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Mohua Pal, chairperson of Access Bangladesh Foundation, called for a multidisciplinary rehabilitation approach involving doctors, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, and counsellors.

She also urged increasing allocations for rehabilitation, therapy services, counselling, and accessible support centres to help persons with disabilities live and work independently.

Mohammed Moniruzzaman Khan, director of the Institute of Disaster Management and Vulnerability Studies at Dhaka University, called for budget measures to support women entrepreneurs with disabilities, including low-interest or interest-free loans, training, tax waivers, and market access.

BERDO Executive Director Sadiqul Huq urged allocation for implementing the Rights and Protection of Persons with Disabilities Act.

Salma Mahbub, executive director of Bangladesh Society for the Change and Advocacy Nexus, called for accessible buses, tax waivers on lifts, and tax exemptions on house rent of up to Tk 50,000 a month.

Litan Baruri, movement liaison at Action on Disability and Development, said many children with disabilities are dropping out at the primary level, ramps often remain unusable, and wash blocks are inaccessible.

He also said Tk 5 crore could provide 20 speech-to-text and text-to-speech devices to each of the country’s 51 public universities.

Dewan Mahfuz E Maula, advocacy and communication manager at CBM Global, Bangladesh, called for VAT and tax relief on the import and local production of assistive devices.

Anika Rahman Lipy, assistant director of Centre for Disability in Development; Nasrin Jahan, executive director of Disabled Child Foundation; and Anamika Panday, facilitator at Community Development Association, also spoke. The event was moderated by Tanjim Ferdous, head of strategic partnerships at The Daily Star.