“Interaction with Local Government on Way Forward for Disability Inclusive Development and Enhanceing Access to Justice for Girls and Women with Disabilities at the Local Level_Annapurna Rural Municipality"

Access Planet in the support of Legal Empowerment Fund,(LEF) conducted half-day event on: “Interaction with Local Government on Way Forward for Disability Inclusive Development and Enhancing Access to Justice for Girls and Women with Disabilities at the Local Level”. The program was conducted at 27^th of March in the hall of Annapurna Rural Municipality with the participation of both right holders women with disabilities and duty bearers local government representatives of Annapurna Rural Municipality.  The program had the participation of a total of 31 representatives including rural municipal chair, ward chairs, head of the social inclusion department and education department of rural municipality, ward members and representatives of disability groups. The interaction program aimed to orient local government on disability-inclusive development and to discuss on the way forward on access to justice for girls and women with disabilities.

Objectives:

To orient the local government on disability inclusive development and the issues of access to justice for girls and women with disabilities

The program, moderated by Sajana Gurung, Member of Access Planet, featured presentations by Laxmi Nepal, Executive Director of Access Planet, on "disability-inclusive local governance and Enhancing Access to Justice". Subsequently, Nirmala Kunwar, chief Social Inclusion Department, Annapurna Rural Municipality presented on the work so far done by the rural municipality in the disability sector. The major highlights of the works were on distribution of disability ID cards, distribution of nutritious food, sensitization programs in the community, etc.  An open interaction session followed, where participants, including persons with disabilities and local officials, discussed issues such as the distribution of disability ID cards and the need for better communication and information. Officials responded with commitments to improve coordination and prioritize disability empowerment programs, emphasizing the importance of effective implementation and outreach.

Outputs:

• The local government representatives were sensitized on concepts of disability-inclusive development at the local level
• Commitments were gathered from the local government representatives on more investments and programs for disability inclusion
• Gaps were identified and the way forward on disability inclusion was discussed
• The interaction paved further pathway for disability-inclusive development at the local level