NAIROBI, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- Kenya marked the United Nations International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) on Friday with President Uhuru Kenyatta expressing a commitment to the mainstreaming of disability in the country's development agenda.
Kenyatta who led the nation in the observation held in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, noted that people living with disabilities were increasingly taking up leading roles in many spheres including politics.
The president directed the health ministry to ensure rehabilitation services are part of the offering to ensure that the health rights of persons living with disabilities are safeguarded in the ongoing rollout of the universal health coverage program.
He tasked the ministries of health and education to grow the number of rehabilitation professionals in line with the ongoing decentralization of the services to all levels of the country's health care delivery system.
Kenyatta also directed the two ministries to ensure a progressive increase of the human resources for rehabilitation at both national and county levels and offer support to institutions of higher learning to develop capacity for training of rehabilitation personnel.
Kenya's Ministry of Public Service, Gender, Senior Citizens Affairs and Special Programs in collaboration with the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics plans to undertake the national disability census to enable the country to have an accurate database of persons living with disabilities (PWDs).
The census exercise that will also include the technical working committee on disability intends to come up with data that will be used by ministries, agencies, and non-state actors for planning, designing and decision-making on PWDs programs and projects. Enditem