The action plan

The Director-General of Health Services, Dr. Asela Gunawardena underscored that several areas for action have been identified to ensure that the rights and needs of young children with disabilities and their families are met.

The action plan is:

■ Inclusion of children with disabilities in mainstream policies, systems and services which support and maximize their development potential.

■ Implementation of programmes and services which specifically focus on young children with disabilities and their families.

■ Getting children with disabilities and their families involved in all early childhood development activities including policy development, service design and programme monitoring.

■ Developing capacity of human resources across relevant sectors to address disability.

■ Carrying out public awareness and understanding campaigns about children with disabilities.

■ Focusing on data collection and research.