News

Volume 6 Issue 2 - July 01, 2009

Core Group on Health to look into disability certificates

D.N.I.S. News Network, India: N.C.P.E.D.P. has launched a three year project –“Mainstreaming of Disability in the National Agenda – Policy to Practice” in partnership with the British High Commission to focus on 5 key issues – health, employment, accessibility, communication & information technology and rural development.

As a part of this, a Core Group on Health has been constituted to look into the issue of easy access to disability certificates; integrating disability in existing health schemes and provision of good quality aids and appliances.

The Core Group will focus on ensuring that every single disabled person in the country is able to get a Disability Certificate with ease and dignity, within 30 days. Getting a Disability Certificate for most disabled people is an uphill battle even in metros. It is a tedious process which takes much too long with. To add to that, a disabled person has to make innumerable visits to meet a panel that issues the certificate.

In addition to this core issue, the Group is free to take up any other issue that it feels is relevant.

Radhika M. Alkazi, Managing Trustee & Director of Alternative Strategies for the Handicapped (A.S.T.H.A.) will be the Convenor of the Group with Javed Abidi, Honorary Dirctor, N.C.P.E.D.P. as the Co-convenor.

Members include Arun Rao, A. S. Narayanan, J.P. Gadkari, Kapil Kumar Agarwal, Ketan Kothari, Shampa Sengupta, T.D. Dhariyal, Vineet Chawdhry and Arvind Prasad. The special invitees include Rama Chari, Sakshi Broota, Helen Mahtani and Muthamma B. Devaya.

A meeting of the Core Group is going to be held on July 23.