HÀ NỘI — The number of people accessing the State’s and community’s priority policies and programmes is increasing, said Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Đào Ngọc Dung.

Minister Dung was speaking at the anniversary to mark the International Day for Persons with Disability December 3.

Việt Nam has around 6.2 million people over the age of two with disabilities, making up 7.06 per cent of the country’s population.

Of those, 28 per cent are severely disabled, 58 per cent female, 28 per cent children and 10 per cent living in poverty.

Most live in rural areas and many are victims of Agent Orange.

Minister Dung said in the past, the State, the Party and Vietnamese people had paid much care to persons with disability.

Việt Nam ratified the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability in 2014.

In March this year, the country ratified the International Labour Organisation’s Convention 159 about jobs for persons with disability.

It strongly confirmed Việt Nam’s commitment ensuring the disabled would not be discriminated at work.

Last month, the Secretariat Committee issued the Instruction 39 about the Party’s leading work on affairs related to people with disability. The National Assembly later ratified the amended Law on Labour with many adjustments relating to disabled people.

Dung said that every year, millions of disabled people receive an allowance from the State and all of provinces and cities had rehabilitation centres.

Organisations for them have also been expanded

Attending the event, Trương Thị Mai, head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Mass Mobilisation, said besides the achievements, Việt Nam still sees many obstacles.

Infrastructure is still limited demand for people with disability and many live below the poverty line depending heavily on their families.

Mai asked organisations to improve education to raise people’s awareness of the meaning of supportive work to persons with disability.

Sectors and localities should draft policies to their sustainable development strategy.

This year, more than VNĐ17 trillion (US$735.4 million) from the State budget was allocated to provinces and cities to implement policies for people with disability, according to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

Support for visual impaired

The Ministry of Planning and Investment on Thursday launched the programme “White stick for Vietnamese visual impaired people”.

Its aim is to present one million white sticks to visually impaired people across the country.

Training to use the device will also be provided.

Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyễn Chí Dũng said the ministry will listen to disabled people’s demands and wishes and put them into its policies so that no one were left behind.

Deputy chairwoman of the National Assembly Tòng Thị Phóng said Việt Nam has committed to developing socio-economy, taking care of social equality and improving social management ability.

“To ensure no one was left behind, we need kind-hearted persons. And the programme is the connection of kind-hearted persons,” she said. — VNS