The 2nd General Assembly Meeting of the National Council for Persons with Disabilities for the year 2026 was held on 23rd February at the conference hall of the Ministry of Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment under my chairmanship. The event was attended by the Secretary to the Ministry, Sampath Mantrinayake, Director of the National Secretariat for Persons with Disabilities, Jayamali Wickramarachchi, Ministry officials and members of the Council of the National Council.
Specific decisions discussed and taken at the meeting.
01. Re-discussing with the Ministry of Health the medical records used in the payment of living allowance for kidney patients.
02. Preparing a glossary that can be used for persons with disabilities.
The sub-committee has proposed 75 such glossaries/terms.
An additional two weeks were given to the members of the Council to provide their views on this matter.
Also, 11 main terms used to identify people with disabilities were identified and all government institutions, media institutions and organizations were informed to use those terms in the future when communicating information about people with disabilities.
03. Wheelchair donation and National Wheelchair Center.
Wheelchairs donated by the Sakura Wheelchair Institute of Japan have now arrived in the island.
These wheelchairs will be distributed to the needy people under a proper system.
Along with this, a program has also been prepared to repair these wheelchairs.
Under the intervention of the Ministry of Health, a wheelchair manufacturing center will be established affiliated to the Ragama Rehabilitation Hospital and a program to manufacture, repair wheelchairs and train technicians for this will be initiated through it.
The need to reach an understanding with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) including the ministries to take this process forward was discussed.
The ultimate goal of this project should be to manufacture wheelchairs in Sri Lanka.
04. Systematize the allowances provided to persons with disabilities. Complaints have been received regarding non-receipt of this allowance by several people due to various reasons.
The Secretary to the Ministry will intervene directly in such situations and a request has been made to report on the non-receipt of such allowances.
05. General guidelines and recommendations on providing employment opportunities and ensuring a conducive work environment for persons with disabilities.
Action will be taken in accordance with the recommendations given by the Human Rights Commission in this regard.
06. Deployment of a special bus service for persons with disabilities.
The government has already taken steps to put ten buses into service to cover Colombo and its suburbs and a program will be implemented to sensitize the drivers and conductors of these buses.
07. Follow-up on the activities of Special Education Units and Skill Centers.
The Special Education Unit and the Secretary to the Ministry of Education have been informed about this, and it was decided to obtain a representation from the Special Education Unit in the National Council.
08. Discussions have already begun on the introduction of a special pension scheme for persons with disabilities.