Department of Information and Public Relations

Press Release No. 330/21

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES 2021 CELEBRATED AT RAJ BHAVAN

The International Day of Persons with Disabilities 2021 was celebrated in a befitting manner at the Durbar Hall, Raj Bhavan, Shillong on the 3rd December, 2021. The function was organised jointly by the Meghalaya Parents Association for Disabled and Raj Bhavan, Shillong where Meghalaya Governor Shri. Satya Pal Malik attended the programme as the Chief Guest.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Satya Pal Malik stated that the Covid situation has given us the opportunity to understand some of the very critical issues and sufferings of the disability sector in Indian context. He also informed that India is one of the first countries to sign the mandate of United Nation Convention for Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and adopted 21 types of disabilities to frame the Laws at central and state level.

Shri Malik also stated that the disability management in India cannot follow the Institutional model like many western countries, the Indian Family model is more suited as family members are the main dependents of differently-abled individuals. The perception is based on the fact that India has the advantage in providing strong community support and family support structure, India being a vast country and the disability is perennially so widely spread and so deeply imbedded that only Family model can serve the requirement, he added. He also mentioned that India being a sovereign country, India must come out of its colonial mindset structure and exercise its full right to portray the advantage of the Family model to the world community for having the better alternative solution to the issues of person with disability worldwide. This is the message needed to pass through world community from Meghalaya on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities 2021, he added.

During the day, Certificate of Appreciation was given to Smti. Banrihunlang Myrthong in the field of Education, Smti. Silme D Marak in the field of Awareness, Smti. Showtheway Pakma in the field of Entrepreneurial, Shri Banlamphrang Wankhar in the field of Cultural and Smti. Dorita Wann in the field of Health.

Later on, the Governor distributed gift hampers to the differently-abled children at the lawns of the Raj Bhavan.

A similar programme was organized by the office of the District Social Welfare Officer, East Khasi Hills District in collaboration with the Meghalaya State Legal Services Authority, District Legal Services Authority, District Medical & Health Officer, East Khasi Hills District and Child Development Project Office, Mawkynrew at a function held at Jongksha village under Mawkynrew C&RD Block.

Smti J. Shabong, Chairperson, Child Welfare Committee, East Khasi Hills District graced the occasion as the Chief Guest in the presence of Smti D. Sohtun, Secretary, District Legal Services Authority, Smti N. Umdor, District Social Welfare Officer, East Khasi Hills District among others. The highlights of the day are health checkups, sports activities, and distribution of gifts to all the differently-abled people who attended the programme.

Press Release No. 333/21

INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES OBSERVED AT SHILLONG CLUB

Out of 200 beneficiaries state-wide, 12 beneficiaries of East Khasi Hills District received UDID Disability Certificates and Assistive Devices in a programme held today in observance of International Day for Persons with Disabilities cum North East Disability Summit 2021 at Shillong Club, Shillong. With the mobilization of Healthy India Chronicle, the assistive devices have been sponsored by the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the Ministry of Labour and Employment and the Ministry of Skill Development, Government of India. Shri. Kyrmen Shylla, Meghalaya Minister of Social Welfare graced the occasion as the Chief Guest.

The theme of the programme organised by the office of the Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, Government of Meghalaya in collaboration with the State Resource Centre on Disability Affairs, Civil Hospital and Healthy India Chronicle, New Delhi was, ‘Leadership and Participation of Persons with Disabilities toward an inclusive, accessible and sustainable post COVID -19 world’.

The aim of the programme was to promote the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities in all spheres of activities, thereby increasing their participation and creating more opportunities for them.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Kyrmen Shylla said that the whole world has awakened to the reality and problems faced by people with disabilities and efforts are on to protect and to ensure their participation to the fullest in all spheres of activity. Lauding the support of AICTE he said that the up-to-date assistive devices provided for the beneficiaries will go a long way in helping them realise their full potential. Informing that the Government through the Social Welfare Department implements a number of schemes for the benefit of persons with disability, he stressed on the importance of possessing and updating the UDID cards to avail such benefits. Informing about the establishment of the Composite Regional Centre at Shillong in collaboration with the National Institute for the Empowerment of People with Multiple Disabilities, he said that 50 acres of land has been allotted for the establishment of the Centre for Disability Sports at Umsawli, out of which 10 acres has been allotted for the Composite Regional Centre.

Shri. G. H. P. Raju, Principal Secretary, Labour Department informed that there are 44000 differently abled persons registered with the Government. Reiterating on the importance of comprehensive data on differently abled persons in the State, he stressed that all beneficiaries should be equipped with Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhaar and Mobile Number information so as to avail direct transfer benefits from Government Schemes. Lamenting that a number of government schemes tend to overlook the participation of differently abled persons, he stressed on the need for special fund allocation, increasing subsidy amounts and job reservations for differently abled persons so they can be roped into the development agenda of the Government.

