“Children with disabilities encounter different forms of exclusion and are affected to varying degrees.” This is the conclusion of the 2013 Edition of the State of the World’s Children Report.Children of the Ptolemy Reid Rehabilitation Centre perform a dance at the ceremony to launch the State of the World’s Children 2013 Report.This state of affairs, the Report adds, is allowed to prevail in many territories primarily because of neglect.The Report, which is recognised as the United Nations Children’s Fund’s (UNICEF) flagship publication, is one that usually seeks to zero-in on various issues affecting the lives of children across the world. This year the focus of the Report is on disability with a view to examine how this issue affects children.The Report was officially launched by Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, on Thursday, an undertaking that was done simultaneously with the re-dedication of a playground at the National Park which is now deemed disability friendly.The 2013 State of the World’s Children Report is expected to guide the way forward for countries around the world to deal with the problem of disability as it scrutinises the barriers that affect disabled children.These barriers that it outlines could range from inaccessibility to buildings and dismissive attitudes to invisibility in official statistics and vicious discrimination. The factors detailed, the Report emphasises, can effectively deprive children with disabilities of their rights and keep them from participating fully in society.Moreover, the publication, which has been regarded as timely by Minister Manickchand, also lay out some of the key elements of inclusive societies that not only respect but protect the rights of children with disabilities.The need for adequate support to disabled children and their families is also outlined as a paramount support feature even as moves are made to nurture their abilities so that they can take advantage of opportunities and make their contribution to the world.The Report also emphasised that “children with disabilities are not problems” but rather are individuals who should be given opportunities to flourish much the same as others.In fact, “Children with disabilities have the potential to lead fulfilling lives and to contribute to the social, cultural and economic vitality of their communities…” if given the chance.However, thriving and surviving for children with varying forms of disabilities can be especially difficult as they are at greater risk of being poor than peers without disabilities,Cheap NFL Jerseys Supply, the UNICEF publication states. “Even where children share the same disadvantages – of poverty or membership in a minority group – those with disabilities confront additional challenges as a result of their impairments and the many barriers that society throws in their way,” the Report underscores.Moreover, the Report examines that while children living in poverty are among the least likely to enjoy the benefits of education and health care, it is observed that children who live in poverty and have a disability are even less likely to attend their local school or clinic.According to Planning Officer within the local Education Ministry,Authentic NFL Jerseys Wholesale, Evelyn Hamilton, while there have been some deliberations under which entity the care of disabled persons fall, there are two factors that are uppermost in the minds of such persons and their families. These, she said, are education and being able to access a job,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, adding that one in a sense is very dependent on the other.It was against this very background that Minister of Education,CHeap NFL Jerseys China, Priya Manickchand,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, has taken proactive steps to shortly put in place a five-year Action Plan to address disability as it relates to education.But according to the Report, in many countries, responses to the situation of children with disabilities are largely limited to institutionalisation, abandonment or neglect. “These responses are the problem, and they are rooted in negative or paternalistic assumptions of incapacity, dependency and difference that are perpetuated by ignorance,” the Report added. It was noted too that “unless this change, children with disabilities will continue to have their rights neglected; to experience discrimination,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, violence and abuse; to have their opportunities restricted; to be excluded from society.”It was therefore highlighted that commitment is the needful element to ensure that the future of children plagued with disabilities are given priority as a matter of equity and for all to benefit. |