Charity
Danang to assist disabled people to stay independent
  • | VNS | September 17, 2011 07:07 PM

Danang plans to spend about VND437 billion (USD21 million) to assist people with disabilities in the city over the next five years, said municipal People\'s Committee vice chairman Nguyen Xuan Anh at a seminar on Thursday.

Anh said the amount would be mobilised from the local State budget, non-governmental organisations and individual sponsors.

Local authorities would create the most advantageous conditions so that handicapped people could integrate widely into the society, he said.

Participants on Thursday discussed specific schemes to support the disabled, including building houses, providing healthcare services, vocational training and information technology education programmes, and stimulating cultural and sport activities.

"The plan aims to create a favourable and friendly environment for them to take part equally in social activities and gradually improve the quality of their lives," said Nguyen Thi Thanh Hung, director of the Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

She noted that, as most disabled people were dependent on their relatives or monthly Government allowances, they were the most vulnerable group in the society and needed constant public assistance.

Danang\'s Blind Association head, Vo Van Ngo said he expected the plan, with practical steps, would significantly help the disabled in general and the blind in particular.

United States Agency for International Development\'s Vietnam mission director, Francis Donovan stressed the importance of implementing the project effectively.

Experience showed, he said, many different support services were needed to help the disabled stay independent and self reliant. If the plan was not directed well, any assistance would have little effect.

He suggested the city setting up a steering committee to monitor the new project.

According to the Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, the city has about 182,900 disabled people, or about 20.6 per cent of its total population. About 72 per cent of them have the ability to work, but most are unemployed or have unstable jobs.

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