One UN remarks Presented by UNFPA Rep -Mark Bryan -PWD Meeting with the President of United Republic of Tanzania

Remarks by:

United Nations Tanzania

Presented by:

Mark Bryan Schreiner

UNFPA Representative,

United Republic of Tanzania

On Behalf of  The United Nations Resident Coordinator Tanzania

on the occasion of the

Meeting between Her Excellency - Hon. Samia Hassan Suluhu, The President of the United Republic of Tanzania and Persons with Disability

16 March 2022

Dodoma - Tanzania

Her Excellency – Hon. Samia Hassan Suluhu, The President of the United Republic of Tanzania,

Hon. Majaliwa Kasim Majaliwa, The Prime Minister of Tanzania,

Hon. Minister, Professor Joyce Ndalichako, Prime Minister's Office for Policy, Parliamentary Affairs, Labour, Employment, Youth and the Disabled,

Hon. Anthony Mtaka, Dodoma Regional Commissioner,

Hon. Deputy Minister, Patrobus Katambi, Prime Minister's Office for Policy, Parliamentary Affairs, Labour, Employment, Youth and the Disabled,

Professor Jumal A. Katundu – Permanent Secretary - Prime Minister's Office for Policy, Parliamentary Affairs, Labour, Employment, Youth and the Disabled,

Mr. Gift Isaya Msuya - Chamwino District Commissioner,

Mr. Enrnest Kimaya - Chairperson of SHIVYAWATA

Mr. Jonas Lubago - Secretary General SHIVYAWATA

Colleagues from United Nations Tanzania,

Members of the Media,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

All Protocol Observed.

Mabibi na Mabwana,

Asalaam Alekum,

Bwana Yesu Asifiwe,

Habari za Asubuhi,

Her Excellency President of the United Republic of Tanzania:

It is my great pleasure and honour to join you today in your special occasion with persons with disabilities and present to you this speech on behalf of the United Nations Tanzania Resident Coordinator Zlatan Milisic.

“Nothing About Us Without Us” is the motto used by organizations of persons with disabilities throughout the years as part of the movement to achieve full participation and equal opportunities for persons with disabilities.

Our work needs to be guided by experts who know the situation and the needs of the programme’s ultimate beneficiaries best: persons with disabilities themselves. Ensuring full participation of persons with disabilities in decision-making around any issues affecting them remains as important as ever, and the UN is fully committed to that. It is therefore our pleasure to attend this dialogue and witness the active interaction between your excellency, our distinguished partners from the Government, and the persons with disabilities that are represented here today.

Her Excellency President of the United Republic of Tanzania:

The World Disability report of 2011 indicated that 15 per cent of the world’s population – one billion people – live with some form of disability. In the United Republic of Tanzania, according to the 2012 Population and Housing Census, 9.3 per cent of the population lives with a disability. However, the true number is likely to be much higher as, for example, children, young people and persons with intellectual disabilities including psychosocial disabilities remain largely excluded and invisible in the official data.

Her Excellency President of the United Republic of Tanzania, Ladies and Gentlemen:

Tanzania needs solid data and evidence on persons with disabilities in order to deliver on its commitment to achieving its development aspirations as set out in Tanzania’s Vision 2025, Zanzibar’s Vision 2050 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),  which place the highest priority on leaving no one behind and serving the furthest behind first.

Adhering to the principle of Everyone counts, this years’ Population and Housing Census, will provide a unique opportunity for an update of the situation of persons with disabilities in Tanzania –  by age, sex, disability and geographic location – and importantly how they are living, as well as other key socioeconomic characteristics.

Today’s event, therefore, provides us all with an opportunity to champion the Census and ensure that all persons with disabilities are counted and made visible in our population data. We need to understand their potential and their realities to inform national planning, policies and programmes and determine resource allocation to implement Tanzania’s commitments to promote the rights of persons with disabilities.

