The 2015 UPR submission from HRCM
raised concern that disability rights are not
mainstreamed into policies and services despite
the enactment of the Disability Law in 2010 and
ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights
of Persons with Disabilities. Issues raised in the
report include lack of accessibility to services
and infrastructure, access to education and high
unemployment rate of persons with disabilities.
The lack of medical services, treatment and
access to specific therapies mandatory for certain
kinds of disabilities including mental disabilities
were highlighted as serious issues.
The 2019 survey indicates that 40.9% of
respondents are dissatisfied with the protection
and services assured for persons with disabilities
while 39.0% reported being satisfied. No
significant difference is observed between the
findings of 2011 in this regard.
The differences in satisfaction level between the
urban regions and outer islands are noteworthy
as most services are only available in Malé. 41.7%
people from urban areas and 37.3% from outer
islands were satisfied with the services
People who were dissatisfied were asked which
areas of services needed to be improved, 16.3%
of the people said they were concerned about
the lack of access to education for people with
disabilities. Respondents identified discrimination
as the second most prevalent issue that needed
to be addressed (13.2%). People were equally
concerned about the lack of schools for children
with special needs (13.0%). ‘Parental awareness,
better quality of life for disabled people and
better monitoring mechanism’ were some of the
additional issues which were highlighted under
the ’other’ option.
Table 54 :Services provided for persons with disabilities in need of improvement , by gender
Services needed to be improved
Total
Lack of access to education
16.28%
Lack of schools for children with special needs
Lack of facilities in existing schools for children with
special needs
Inadequate health care (including mental health care)
for people with disabilities
12.99%
Stereotyping/discrimination
13.22%
Lack of employment/employment services
Inadequate benefits/lack of information/ knowledge
about benefits from Aasandha Health Insurance
11.13%
7.32%
8.89%
Article 35 of the constitution guarantees special
protection for the elderly and recognizes them
as a vulnerable group. Under the National Social
Protection Scheme established under Social
Protection Law of 2009, financial support for the
elderly is granted.
Close to half of the respondents (48.1%) reported
being satisfied with the services provided for the
elderly while a third (33.3%) were not. Women
appeared to be less satisfied (35.6%) than men
(29.4%) with how elderly persons were being
treated by the service providers. Interestingly,
among those dissatisfied with the services for the
elderly, more people were from urban regions.
Respondents felt that the most important area
to address in order to ensure the rights of the
elderly was to prevent neglect of elderly persons
(23.0%). People also expressed the need to
prevent abuse of the elderly as an important
issue (11.0%). Inadequate attention to the health
of older persons was ranked as the third most
pressing issue that needed improvement (9.9%).
Table 55: Services provided for older people that needs to be improved, by
region
Services needed to be
improved
Outer
island
Urban
Total
Abuse (physical or mental)
13.06%
6.65%
10.95%
Neglect
21.96%
25.08%
22.99%
Lack of legislation and/or policies to protect older people
7.12%
4.23%
6.17%
Inadequate pension
5.04%
5.74%
5.27%
Inadequate attention to health
status of older people
9.35%
10.88%
9.85%
Inadequate housing for older
people
6.08%
7.55%
6.57%
Lack of information/knowledge
about benefits from Aasandha
Health Insurance
4.45%
2.42%
3.78%
Lack of oversight (registration)
of caregivers of older people
3.12%
5.44%
3.88%
Lack of respite care to ensure
that family and volunteer careers are not overburdened
4.30%
3.02%
3.88%
Lack of residential care/nursing
home facilities
5.04%
7.55%
5.87%
Other
0.89%
9.67%
3.78%
RF
0.74%
0.30%
0.60%
DK/NA
18.84%
11.48%
16.42%
7.09%
Access to buildings and on transport
4.63%
Other
4.56%
RF
0.22%
DK/NA
13.67%
47