VietNamNet Bridge – HCM City plans to start a television channel for people with disabilities to provide information about vocational training, jobs, bus schedules, and other issues of interest to them.

It will be set up together with HCM City Television and the Voice of HCM City.

At a workshop held yesterday, June 10, Le Chu Giang, head of the Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs' Social Sponsorship Office, said it was one of the activities envisaged under a city project for disabled people through 2020.

The project was aimed at helping people with disabilities integrate more easily into community, he said.

A department report showed that in the last five years the city allocated VND221 billion (US$10.7 million) for programmes to help disabled people access healthcare, education, and jobs.

Most districts had special schools for those under 18, Giang said.

Students above 18 were helped in joining vocational schools while private individuals were encouraged to open schools for children with disabilities, he said.

However, the number of special schools was not enough to meet the city's needs, he admitted.

Just 790 disabled people have found stable jobs since 2006, he said.

There were only 15 public buses with ramps, the report said.

Disabled people with an annual income of VND8 million have benefited from social policies including health insurance and low-interest loans for the last five years.

At the workshop, attendees urged the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs to create a special vocational training programme for people with disabilities to help all of them secure employment.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News