ISLAMABAD: President Mamnoon Hussain Tuesday stressed upon promotion and easy accessibility of assistive technology for the rehabilitation of people suffering from disabilities or weakness, which was imperative for the progress and development of society.

The president said all human beings were equally important and valuable, therefore, the people suffering from any kind of disability or weakness could not be left behind at the mercy of fate.

He was addressing the inauguration of consultative meeting on ‘Improving Access to Assistive Technology’ organized by the Ministry of Health Services, Regulations and Coordination in collaboration with the World Health Organization.

The president said Pakistan played a leading role at the international level for provision of “assistive products” to people suffering from physical disabilities, including introduction of a list of essential assistive products at the World Health Assembly, and lauded efforts of the federal minister for health.

He observed that Pakistan had the honour of being the first country to present the list of essential assistive products at the international level.

“I hope that after the adoption of this resolution in World Health Organization (WHO), necessary equipment will be easily available to all disabled persons around the world and Pakistan’s services, in this regard, will also be commended at the global level,” he added.

He said Pakistan had a very positive and progressive vision regarding the rehabilitation and provision of health facilities to the disabled persons.

“The Government of Pakistan has taken numerous steps in this respect, including Prime Minister’s Health Insurance Programme and other welfare projects.

The government is making all possible efforts to provide health and medical facilities to the masses,” he added.

The president said destitute and low income segments of society were availing free medical treatment facilities from the government and private institutions through those measures.

Those programmes were broad-based and many countries from across the world had shown their willingness to benefit from those initiatives, he added.

President Mamnoon noted that the world was facing numerous challenges and problems and the number of disable persons was continuously increasing due to growing population, increase in elderly people, national disasters, warfare and terrorism.

“Under the circumstances, no society could afford to overlook its responsibility towards the disabled persons.

Therefore, continuous research is imperative to make them a productive part of the society,” he added.

Similarly, he said, exact data was required so that the community could also contribute towards the national development.

Access to assistive technology was like a blessing and there was a need that measures might be taken to ensure its access to the concerned, he added.