Assistant Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation Veena Bhatnagar says people with disabilities are first and foremost people.
While speaking at the International Day for Persons with Disabilities celebration, Bhatnagar says 10 percent of the Fijian population is estimated to be made up of persons living with disabilities, or more accurately, persons with special abilities.
She says these persons are equally entitled to constitutional equality and human rights.
The Assistant Minister says it is also a sad reality that many times persons living with disabilities are often discriminated against.
Bhatnagar says it is sad to note that people with disabilities are at much higher risk of violence.
She says for example, children with disabilities are almost four times more likely to experience violence than non‑disabled children and adults with some form of disability are 1.5 times more likely to be a victim of violence than those without a disability and adults with mental health conditions are at nearly four times the risk of experiencing violence.
Bhatnagar says the Fiji National Council for Disabled Persons has been allocated funding of $1.2 million dollars.
She says government has also allocated $7 million as a separate allowance for persons with permanent disabilities.
She says $1.1million is provided as grants to Disability Provider Organizations serving disabled persons and $120,000 has been allocated to promote participation of disabled persons in sporting activities.
She adds government has provided funding to the Fiji Roads Authority to ensure that new roads and footpaths are disabled‑friendly and provide easy access.
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