed, commended the partnership established through the programme and called for continued commitment to ensure that the programme serves as an opportunity to accelerate disability inclusion across the country’s developmental spectrum.
Presenting on the programme’s priorities and progress, the UNPRPD Programme Coordinator, Aminata Wurie highlighted that the programme has conducted a series of capacity building workshops for organization for persons with disabilities, Members of Parliament and the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities, with special attention to gender mainstreaming. An SDG monitoring platform has also been developed by Statistics Sierra Leone to help strengthen monitoring of issues related to disability inclusion, and a multi-stakeholder mechanism established to accelerate consultation and coordination among key stakeholders.
Author: Islander Kabia | Communications Intern | UNFPA Sierra Leone | e-mail: ikabia@unfp
