Disability is not an illness, webinar to mark International Day of Persons with Disabilities emphasizes.

Abstract

The ECA on joined the rest of the world in marking the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) with a webinar focusing on the theme of the day; Building Back Better: toward a disability-inclusive, accessible and sustainable post COVID-19 World. Speakers noted that the ‘new normal’ was presenting a lot more challenges for people living with disabilities and applauded the Executive Secretary, Vera Songwe, and her team for going beyond the call of duty to make positive changes at the ECA to the lives of people living with disabilities. The theme reflects a growing understanding that disability is part of the human condition. Almost everyone will be temporarily or permanently impaired at some point in life, attendees heard. Despite this, a few countries and organizations have adequate mechanisms in place to respond fully to the needs of people with disabilities with good policies sometimes not being implemented. Every seventh person alive today – more than 1 billion people in total – lives with some form of disability.