Focus on what children with disabilities can achieve — Unicef report

KUALA LUMPUR: Children with disabilities and their communities will both benefit if society focuses on what the children can achieve rather than what they cannot do, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef)’s ‘State of the World’s Children 2013’ report.

It says children with disabilities should not be treated or regarded simply as the recipients of charity.

The report stresses that these children have the same rights as others, among them, the right to life and opportunities that flow from good healthcare, nutrition and education, the right to express their views and participate in making decisions and to enjoy equal protection under the law.

The Malaysia launch of the report which focuses on children with disabilities was officiated here today by the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry’s deputy secretary-general Datuk Harjeet Singh in the presence of Unicef representative in Malaysia, Wivina Belmonte.

“This year, Unicef is focusing on children with disabilities because we need

to remind ourselves, policymakers and others that childen are not disabled because they can’t see, read or hear; they’re disabled because society excludes them,” Belmonte told reporters.

The 154-page document also states that experiences in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia and the Russian Federation show that access to sports and recreation will have direct benefit for children with disabilities.

It will also help raise their standing in the community as they are seen to participate alongside other children in activities valued by society, it says.

‘Discrimination on the grounds of disability is a form of oppression,’ the report says, noting that multiple deprivations will lead to even greater exclusion for many children with disabilities. — Bernama