To mark National Day of Persons with Disabilities Day (April 18), a Voice of Vietnam (VOV) reporter interviewed the Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, Nguyen Trong Dam, about issues related to the disabled.

Reporter: Could you brief us on policies for people with disabilities over the past few years?

Mr Dam: The Party and State always give special attention to the disadvantaged and handicapped people. In 2006, Vietnam signed to join the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, indicating its determination to build policies for the disabled towards ensuring the adoption of the convention.

In addition, the Ordinance on People with Disabilities has been upgraded to the Law on People with Disabilities which will be approved at the 7^th session of the 12^th National Assembly in May. Many action programmes have focused on developing services for the disabled and ensuring their rights in the best way.

Over the past years, the adoption of legal policies for the disabled has created a legal framework for providing assistance and care for them, clarifying the responsibility of functional agencies and helping them to gain access to social services. As a result, disabled people’s material and spiritual lives have gradually improved.

Reporter: Could you please elaborate on the Law on People with Disabilities which is expected to be adopted at the NA’s upcoming session?

Mr Dam: The Law aims to change public awareness of the disabled, pinpoint the responsibility of the State, families and society for the disabled and stipulate their fundamental rights. It also refers to policies for the disabled with a focus on providing vocational training, healthcare and cultural education.

Reporter: What should be done to help people with disabilities?

Mr Dam: In order to bring the policies for the disabled to life, it is essential to narrow the gap between society and the disabled by intensifying media activities.

Media agencies play an important role in changing social awareness to remove barriers for the disabled, thus helping overcome their limitations so as to integrate into the community. We should socially regard the disabled as ordinary people.

Reporter: How has the social attitude towards the disabled changed?

Mr Dam: In recent years, public attitudes towards the disabled have been changed as many are very energetic and can manage well to surmount the difficulties of life. With support from the State and families, they have gradually integrated into the community. Many of them perform roles as owners of high-tech businesses which provide jobs for people in the same circumstances alongside non-disabled workers. However, there remains discriminatory treatment against the disabled, it is assumed they can’t do anything but rely on their families and State subsidies. This has impeded them from fully integrating into the community.

Reporter: Vietnam has approximately 5.4 million disabled people. What do think about this figure compared to the number in the world? What should we do to minimise this figure?

Mr Dam: The current figures might actually be some what inaccurate due to the evaluation criteria for the disabled. In my opinion, the number of disabled in Vietnam may continue increasing in the future as people are facing dangers such as bad transport, epidemics, a polluted environment and poor healthcare services.

Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the number of handicapped people by building programmes for orthopedics, functional rehabilitation and preventing accidental injury.

Reporter: It is said that the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) is planning to develop social affairs-related careers. Could you please tell more about this issue?

Mr Dam: The Prime Minister has signed Decision No 32 on developing social-affairs-related careers. Like other countries in the world, Vietnam should consider such social activities to be a knowledge-based career the same as other careers. In life, we may all face unpredictable difficulties or misfortune and when that happens, we will need help from social organizations. Consequently, the State and localities should build social consultation centres to deal with issues related to family violence, child trafficking and abandoned children to ensure social welfare for the disabled as well as able-bodied people.

Reporter:  Thank you so much.