Dr. Mehdi Abd Al-Sahib – Orthopedic Surgeon
December 3 of each year marks an international day designated by the United Nations since 1992 to support people with disabilities.
The aim of this day is to increase understanding of disability issues and support programs that guarantee the rights of this group of society. This day also calls for raising awareness about including people with disabilities in social, economic, and cultural aspects of life…etc.
The International Day of Persons with Disabilities mobilizes support and raises awareness about disability issues, drawing attention to the benefits of an inclusive and accessible society. There is a call for United Nations bodies, civil society organizations, academic institutions, and the private sector to provide support for people with disabilities.
What are our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the government toward people with disabilities?
Societal attitudes toward the disabled play an important role in their psychological health, whether these attitudes are negative or positive. Disabled individuals are part of the fabric of this society, and seeing them on this basis will lead to inclusivity and improves their mental health. Seeing them in a negative light by not accepting them or marginalizing them, will reflect negatively on their acceptance of themselves and their adaptation to the society surrounding them.
Persons with disabilities are affected more than others by the health, social and economic consequences that any human being goes through. Therefore, it is necessary to stress the importance of strengthening collective efforts aimed at their universal access to basic services, including immediate health and social protection, education, and other social and cultural opportunities, in order to ensure that persons with disabilities are not left behind, especially in times of crisis and beyond.
So encouragement, acceptance, and good treatment of disabled persons, along with elevating their self-esteem, is a basic rule in our duty towards them, and to provide them with a helping hand, assistance, and job opportunities, because work is part of their psychological treatment by enabling the disabled person to prove himself and his abilities according to the type of disability. Awareness of how to deal with disabled people and not looking at them with pity because they are influential people in society and benefit thousands, just like healthy people can do.
