The young people with disabilities voiced what future they would like to see by 2030 in a focus group discussion.
During the focus group discussion the participants were introduced to two mutually reinforcing development blueprints - the Programme of Action agreed to at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD, 1994), along with the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs, 2000). Young people then shared their own understanding of the concept of well-being and identified a number of priority issues, which in their view have an impact on a well-being of youth, namely health, education, peace and security, employment, environment, youth participation, among others.
Education was one of the priority items on the agenda of the youth, who asserted that they would like to see conditions created for full inclusion of the young people with disabilities into the education, including having comprehensive information on sexual and reproductive health. Given the conditions to acquire the needed education, the youth with disabilities will have higher chances at getting a well-paid job upon graduation. The youngsters see the future where the young people with disabilities have no obstacles and restrictions for studying at the school and education institute of their choice. Their special needs are to be addressed to be able to attend classes or take the exams, including the presence of the social workers to provide the necessary assistance to the adolescent with disabilities throughout the education process. This calls for a special infrastructure to be integrated at all schools, kindergartens, higher education institutes; and all conditions on policy level, as well as the social level must be created to ensure such inclusive education.
The focus group participants next showed their optimism for healthcare in the country by 2030, where comprehensive access to RH services exists for everybody including people with disabilities. The youth are positive that the support of the Government will be provided in improving the benefits for the people with disabilities, including acquiring the costly medicines, getting the costly treatments in or outside of the country, creation of the rehabilitation center for treatment and prevention measures. The participants also noted the importance of expansion of the legal and psychological assistance provided for the people with disabilities, as well as promoting an inclusive environment among public.
The main aspiration of the young people with disabilities was to take the ownership of their future. The optimistic youth confirmed their responsibility in leading healthy lifestyle, making bold plans for the future and taking every effort in their realization. The priorities spelled out by the adolescents and young people will be analyzed and reflected in the national report and will be fed into the UN Secretary General’s report.
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UNFPA: Delivering the world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe, and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.
For additional information, please contact:
Yelena Butova, Education Advisor
Ene Tuyliyeva, Advocacy Communication Associate
Tel: 425250
Web: turkmenistan.unfpa.org
