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Press
Release..............................
UNESCAP News Services
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26 September
2003
Press Release No: G/14/2003
Disability Data Must Improve
Bangkok (Un Information Services) -- A Workshop
on Improving Disability Data for Policy Use is currently underway
at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia
and the Pacific (UNESCAP) in Bangkok.
The Workshop (23-26 September), organized by the
Statistics and Emerging Social Issues Divisions, will allow
UNESCAP members to discuss how disability data and standards
can be improved in the Asia-Pacific region and what training
would be needed to achieve this.
Speaking at the Workshop, Ms Keiko Okaido, the
Deputy Executive Secretary of UNESCAP, emphasized the importance
of accurate statistics about people with disabilities to enable
governments to create relevant social and economic policies.
"Without accurate and representative information,
governments cannot possibly have a full understanding of the
needs of people with disabilities in their country.
It is, therefore, just as important to invest
in information collection methods as it is in creating policies
and programmes," she said.
More than 40 participants are attending the meeting,
including representatives from national statistical offices
in the Asia-Pacific, delegates from regional governments and
non-government organizations (NGOs), and members of various
UN agencies, such as the International Labor Organization (ILO),
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO), Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA),
and World Health Organization (WHO).
Participants will discuss major problems with
current statistics and promote best practices in collecting
information and using it for policy. The Workshop will also
formulate a set of recommendations that can lead to the development
of a regional framework for improving disability statistics.
The workshop is part of an on-going UNESCAP initiative
to implement the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action Towards
an Inclusive, Barrier-free and Rights-based Society for Persons
with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific (BMF).
The BMF was first adopted in October 2002 at a
High-level Intergovernmental Meeting in Otsu, Japan. It requests
governments to develop their system of disability-related data
collection so that relevant statistics disaggregated by type
of disability and population groups can support policymaking.
For further information please contact: United
Nations Information Services, UNESCAP, United Nations Building,
Rajdamnern Nok Avenue, Bangkok 10200, Thailand, Tel: (66) 02
288 1864-9, Fax: (66) 02 288 1052, E-mail: unisbkk.unescap@un.org
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