Thuli Nhlapo
The Durban Aids 2000 conference will not have any delegates from organisations for disabled persons nor will there be disabled presenters – in spite of the fact that 15E000 scholarships were awarded to a number of delegates to enable their participation.
According to one of the organisers, Fakazile Myeza, presenters submitted abstracts of the papers they intended to deliver and disabled persons should have done the same. “There are facilities for blind people so they could attend the conference if they choose to.”
Blind African National Congress MP Hendrietta Bogopane, the chair of Joint Monitoring on Status of Youth, Children and Disabled Persons, said: “I tried to ask those administrators to award scholarships to at least two disabled people, but they never responded.
“The Department of Health representative also tried, but to no avail.
“How do they expect a disabled person to raise $800 in order to attend the conference?
“Disabled persons have special needs that have to be considered.”