The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Dhaka

Finance Adviser Dr Mirza Azizul Islam yesterday urged the bilateral and multilateral donors and development partners to extend their support for the overall protection and development of persons with disabilities in the country.

"Without your active support for the development of persons with disabilities, no country, no region, no continent could practically prosper," he said while addressing the closing session of the 3rd general assembly and conference of the Asia Pacific Disability Forum (APDF) in the yesterday afternoon.

The National Forum of Organization Working with the Disabled (NFOWD) and APDF in cooperation with the government, organized the three-day assembly at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Center. The Finance Adviser said there are 600 million people with disabilities worldwide and a majority of them live in the developing countries. "This large section of the population, if left untapped and uncared for, will always pull down the economy."

He thanked the World Bank for committing US$25 million for the overall protection and development of the persons with disabilities in Bangladesh. "This one example, I hope, will encourage others in this direction," he said.

Earlier, on Wednesday (Feb 27), Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed inaugurated the three-day general assembly and conference at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Center, attended by some 456 participants from 27 countries including host Bangladesh.

Among participants, some 114 were people with disabilities. The theme of the conference was 'Disability and Development-Practical Strategies'.