Implementation ‘to be accelerated’

The 11th meeting of the Central Management Unit (CMU) of Medical Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities in the Earthquake-affected Areas (MRDEA) was held at ERRA’S project office here on Friday.

The meeting, which was chaired by project director MRDEA-ERRA Dr Jehanzeb Khan Aurakzai, featured a briefing about project activities, and rehabilitation of Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) in the earthquake-affected areas. Dr Aurakzai called upon MDREA’s partner organisations to step up implementation of the strategy for PWDs without further loss of time.

Dr Jehanzeb informed that a 50-bed Medical Rehabilitation Center (MRC) for patients with spinal cord injuries and a Resource Information Centre (RIC) for comprehensive Community-Based Rehabilitation (CBR) have recently been inaugurated. The concept of CBR pertains to promoting the rights of PWDs within their families, communities and leaders, thereby providing equal opportunities to them. Till now, 260 CRWs hired from the four districts are undergoing trainings. Sixty-three out of 90 days of training has been completed in the first year of the project. In the second phase, training of 70 CRWs and eight supervisors will start on June 1 in NWFP and June 8 in AJK, Dr. Aurakzai stated.

Moreover, the first training for mid-level rehabilitation workers has been completed with the collaboration of Handicapped International and MRDEA, while the second training of trainers and livelihood officers is scheduled for May 26.

Talking about the activities of the MRCs, Dr Aurakzai said, that the hubs at Muzafarrabad and Mansehra are working since December 2007 and February 2008 respectively, while those in Bagh and Shangla were operationalised in April 2008. Besides providing an effective referral mechanism and imparting information and education on the rights of PWDs, these hubs are giving comprehensive rehabilitation services including physiotherapy, psychotherapy, speech therapy and consulting doctors. As many as 3,421 patients in Muzafarrabad, 176 in Bagh, 734 in Mansehra and 19 in Shangla have been seen and provided relevant specialised services.

Professor Khalid Jameel, head of Mayo Hospital’s department of physical medicine and rehabilitation and a permanent member of the CMU, underscored the need to avoid duplication, ensure proper utilisation of resources, and meet basic minimum standards. He appreciated the activities of the project and proposed that it be converted into a national programme for disabilities as already envisaged by the Ministry of Health.

He added that excellent work has been done by the government and a few NGOs, but at the same time, some NGOs are swindling in the name of disability. He called for greater transparency in this respect.

Program manager Social Protection ERRA, Saeed Ashraf Siddique, senior planning officer NWFP and director social welfare AJK, and operational manager MRDEA-ERRA Dr Asim Niazi also shared their views on the occasion.

The meeting was attended by representatives of various local and international NGOs including Handicapped International, Helping Hand, Milestone and Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund.