New York – Deputy Prime Minister Thulisile Dladla has told a United Nations gathering in New York that Eswatini has developed a comprehensive, evidence-based roadmap for disability inclusion through the Eswatini National Disability Plan of Action 2024 to 2028, backed by legal frameworks and practical initiatives on the ground.
Dladla was speaking at the COSP19 Side Event on Promoting the Implementation of Disability Rights Across the Commonwealth, focused on moving forward with the Commonwealth Disability Inclusion Action Plan, held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The side event was co-hosted alongside Canada and New Zealand.
The Deputy Prime Minister outlined the key thematic areas being driven by her office under the plan, covering national coordination and mainstreaming, advocacy and awareness raising, inclusive education, health and wellbeing, skills development and employment, social protection, gender equality and support for underrepresented groups, emergency response and humanitarian action, sports, culture and recreation, as well as infrastructure and environment. 
A short documentary on Eswatini’s progress in disability inclusion was also screened during the event, giving delegates a direct look at the country’s work to ensure persons with disabilities are fully integrated into national development.
