The Punjab government in collaboration with an NGO-Lahore Businessmen Association for Rehabilitation of Disabled (Labard), was going to celebrate special week for special children. Punjab Special Education Minister Qudsia Lodhi stated this while speaking at a seminar on 'Services available to special persons and efforts for their rehabilitation with participation of government departments and NGOs' arranged by Labard here on Saturday.
"For the first time, the Punjab government was giving special emphasis on special persons", she said, adding the provincial government would air a programme on PTV for creating awareness among people about special persons.
Inexperienced midwives were main cause of disabilities among children, and there was a need to educate midwives at the village level, she suggested.
Qudsia Lodhi said the provincial government has evolved a strategy under which centres for special persons would be established in all tehsils of the province, and also promised for the allocation of a special grant from Punjab CM's fund for the rehabilitation of special persons. She also lauded the role of Labard in creating awareness among special persons.
Speaking on the occasion, Labard President Pervaiz Malik said the Association aims at disseminating information about the services available for the disabled, adding: "We believe that only employment provides total rehabilitation, the reason why it remains to be our focus."
He said Labard offers free medical treatment to correct disabilities, supply prosthetics and cornea grafting to improve functionality; educational and vocational courses to strengthen knowledge and ability; outright grants, interest-free loans to those unable to commute to workplace; and advocacy to protect rights and eliminate discrimination.
LCCI President Mian Misbah-ur-Rehman, in his speech, said it should be the responsibility of the government to provide all such facilities, but in the developing economies like Pakistan, the government due to limitations fails to undertake initiatives like the rehabilitation of the disabled beyond ensuring a seat for handicapped candidates in government jobs.
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