Monrovia — The National Commission on Disabilities (NCD) has launched a nationwide acquaintance and needs assessment tour across Liberia, aimed at strengthening engagement with Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) and evaluating their living conditions across the country.
The initiative marks a major step by the Commission's new leadership to directly interact with PWDs and Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPWDs) across Liberia's 15 counties. The exercise is intended to gather firsthand information to guide policy reforms and program interventions designed to improve the welfare of persons living with disabilities.
The tour aligns with the broader vision of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai Sr. under the government's ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development, which promotes equity, empowerment, and inclusion for all Liberians.
According to the NCD's Acting Executive Director, Apostle Dr. J. Aaron Wright Sr., the decision to visit rural communities and remote towns reflects a leadership approach centered on service, transparency, and inclusion.
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"This tour represents more than an assessment exercise; it is a demonstration of our commitment to listening, learning, and acting in the best interest of Persons with Disabilities across the country," Wright said. "We are determined to ensure that no person with disability is left behind, regardless of geographic location."
The nationwide outreach aims to assess the living conditions of Persons with Disabilities in all counties, identify barriers to education, employment, healthcare, and social services, and evaluate skills and competencies among PWDs to support capacity-building initiatives.
It is also aimed at strengthening coordination with OPWDs and local stakeholders, promote awareness of rights-based advocacy, nonviolence, and social inclusion, and explore the need for psychological and psychosocial support services.
Despite previous government and partner interventions, the NCD says many persons with disabilities in Liberia continue to face discrimination, limited access to quality education, unemployment or underemployment, inadequate healthcare services, and exclusion from mainstream economic and social systems.
The Commission notes that the outreach represents the first nationwide tour since the NCD was established in 2005 in which a sitting head of the institution is traveling across the country to directly engage PWD communities.
The exercise is being carried out by three teams.
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The Executive Team, led by Acting Executive Director Wright, includes representatives from civil society, including the National Union of Organizations of the Disabled (NOUD), as well as a media team and sign language interpreters.
Team A and Team B are led by Deputy Director for Technical Services D. Charles Saypahn and Program Manager Mohammed Sackor, along with heads of various NCD units and representatives of development partners.
So far, the teams have visited Bomi, Grand Cape Mount, Gbarpolu, Grand Bassa, Margibi, Nimba, Grand Gedeh, and Maryland counties as part of the ongoing nationwide exercise.
The National Commission on Disabilities says it remains committed to advocating for the rights, dignity, empowerment, and full participation of Persons with Disabilities in Liberia's development agenda.
