Persons with disabilities have asked the government to expedite the Rwanda Social Security Board (RSSB)’s move to ease access to prosthetic devices through community health insurance (mutuelle de sante) scheme, as they are out of reach for many.

The appeal was made last Saturday during national celebrations to mark the International Day for Persons with Disabilities, in Rwamagana District.

The celebrations aim to promote an understanding of disability issues and increase awareness of gains to be derived from the integration of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life.

Francis Kaboneka, the Minister for Local Government and Social Affairs, commended the PWDs for striving for better lives.

He asked the community to continue supporting PWDs and fight stigma and discrimination against them.

"We still hear reports of some parents hiding their disabled children from the public. We ask them to change their behaviors and recognise that disability is not inability, let children come out of isolation to benefit from available opportunities that can help them to lead independent lives in the future as other citizens,” he said.

Kaboneka also asked the PWDs to join hands to end the culture of begging.

He said that there is financial support provided to the needy in the community which they have a right to and use it responsibly to lift themselves out of poverty other than going to the street to beg.

Romalis Niyomugabo, the president of the National Council for Persons with Disabilities (NCPD), commended the government for its efforts in promoting inclusion of disabled people in communities over the years.

He cited hindrances to achieving independent lives, unaffordable prosthetic devices and high unemployment rate among their main challenges.

"We consider improving mobility of people with disabilities a key priority, which will effectively open opportunities to more PWDs to lead independent and active lives. In our advocacy work we met all the stakeholders, including the Ministry of Health and the RSSB and now we think it ‘s time for action,” Niyomugabo said.

He also said that they have been equipping some PWDs with technical skills to promote employment but funding is still limited that leaves many others still unemployed.

Therefore, we need more support to reach more people especially the youth, he said. 

Also, according to the NCPD, children with disabilities are facing challenges – accessing education, some due to lack of assistive devices to enable their movement from home to school and others due to inaccessibility of infrastructure at schools.

"We believe that access to education is the key to enable PWDs to be self-reliant and contribute to the development of the country. We ask the government to consider making the infrastructure accessible for all to make sure no child is left behind because of disability,” Niyomugabo added.

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