Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Hargesia (Agenzia Fides) – A call for more attention to be given to disabled children in the Somaliland region of Somalia was made on the occasion of the Day of the African Child, marked yesterday June 16. These children are very often neglected, excluded from programmes for education, healthcare or living expenses. “Denied access to structures such as schools or hospitals, people's attitude towards them and lack of public awareness and sensitivity are the real barriers against the progress of these children, not their disability”, we read in a report by Disability Action Network (DAN), the principal NGO committed to assisting children with a physical or mental disability.
Despite the Convention on the Rights of Persons with a Disability, the disabled children of Somaliland have no priority, especially regarding economic plans and grants. Somaliland has thousands of children with a physical or mental disability but only very few structures to meet their needs”. “For example, deaf children in Mogadishu attend a special school in Hargeisa, because they have no structures in their own town”. With regard to discrimination, the Constitution denies disabled people the right to hold government jobs. According to DAN, about 10% of the children in Somalia suffer from some form of disability. In Somaliland, the number is bound to rise because of refugees from neighbouring countries. The rates of infant and maternal deaths in the region are among the highest in the world, the principal causes are diarroeah, malaria and respiratory infections and access to basic services is still a challenge in many areas. (AP) (17/6/2010 Agenzia Fides)
