The World Health Organisation estimates that around 15 per cent of the world's population or approximately one billion people live with disabilities. In T&T however, there is no mechanism to gather information on disabilities, including the nature and incidence.
This lack of clear data poses a serious challenge as the Government seeks to improve the delivery of social services to people with disabilities. The Ministry of the People and Social Development recently took a step to address this issue by hosting the first Stakeholder Consultation for the establishment of a National Register of People with Disabilities in T&T.
A national register of people with disabilities is a nationwide record of citizens with disabilities which will help the government and other stakeholders, to better understand and provide services for this community. National registers can either be established through legislation or on a voluntary basis.
T&T became a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2007. The convention aims to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all people with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity.
Further it requires governments to collect information and data on people with disabilities both for planning purposes and international reporting. Speaking of the proposed register at the recently held consultation, Michael Reid, Director of the Disability Affairs Unit at the Ministry of the People and Social Development said, "It will provide essential data on key areas such as causes, types and incidences of impairment and disability as well as the economic and social living conditions of people with disabilities, their families and or caregivers."
Registers have already been established through legislation in the United Kingdom, Guyana, Ecuador and Bahamas. The United States of America and Jamaica in comparison use a voluntary system to collect data on people with disabilities.
The data collected by this register will ensure that the Ministry of the People and Social Development has the required information to develop and operate programmes targeting the needs of people with disabilities.
The proposed register possesses tremendous potential for multi-sectorial applications across other Ministries, including Health, Transport, Education, Tertiary Education and Skills Training, Sport and Public Administration to name a few. The establishment of a register of people with disabilities will bring disability sensitive programmes into all public services for citizens of T&T.
Charlene Ford, advocate of the local chapter of Disabled Persons International (TTDPI) and president of the T&T Association for Differently Abled Persons, noted that "the data can be used to inform decisions made by other critical ministries in the areas of healthcare, works and infrastructure, transportation, education and disaster preparedness, and management."
Shamla Maharaj, a graduate of the University of the West Indies who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, said she was in full support of the initiative as it, "This will help the Government to make proper decisions concerning persons with disabilities."
Most registers involve a simple three-step process for establishment including assessment and eligibility, application and finally registration of successful applications. Data privacy and security are some of the key challenges associated with the establishment of a register of people with disabilities.
The establishment of a national register of people with disabilities is another step on the path to evidenced based policy and planning, and an improvement in the delivery of services to the community of people with disabilities in T&T.