Disabled people assisted with integration into communities

Having undergone several wars, Viet Nam has more than 5.2 million people  suffering from various disabilities, of which 61 percent are of working age.

At present, 38 percent of disabled people, who account for 6 percent of the total population, are supported by the State's social welfare system, while 1 percent are being cared for at social charitable houses.

In facilitating disabled people's access to diverse angles of the social life, the Party and the State have adopted numerous legal documents, notably a decree o­n the disabled.

The State has collaborated with local authorities at different levels to build as many as 70 schools nationwide which specialise in educating handicapped children. These schools enroll close to 6,000 children with disabilities annually.

In addition, as many as 50,000 children with disabilities have profited from special care programmes provided by a nationwide web of functional rehabilitation centres.

For their part, the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs's vocational training schools and local job training centres have organised training courses for thousands of disabled people to give them tools to improve their lives.

Production units run by war invalids and disabled people, which so far number 400, have enjoyed preferential treatments to create jobs for their peers.

Doan Xuan Tiep, Director of the Chan-Thien-My handicraft company, said  that with training, disabled people can do many jobs just as well as non-disabled people. He revealed that disabled people account for 57 percent of his workforce.

Thanks to the State's support, many people have overcome their disabilities to lead happy lives, with disabled athletes honoured as particularly courageous in the struggle.

One prominent disabled athlete is Pham Thi Thu Thanh, who won three gold medals at the 2002 Asia-Pacific Para Games in the Republic of Korea.

At the second and third ASEAN Para Games in Viet Nam in 2003 and the Philippines in 2005, Vietnamese athletes ranked second.

Apart from actions to assist disabled people at home, Viet Nam has joined international commitments to protect and care for disabled people as well as taken part in activities in response to UNESCAP-initiated programmes benefiting the disabled.