A blind woman sings on the street in Phnom Penh. Post staff
Prime Minister Hun Sen has urged the relevant institutions to improve the living standards of disabled persons in line with the national economy.
In a message to commemorate the 21st Day of Cambodian Persons with Disabilities and the 37th International Day of Persons with Disabilities, which fall on December 3, Hun Sen instructed the authorities to pay greater attention to disabled persons and reduce taxes for those who run own, family or collective businesses.
“All state institutions must encourage disabled persons who are qualified and capable of fulfilling the function, role and responsibility to apply for work and offer them employment without discrimination,” he said.
He called on the relevant authorities to develop measures to more effectively prevent disabilities, boost the morale of disabled persons, and encourage the private sector to fulfil their obligation to recruit qualified disabled persons in accordance with the law.
Hun Sen also called for all institutions to make public places more disabled-friendly.
He ordered the Ministry of Information to instruct all public and private radio and TV stations and other media outlets to widely broadcast about the importance of the wellbeing of disabled persons and to accompany their TV broadcasts with sign language and subtitles.
In his message, Hun Sen said a total of 2,860 disabled persons, 789 of them female, were given priority to work at 40 ministries and institutions this year.
All state institutions, he said, were recruiting disabled persons to reach the target rate of two per cent per year. In particular, he said 102 private institutions had registered to recruit a total of 792 disabled employees or about 2.94 per cent. Of the figure, 2,162 are women.
The prime minister said that 11,628 disabled persons in various communities had received benefits through government policies.
As an example, he said the authorities had issued land titles and built houses for many disabled persons in Kampot, Siem Reap and Banteay Meanchey provinces.
In the 2018-19 academic year, a total of 60,284 disabled persons had entered pre-school and higher education levels.
He said disabled persons had so far formed 1,950 self-help groups, while some 70 organisations dedicated to the disabled had been established.
Some 28,000 disabled persons, he said, had received rehabilitation services per year, while 247 disabled persons had received vocational and occupational training this year.
Disability Action Council (DAC) secretary-general Em Chan Makara told The Post on Sunday that it had prepared its five-year National Strategic Plan on Disability to be implemented from 2019 to 2023.
It had also laid out a nine-point plan with a particular focus on improving the quality of disabled persons and their families.
“We also pay more attention to educate [disabled persons]. DAC and the government believe that only investment in the education sector for disabled persons can lead them and their families out of poverty,” he said.
