City Desk :
The 32nd International Day of Persons with Disabilities and the 25th National Disabled Day-2023 will be observed in the country on Sunday.
Proceeding the significant day, a landmark collaborative initiative convened on Saturday UN agencies, Sightsavers, and Organizations of People with Disabilities (OPDs) at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) in Dhaka, reports media.
The event unfolded under the theme “United in action to rescue and achieve the SDGs for, with, and by persons with disabilities,” emphasizing the critical importance of advancing disability rights and inclusion.
Prime Minister’s Principal Coordinator for SDG Affairs, Md Akhter Hossain, and former principal coordinator for SDG affairs, Zuena Aziz, attended the event, reaffirming the high-level commitment to the cause.
Akhter Hossain emphasized the need for strengthened alignment between national Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) indicators and disability inclusion, setting the tone for discussions on advancing these critical goals.
In her welcome speech, Sightsavers Country Director, Amrita Rejina Rozario, underscored the necessity of a collaborative approach to propel disability rights and inclusion to the forefront of the national agenda in Bangladesh.
UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh, Gwyn Lewis, and other UN officials shared valuable insights on global and local initiatives aimed at promoting disability rights and fostering inclusion.
Aminul Arifeen, the national project manager of SSPS program at UNDP, and Ayon Debnath, advocacy, communication coordinator & campaign lead at Sightsavers, presented the keynote paper.
They stressed the urgency of reinforcing the implementation of the Rights and Protection of Persons with Disabilities, even a decade after its enactment.
The event comprised two panel discussions covering various thematic areas and introduced a journalists’ forum on disability to enhance media engagement and awareness.