DODOMA: PRIME Minister Kassim Majaliwa on Saturday reaffirmed the government's commitment to intensifying services for People with Disabilities, emphasising that the government's commitment was to safeguard the rights of all Tanzanians, including those with disabilities.
He noted that the government had put in place inclusive policies and programmes that promote access to education, healthcare, employment opportunities, and other essential services.
He made the statement in Dodoma at an event to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) at national level.
The IDPD which ought to be marked globally on December 03 was marked in the country yesterday due to the busy schedule of today, according to the prime Minister.
More than 1.3 billion people experience significant disability today, which represents 16per cent of the global population, according to Statistics from UNFPA.
In Tanzania, there are about 61,700 PWDs according to the recent Population and Housing Census conducted in 2022.
Mr Majaliwa asked the public to shun all stigma behaviours against PWDs, as he asked all Local Government Authorities to ensure that they developed a data base for PWDs.
At the event, Mr Majaliwa launched the Disabled Persons Management Information System (PD-MIS), which seeks to heighten service delivery to the PWDs.
The PD-MIS system will help in identifying PWDs from the grassroots level, their relatives, kinds of disabilities and their special needs.
The system will also have a data base on the level of education of PWDs and their economic activities so as to have a proper record on what the government can offer.
The system was developed by the Ministry of State in the Prime Minister's Office (Labour, Youth, Employment and the Disabled), in collaboration with e-Government (e-GA) and UNFPA.
UNFPA Representative, Dr Majaliwa Marwa said his organisation supported the development of disability information management system (PDMIS) which aims to provide routine disability data.
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Engineer Cyprian Luhemeja, said that the DP-MIS was successful during a pilot project that was conducted in Mara Region.
"After this launching, we are now rolling out the exercise countrywide," said the Permanent Secretary.
Meanwhile, earlier on the day, the Premier Majaliwa was in Dar es Salaam where he called upon religious leaders to use their influence to preach.
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He made the plea when participating in 5-kilometre peace walk which was coordinated by the Tanzania Reconciliation and Peace Association (TRPA).
"You (religious leaders) continue to encourage your believers to embrace peace. Inform your believers about the consequences of disrupting the existing peace," said the PM.
Mr Majaliwa also used the opportunity to ask the clerics to remind their followers that despite the success the government has achieved in the fight against HIV, they should understand that the disease still exists.
He asked the leaders to pay more attention to the youth as they are most vulnerable to the HIV new infections.
"Since this group is more vulnerable to infection, I strongly urge you to strengthen counselling and education services. I am confident that, with your influence in society, young people will listen you, obey you and change," PM added.
