Register soon for disabled people

MARLENE AUGUSTINE

JACINTA Bailey, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services, said a register will soon be established to capture a nationwide record of people with disabilities in TT.

Bailey said the ministry has already entered the phases of implementation of the project in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme, and that socio-economic planning and programming for the national community of people with disabilities is evidence-based.

She said the register will enable greater precision in the protection and accounting, targeting of programmes, improved allocation of resources, and a better quality of life for citizens with disabilities.

“The ministry is fully aware that employment continues to be a challenge to people with disabilities, including people living with Down Syndrome. To this end, the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services is also currently exploring the feasibility of an employment pilot project. This project once successful, would create many opportunities for people with disabilities, including those individuals living with Down Syndrome, “Bailey said.

She was speaking at the UN World Down Syndrome Day Conference at the Hyatt Regency, Port of Spain, on Wednesday. Bernard Moses, co-ordinator of Child Development in the Office of the Prime Minister (Gender and Child Affairs), said according to the World Health Organisation, the incidence of Down Syndrome ranged between one in 1,000 to one in 1,100 live births worldwide.

He said in TT there were 14 reported live births per 1,000 people, while the number of children born with Down Syndrome is not captured in TT’s census.

“In the 1920s the average life expectancy for a person born with an extra chromosome was nine years. Just a generation ago, the average life expectancy was 25 years.

“Today, due to advancements in technology and medicine, 80 per cent of people born with Down Syndrome live to 50 years and beyond (statistics taken from the Life Issue Institute). This significant increase in life expectancy is now an important issue to consider in the developmental thrust, economic viability and progress of any given country.”