On the occasion the Chief Guest also released a Souvenir of Health India Chronicle which details the various schemes and programmes available with different departments for the benefit and welfare of differently abled persons.

Press Release No. 339/21

MEGHALAYA BEGINS IMPLEMENTATION OF STATE HEALTH POLICY

With an aim to enhance collaboration as part of the Health Department's strategy for institutional convergence to ensure effective health service delivery in Meghalaya, a two-day Sector Meeting workshop was held on November 30, 2021 and December 1, 2021 at Moreau Institute of Integral Training (MIIT) and Eldorado Guesthouse, Shillong. The workshop was organized by the Department of Health & Family Welfare in collaboration with the Social Welfare Department (ICDS) and Rural-MSRLS (NRLM) of C&RD Department.

Addressing the participants at the workshop, the Principal Health Secretary, Sampath Kumar IAS said, "We are creating a decentralised system to ensure greater participation, especially among the frontline workers including ASHAs and Anganwadis and the cutting-edge level officers including BDOs Medical Officers and CDPOs to improve various health indicators as part of implementing the State Health policy frameworks”.The Health Secretary also added that the decentralised system is a result of the past experiences of the State. One of them being when Meghalaya recorded 93percent recovery of Severe Acute Malnourished (SAM) and 97percent recovery of Moderate Acute Malnourished (MAM) children (identified in September 2020). This was the highest recovery recorded in terms of nutritional indicators in the State so far. This case is a rare example of how collaboration between various departments, regular monitoring of target indicators, building accountability among various actors by promoting decentralised adaptive leadership and use of data for effective decision-making led to the overall strengthening of State Capacity in effectively addressing a complex challenge, like nutrition in Meghalaya.

Following up on this, the aim is to institutionalize this collaborative effort. The Sector meeting workshops aim at streamlining the sector meetings which will be taking place in 150 health facilities across the State henceforth at least once a month. Currently, the review is happening at the state level and the district level on a weekly basis. With sector meetings in place, the process will become decentralised and more people will be involved at the sector level. The grassroot as well as cutting edge functionaries from the three departments will work in a collaborative manner as part of a decentralised catalytic leadership model which has been innovated by the state. These efforts form part of Meghalaya’s State Health Policy framework implementation that was passed by the Cabinet in March 2021.

Dr. R. Tariang, DHS (MCH&FW) added that this is the first time that such a collaborative approach towards a common issue has been taken by the state, that entails a convergence of three departments- The Health & FW Welfare, Social Welfare (ICDS) and the Rural-MSRLS (NRLM) of C&RD Department. Through this workshop, the field level functionaries from various departments were brought together in an attempt to not only try and understand the problem from the grassroot perspective, but also to understand their challenges and come up with solutions and guidelines to assist them in achieving the larger goal. This will go a long way in achieving the State’s objectives towards strengthening health systems through a multidisciplinary approach.

Adding to the statement made by the Principal Health Secretary, Dr. Calvaryn Sangma, SDMHO/DIO, South Garo Hills District said that health as a subject cannot be the sole responsibility of just one department, that is, the Health Department alone, and that through a collaborative approach and with the help of sectoral convergence, every other department such as the Social Welfare, Community & Rural Development as well as the Education Department can play a crucial role in furthering developmental objectives in terms of health. He also added that the workshop was a huge learning experience, especially in terms of empowering each and every stakeholder involved in the process.

The 2nd day of the workshop also witnessed the presence of the Advisor, MoHFW, Rajani Ved, Sr. Consultant, NHM, Sonali Bhardwaj and other functionaries from the Ministry of C&RD (DAY-NRLM/NULM) as well as Population Council, Delhi. They were in the State to learn about the convergence mechanism set up by the State between NHM and DAY-NRLM/ NULM.The two-day workshop on Sector Meetings was organized with the objective to build teamwork among the key stakeholders, enable them to synchronize their efforts and give them a first-hand experience of how they can use the Sector Meetings as a platform where they can exercise their agency in identifying their own problems, prioritise, and address them through solutions that they think are most feasible. The workshop involved presentations from State and District medical heads as well as interactive sessions and group discussion with the participants.

It may be mentioned that in December 2020, the State Capability Enhancement Project (SCEP) was formally launched in the State with a broad aim to better deliver different governmental programmes by activating state, district and block administration and mobilizing community leadership to tackle the most critical development challenges in the state.