More needs to be done for the disabled

December 3 was the UN International Day for Persons with Disabilities. Although the day may have passed, it gave us an opportunity to celebrate the milestones and achievements we have realised as a country in ensuring that the more than 6.5 million Kenyans with disabilities are emancipated.

For decades, disability issues have been ignored and remained absent from national deliberations in many countries including Kenya.

The disabled have always been left behind in many development plans and projects despite the fact that the Kenya Constitution is all-inclusive.

The true value of any culture is found in how it treats its most vulnerable members. Kenya’s national values and principles of governance, including equality, inclusiveness, non-discrimination and protection of the marginalised, clearly indicate that our country, ideally, advocates equal opportunity.

In her steps towards equality, Kenya ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in May 2008, a legal framework to commit to the advancement of the rights and welfare of persons with disabilities.

It is also in August 2018 that the proposed Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2018 was approved.

The bill places emphasis on a human rights approach towards the realisation of the rights of persons with disabilities in Kenya, and social responsibility to protect and promote them.

Having played a critical role in steering the development of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that are driven by the principle of “leave no one behind”, Kenya demonstrated to the world its leadership and support for the disabled as it co-hosted the Global Disability Summit in July with the UK in London.

Like in many other areas, Kenya has put in place progressive policy and legal frameworks with the intention of improving the lives of the disabled.

These, for instance, include the Persons with Disabilities Act of 2003 that among other provisions require adjustments to public buildings to make them accessible, public transport to be made accessible and infrastructure in general to be more accommodating.

There is also the five percent quota in employment, public appointment and/or election of persons with disabilities provided for both in the act and the Constitution.

However, the implementation of these and many other policies and legal frameworks have been weak. As we get into the 2019 population census, persons with disabilities should be counted.

National and county governments should ensure they prioritise those with disabilities in their programmes.

The government and the relevant agencies need to put in place a reliable, timely and appropriate segregated data and information system that can guarantee regular updates of data on the disabled to inform policy formulation, development planning, service delivery and the participation of people with disability in national development.