Hargeysa, Somaliland, December 8, 2007 (SL Times) - A ceremony was held on Thursday in Hargeysa to mark the World Disability Awareness day, an annual event held worldwide on the 3rd of December.

The ceremony held at the headquarters of the Somaliland Worker's Union was attended by government ministers, members of the overseas non-governmental agencies, social activists and members of the public.

Speaking at the occasion, the Somaliland Minister of Family and Social Development, Fadumo Sudi Hassan, stated the people and the government of Somaliland are working hard to meet the needs of the disabled in the country. The minister said, "due to the turmoil of civil war and conflict, the struggle for liberation, mines and other socially linked factors like mental health and extreme poverty have all played a significant role in increasing the number of disabled people in the country."

Fadumo Sudi encouraged the international community to provide sustained support for the people of Somaliland, "so that we can provide a decent quality of life to our disabled brothers and sisters."

The Director-General of the Somaliland Disability group organization, Abdisalam Yusuf Farah, also spoke at the ceremony. He pointed out that Somaliland had made some headways in legislation which aids the disabled in not being discriminated against in

employment opportunities in the country," yet Farah lamented that, "Somaliland has a long way to go in ensuring disabled people get a fair treatment when it comes to employment, health and education policies of the government, and there should be extra efforts and emphasis put in place by government and NGO organizations in the country in supporting long term projects of education, mobility and health issues tailored for the disabled in Somaliland".

Among those who attended the ceremony were members of the UDUB, KULMIYE and UCID parties.

A part of this report was contributed by Omar Mohamed Farah in Hargeysa.

Source: Somaliland Times