Govt continue to exclude people with disabilities from social protection programmes
The majority of disabled people, according to the Lilongwe City Disability Citizen Forum (LCDCF), are excluded from social security programs including social cash transfers and the Affordable Input Program (AIP).
Charles Banda, the chairperson of the Lilongwe District Disability Forum, which is affiliated with the Federation of Disability Organizations in Malawi (FEDOMA), was speaking during at an awareness meeting on Tuesday in Lilongwe that was organized by the National Initiative for Civic Education (Nice Trust).
According to Banda, FEDOMA has been interacting with government representatives in a number of forums, such as the National Economic Empowerment Fund (NEEF), in an attempt to obtain soft loans so they may launch some independent enterprises, but their efforts have not been successful.
“Very few individuals with disabilities are benefiting from social protection programs and other socio-economic programs, despite the government having actually laid down procedures to actually reach out to persons with disabilities,” he noted. “This is because some officials are actually not well informed about disability issues.”
In particular, when it comes to social cash transfer concerns and other associated issues like AIP, Banda said that “some of such people are block leaders and traditional leaders, who actually are not willing to take people with disabilities on board.”
The chairperson of the Lilongwe District Disability Forum went on to say that although the government has implemented certain measures, individuals with disabilities continue to face hardships. “However, we’re also alerting the government, telling them that it’s past due for them to follow up so that individuals with disabilities can also benefit.”
But he made hints that in spite of everything the government has done, including passing inclusive laws and policies, people with disabilities are not really receiving assistance.
Then, Gerald Nankhwende, the chair of the Lilongwe City Disability Citizen Forum (LCDCF), a group of eight organizations in the city that assist people with disabilities, gave an example of how, in contrast to those deemed capable, the majority of their people did not receive much-needed relief following a natural disaster.
As the nation gets ready for the upcoming general elections, Nankhwende warned politicians that they must change the narrative since they consistently make empty promises to voters with disabilities.
“We ask the President and all politicians to start working towards supporting and including us in most life-changing programs, as we know that we are in a campaign period, even though our cry has not been heard in a while,” he said.
Hajira Ali, the Lilongwe Urban District Programmes Officer for NICE Trust, stated that the organization chose to hold awareness sessions for people with disabilities since Nice runs a program through Boma Lathu that targets underprivileged populations, some of whom include people with disabilities.
“We talked about empowerment and issues that impact people with disabilities, realizing that they have rights that should be defended,” Ali clarified. Among the problems that surfaced were the fact that they are being left out of the majority of government initiatives and programs, such as social protection, which includes social cash transfers and AIP.
She consequently counseled everyone with a disability to attempt working in groups and to get in touch with authorities or duty bearers to voice their concerns and get them addressed.
Eight community-based organizations are members of the Lilongwe City Disabilities Citizens Forum (LCDCF), which was founded to facilitate the simple exchange of knowledge and information.
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