Chairperson of National Advisory Committee on Autism Saima Hossain on Saturday said special planning should be taken to cut disaster risk of the people with disabilities.
“The people with disabilities are vulnerable during any natural and manmade disaster… So, special planning is needed for protecting lives of physically and mentally challenged people during disaster period,” she told the inaugural ceremony of Dhaka Conference on disability and disaster risk management.
The Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, the Ministry of Social Welfare and the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, the Center for Disability in Development(CDD) and the National Forum of Organization Working with the disabled(NFOWD) are jointly hosting the three-day conference at the Krishibid Institution, Bangladesh.
Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya, Bir Bikram, State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Meher Afroze Chumki, Chief of Advocacy and Outreach Section of UNISDR Dr Jerry Velasquez and Assistant Professor of International Development, School for Global Inclusion and Social Development, USA Dr Valerie Luyn Karr, among others, addressed the function with Social Welfare Secretary Tariq-Ul-Islam in the chair.
In her keynote presentation Saima said, “My grandfather (Bangabandhu) had taken necessary initiatives for rehabilitations of wounded freedom fighters.
My mother (Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina) also has followed the same path for well-being of the wounded freedom fighters as well as people with disabilities.”
Saima, said, “We have to think disaster management issue with the perspectives of physically and mentally challenged people to find out their problems facing during disaster period, which will give better input in planning process related to disaster risk reduction.”
Bangladesh is successfully leading, at many global forums, on different issues for the well-being of humankind, she said adding, “I hope Bangladesh will make similar efforts to deal with the physically and mentally challenged people for protecting their lives during disaster periods.”
Referring to hurricane storms in USA and tsunami in Japan, Saima, also Member of WHO’s Expert Advisory Panel on Mental Health, said the people with disabilities, older people, women and children in both countries were the worst sufferers during the natural disasters.
Mortality rate of psychically challenged and mentally disorder people is much higher than normal ones, she added.
