A national stakeholder consultation on disability data collection for Incheon Strategy indicators was organized by the Social Development Division of ESCAP in Colombo from 22 to 24 May 2018 under the auspices of the Ministry of Social Welfare and Primary Industries, Government of Sri Lanka.
The objectives of the consultation were to review the national statistical system from the disability perspective and to enhance the Sri Lankan Government’s capacity to generate more reliable and comparable disability statistics for monitoring of the Incheon Strategy to “Make the Right Real” for Persons with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific. In addition, the consultation also aimed to contribute to the ongoing voluntary national review process under the global mechanism of follow up of SDG implementation.
The consultation consisted of an all-stakeholder plenary meeting chaired by the Secretary, Ministry of Social Welfare and Primary Industries and a series of meetings with line ministries, including Ministry of Social Welfare and Primary Industries, Department of Census and Statistics, Ministry of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Women and Child Affairs, Ministry of Telecommunications, Digital Infrastructure and Foreign Employment, Ministry of Housing and Construction, Ministry of Disaster Management, Ministry of Labour, Trade Union Relations and Sabaragamu Development, Election Commission and the Secretariat of Parliament. Representatives of disabled people’s organizations and the UN Country Team participated in the consultation.
The consultation assessed the exiting disability data gaps in relation to Sri Lanka’s capacity to report for the Incheon Strategy, the 2030 Agenda and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and discussed how to mainstream disability into the national statistical system and harmonize this effort with international disability measurement standards. Based on the results of the consultation, the Sri Lankan Government and ESCAP are expected to jointly develop a national action plan on enhancing disability data collection.