-NCD Kicks Off Nationwide Tour
The National Commission on Disabilities, NCD, has got on the move, touring the length and breadth of Liberia to assess the living conditions of people living with disabilities.
Officials say the tour marks a significant milestone in the Commission’s renewed commitment to inclusive governance and direct engagement of the disabled community nationwide.
“The tour aligns with the broader vision of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development,” an NCD statement said. The government’s ARREST Agenda promotes equity, empowerment, and national inclusion for all citizens.
The NCD’s statement said the nationwide tour is designed to create a structured platform for direct interaction between the Commission’s new leadership and persons with disabilities and across Liberia’s fifteen political subdivisions.
According to the statement, the nationwide tour also seeks to strengthen collaboration, assess prevailing conditions, and gather firsthand information that would inform policy reforms and programmatic interventions.
NCD’s Acting Executive Director, Wright, said the decision to visit rural communities and remote towns reflects a leadership philosophy rooted in service to the people, transparency, and inclusion of all Persons with Disabilities.
“This tour represents more than an assessment exercise; it is a demonstration of our commitment to listening, learning, and acting in the best interest of us, Persons with Disabilities throughout the country,” Wright said.
He further assured that the NCD is determined to ensure that no person with disability is left behind, regardless of geographic location.
Despite previous interventions by government and partners, the overall landscape for Persons with Disabilities in Liberia continues to present significant challenges. Many of us as PWDs continue to face persistent discrimination, limited access to quality education, unemployment or underemployment, inadequate healthcare services, and exclusion from mainstream economic and social systems.
The NCD notes that this initiative represents the first-ever nationwide outreach tour since its establishment in 2005, undertaken by a sitting head of the Commission to directly engage with his community members across the country.
Wright said despite existing resource constraints; he is determined to advance the Commission’s mandate of advocacy, regulation and coordination for the wellbeing and welfare for the all Persons with Disabilities. as well as fully implementing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) for inclusive governance in Liberia.
“The National Commission on Disabilities remains committed to advocating for the rights, dignity, empowerment, and full participation of Persons with Disabilities in Liberia’s national ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development.” The NCD Executive Director noted.
Write disclosed that the tour has so far covered Bomi, Grand Cape Mount, Gbarpolu, Grand Bassa, Margibi, Nimba, Grand Gedeh and Maryland counties.
