Transferring the mindset of health care for people with disabilities to an integrated social approach
On the afternoon of December 3, at the Party Central Committee Headquarters, General Secretary To Lam chaired a working session on the implementation of the Party and State's policies and guidelines for people with disabilities.
Speaking at the meeting, General Secretary To Lam requested that the goal must be very clear: No disabled person should be left behind. People with disabilities all have the opportunity to live better every day.
It is necessary to clarify and perfect solutions to improve access and rehabilitation for people with disabilities. The development of policies for people with disabilities in the current period must innovate thinking, shift approaches from healthcare, care to social integration approaches.
Accordingly, it is necessary to develop legal policies to approach people with disabilities according to the social model, not according to the conventional healthcare model.
The General Secretary said that in addition to supporting health care, rehabilitation, and health insurance, the state needs to focus on appropriate integrated education and vocational training policies, preferential mechanisms in recruitment, access to transport infrastructure, public works, digital transformation to allow people with disabilities to access online public services and supporting technology tools.
Social security policies must also ensure a minimum standard of living, support livelihoods, housing, and legal aid so that people with disabilities have the conditions to truly integrate. This requires raising public awareness, eliminating discrimination, promoting a barrier-free and accessible social model for all.
Along with that, it is necessary to encourage the private sector, social organizations, and communities to participate extensively in activities to support people with disabilities, create jobs, and create other friendly products and services. Review and specify the goals by 2030 that the Ministry of Health is building; expand rehabilitation services at the grassroots level, ensure that people with disabilities are regularly monitored for their health.
Localities must take responsibility if disabled children remain at home and cannot go to school
The General Secretary requested that strong solutions continue to be studied so that all disabled children can be detected early, go to school, study and integrate. Each commune and locality with disabled children still at home is the government, that locality must take responsibility. Education is the key to preventing disabled children from being left behind.
The Ministry of Education and Training needs to review the system of integrated education support centers; prioritize localities that are lacking or do not have schools for blind and deaf children, and train supporting teachers.
The General Secretary requested practical solutions, expanding employment opportunities and livelihoods for people with disabilities and having policies on this issue for people with disabilities to be equal, self-reliant, and have the opportunity to contribute to society;
Continue to study solutions to prevent, detect violence, abandonment, and discrimination against people with disabilities; need to have a friendly reporting mechanism and timely support at facilities, focus on women, children with disabilities, and the most vulnerable groups; strengthen communication and raise social awareness, spread the spirit of respect, sharing, and accompanying people with disabilities; simplify administrative procedures, remove barriers that make it difficult for people with disabilities to access legitimate rights.
The General Secretary stated that the general viewpoint is to create a new transition, take stronger and more drastic actions to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities nationwide; so that all people with disabilities have the opportunity to live safely, study, work, integrate and develop like all other citizens.
According to the report of the Ministry of Health, Vietnam currently has more than 8 million people with disabilities. People with severe and severe disabilities are entitled to monthly social allowances, health insurance cards, and support for education and study costs.
The country has 165 social assistance facilities for disabled people (104 public facilities and 61 non-public facilities) that are caring for about 25,000 people with disabilities and mental illness and manage about 80,000 people with disabilities and mental illness in the community.