Her Excellency President of the United Republic of Tanzania, Ladies and Gentlemen:

Protecting and upholding the rights of persons with disabilities is a human right imperative and is essential for continued strong economic growth in Tanzania. It has been estimated that globally the amount of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) lost annually due to disability exclusion is between USD 1.37 trillion and USD 1.97 trillion.

We know that there are challenges for people living with disabilities in Tanzania – and around the world – that often start at a very young age and determine their opportunities throughout their lifetime. Data from Tanzania household surveys and research shows that persons living with disabilities are less likely to attend school and access information and support services than persons without disabilities.

Her Excellency President of the United Republic of Tanzania, Ladies and Gentlemen:

Persons living with disabilities are among those that have been left furthest behind, but they are not a homogenous group, and some are further behind than others and face unique forms of discrimination.  As an example, people living with albinism in Tanzania face daily risks of being harmed or killed; and women, girls and youth with disabilities, particularly in rural areas and in humanitarian settings, encounter multiple challenges and intersecting forms of discrimination, which put them at higher risk of violence, abandonment, and exploitation.

Persons with disabilities - in all their diversity, also continue to face barriers that prevent them from claiming their rights and participating fully and meaningfully in their community and society, due to a lack of accessibility to physical and virtual environments, negative attitudes, stigma and discrimination, and a lack of access to assistive technology, among other factors.

This affects their health and well-being, employment and other opportunities to support themselves, their families and the socio-economic development of their communities.

Her Excellency President of the United Republic of Tanzania, Ladies and Gentlemen:

The Government of the United Republic of Tanzania has demonstrated that they are committed to promoting and protecting the right of persons with disabilities as evidenced by national policies and laws and the country’s ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. We, at the UN, applaud this commitment and the steps already taken to implement the Convention. Your commitment to the implementation of the convention is visible. We commend you for your recent inclusive education guidance that focuses on the rights of all girls and boys, including those with disabilities to complete quality education.

Given vulnerabilities to violence are higher amongst the disabled, particularly amongst disabled girls and women, we commend your commitment to strengthen the  soon to be developed Nat action plan for prevention and response to violence against women and children, making it more sensitive to the needs of disabled girls, boys, men and women.  As you develop Tanzania’s social protection policy, we also commend you for placing persons with disabilities front and center of the social welfare and protection system.

 We hope to see increasing efforts, including technical and financial commitments, towards the comprehensive domestication and implementation of the Convention in the coming years.

Her Excellency President of the United Republic of Tanzania ladies and gentlemen:

The UN is committed to protecting the rights of persons with disabilities. In 2019, the UN Secretary-General launched the United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy as a call-to-action for the UN to lead by example and to bring about the transformative change we want and need to see. 

Guided by global development frameworks and standards, the UN in Tanzania has been promoting the rights of persons with disabilities by supporting, for example, the adoption of disability-inclusive policies and plans for improved access to health, education and gender equality; Evidence generation  on situation of children and young people with disabilities in Tanzania mainland and Zanzibar and dialogue and awareness-raising efforts at the national and community level to address stigma and discrimination against people living with disabilities.

Our new five-year plan, the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework, adheres to the principle of participation that we seek to follow as a UN. This is operationalized through our individual agency efforts and our joint programme to advance the rights of persons with disabilities that is supported by the UN Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and designed and implemented in strong partnership with the Government, Organizations of Persons with Disabilities and other key actors. We are also committed to investing in internal awareness-raising and looking at our workplace through a disability-inclusive lens.

Her Excellency President of the United Republic of Tanzania ladies and gentlemen:

Leaving no one behind central to the promise of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development endorsed by UN member states, including the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania, in 2015.  For too long, persons with disabilities have been left behind from benefiting equally from economic, social, political and cultural life.

On behalf of the UN, I reaffirm our readiness and commitment to support Tanzania’s efforts to improve the promotion and protection of the rights of persons with disabilities.

I look forward to learning more from others participating at the event today, about their experiences and perspectives and their solutions for not leaving behind people living with disabilities.

Ni Jukumu letu sote, Tuko Pamoja.

Ahsante sana.