Romania's Government adopted on September 14 a national strategy for people with disabilities, for the 2016-2020 period.

With this strategy, called A society without barriers for people with disabilities, the Government aims to stimulate the active participation of people with disabilities in the community through increased accessibility to the physical environment, information and communications, through quality social services, and through a better monitoring of the way their rights are respected.

“Improving the quality of life of people with disabilities will be possible through access to high-quality integrated support services (social, health, educational), developed in the communities where they reside. Reducing situations of multiple discrimination and the percentage of people with disabilities at risk of poverty and social exclusion could be achieved by increasing their skills, the added value of their work, but also by mobilizing public and private institutions, and NGOs in supporting the implementation of the strategy,” reads the Government’s statement.

The strategy focuses on eight main areas, namely: accessibility, participation, equality, employment, education and training, social protection, health, and statistics and data collection.

Some of the measures to be taken within this strategy include: establishing the necessary legislative framework and minimum standards and guidelines for access to public transport, creating support services to ensure the exercise of legal capacity, and conducting public awareness campaigns.

Most of the money needed to implement this strategy will come from the state budget, local budgets, and EU funds.

According to data from the Labor Ministry, there were more than 752,000 people with disabilities in Romania in June 2015. Most of them, namely 97.7%, live with their families or alone, and the rest are in special public institutions.

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Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com