Groups fronting the interest of persons with disabilities in the Centre region of Cameroon have resolved to create a single unit for unified purposes.

They acted on this resolve at a March 09, 2023 session with supervision from the United Nations Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Central Africa, the Ministry of Social affairs and other rights bodies. The institutions are unified under a platform known as the Inclusive Society for persons with Disabilities.

Prior to the working session to put in place the components of the said platform, the Centre Regional Delegate for Social Affairs, Rachel Sylvie Edimo Mbappe expressed her delight with the initiative.

“… Government policy on the protection and promotion of vulnerable social groups,” the official stated, “is committed to promoting the well-being and development of people with disabilities, with a view to making them actors of sustainable development.”

The platform, she furthered, will become a veritable tool for dialogue between the organisations and government for common action on issues relating to people with disabilities and their organizations: “It is only through intelligent alliances of our technical skills and our material and financial resources that we will mark significant steps towards the well-being and development of people with disabilities in Cameroon. This is why I ask you to spare no effort to support actions in favor of inclusion…” she urged them.

Participating in the deliberations, were 32 representatives from disability-inclined organisations in Yaounde, and 11 others from other divisions across the region. Implementing partners include the United Nations Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Central Africa, the Ministry of Social Affairs and its Centre regional and divisional delegations, the Cameroonian Network of Human Rights Organisations, and the Cameroon Human Rights Commission.

The platform has as specific objectives, federating organizations advocating for disability inclusiveness in the centre region, reinforcing their performance capacities, putting in place a framework to accompany them in their daily tasks, and the creation of a regional coordination office.

Persons with disability in Cameroon, it should be recalled continue to face different forms of discrimination and disregard in public life. In addition to the lack of inclusive polices, many continue to decry the absence of adequate infrastructure to facilitate their mobility even in public buildings.