Govt disability services stay hard to access: study

Awareness of several key government support programmes among persons with disabilities is below 20 percent, according to a new study.

Even those aware of the services often struggle to access them because of long distances, inaccessible facilities, staff shortages and other administrative barriers, the study also found.

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The study, titled “Towards Disability-Inclusive Development in Bangladesh: A Mixed-Method Inquiry into National Social Protection Programs across Health, Education, and Employment Sectors”, was conducted by BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health at BRAC University with support from Australian Aid.

A total of 396 persons with disabilities in 10 upazilas across all eight divisions were surveyed in the study. It also included 18 in-depth interviews, eight focus group discussions, 17 key-informant interviews and a stakeholder workshop.

Awareness of several key government support programmes among persons with disabilities is below 20 percent. Even among those aware of the services, access remains difficult due to long distances, staff shortages and other administrative barriers, found the study conducted by the BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health at BRAC University.

The findings were presented yesterday at the Jatiyo Protibondhi Unnayan Foundation (JPUF) in Dhaka.

Among those surveyed, 79.52 percent were from rural areas, 77.7 percent were unemployed, and 81.21 percent lived in households with a monthly income below Tk 25,000.

Prof Md Tanvir Hasan of BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health said the research examined six government programmes to understand the difficulties persons with disabilities face in accessing them.

Presenting the findings, Sristi Chakma, a research associate at the school, said awareness of several programmes was found particularly low.

Only 10.41 percent of respondents knew about the Mobile Therapy Van service, 16.70 percent about Shishu Bikash Kendras and 19.44 percent about the Education Stipend Programme.

Awareness of Protibondhi Seba O Sahajyo Kendras (PSOSKs) was somewhat higher, at 25.92 percent.

Access to some services was also found low. Only 6 percent of respondents had received Mobile Therapy Van services, while 11.37 percent had used a PSOSK.

Those who had received services from the Mobile Therapy Vans generally found them useful, but reported issues including irregular visits and a lack of follow-ups.

For PSOSKs, respondents cited long distances from their homes, inaccessible infrastructure and the absence of female service providers in some places.

The Disability Allowance Programme, however, had a comparatively much wider reach. Around 90.73 percent of respondents knew about the programme and 84.41 percent had received the allowance.

Participants, however, said the amount was too small to meet their needs. Some also reported fraudulent activities.

Faruk, a participant, said he had repeatedly received calls from people claiming to be government officials and asking for personal information, including his PIN.

He also said the disability allowance was not often enough to cover even the cost of medicines.

Morshed Mia, a teacher, who had learnt about the Mobile Therapy Van service through a workshop, said he found the van out of order when he tried to use the service on one occasion. On another occasion, he said that he could not find it at the designated location.

Md Tarikul Alam, managing director of JPUF and an additional secretary, acknowledged staffing, equipment and continuity problems at some of the foundation’s 103 service and support centres.

He informed that JPUF planned to establish 528 such centres across the country and introduce 64 mobile therapy vans, one for each district. “The DPP is underway,” he said.

Tarikul also said the research findings would be taken into consideration and its recommendations shared with the ministry concerned.

Salma Mahbub, executive director of B-SCAN, said the 1 percent quota for persons with disabilities in government jobs was not being followed in many cases, while candidates with disabilities often faced practical barriers during recruitment examinations.

She called for accessible examination centres and reasonable accommodation, including scribes and additional time where required.

Kajol Khan, a student, said bus operators sometimes refused to take passengers after seeing their white canes.

She also said navigating metro rail stations without assistance was difficult and suggested audio directions to help visually impaired passengers find ticket counters and exits.

Sona Moni Chakma, director (finance and admin) at JPUF, said research was needed to guide policy, programmes and projects.

He suggested considering the severity of disability when setting allowance amounts so that those requiring greater support could receive more.