Asian Health Disability and Seniors News - 6 October 2008

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Philippines - Elderly residents of Makati City can now drive around the financial capital with no fear of violating the otherwise strictly enforced number coding scheme. The city government has ordered the exemption of senior citizens registered under its BLU card program for the elderly from the Unified Vehicle Volume Reduction Program, officials said Wednesday.

The regional arm of the United Nations in Asia and the Pacific has teamed up with the government of the Republic of Korea to improve access to information and communication technology (ICT) for persons with disabilities by offering training to policy-makers from developing countries in the region. Asia and the Pacific is home to approximately 400 million people living with disabilities. Using a computer keyboard or being able to see information on the Internet - things that others take for granted - can be a huge challenge to many of them.

TOKYO - The man accused of starting a fire which killed 15 people at an all-night video shop in Japan was a gentle father whose life went downhill when he got divorced and lost his job, reports said Thursday. One neighbor said Ogawa starting dressing flamboyantly as he took on different jobs. He reportedly managed a store and learnt sign language to work with people with disabilities. The crime was the deadliest in Japan in seven years. In June, a young man with worries about work went on a slashing spree in a busy part of Tokyo, killing seven people.

South Korean health authorities report that traces of melamine have been discovered in milk products from New Zealand. They were found in lactoferrin which is added to baby milk. The New Zealand company Tatua has stopped the export of lactoferrin and is investigating how its product was contaminated with melamine. The company says that a New Zealand health investigation has concluded that the contamination was minuscule.

Aiainet, a nonprofit organization in Hiroshima began a full-scale operation of food pickup and hauling in May. The group, set up in February, relies on businesses that donate leftover vegetables, as well as udon and soba noodles that can't be sold because of labeling errors. Aiainet supplies group homes for people with physical disabilities and support groups assisting people on low incomes.

NAMIBIA has ratified various international conventions affirming a commitment to accept persons with disabilities focusing on their abilities and not their disabilities; providing equal education and employment opportunities to them; and treating them with the respect due to every human being.

Rt. Hon Keith Hill, a member of the British Parliament, believes Ghana's Local Government Ministry needs to set clear guidelines for the disbursement of the 2% allocation of the Common Fund to organizations of persons with disabilities (OPWDs). Additionally, the MP for Streatham in South London, says the Ministry "needs to clarify" in the guidelines that it expects the disbursement of the 2% fund to be made to properly "recognized and represented" disability groups and not individuals.

The toll from road accidents in Australia's Asian neighbors is getting worse. Indeed, by 2020 the road toll is expected to be the world's third biggest health problem, ranking above tuberculosis, malaria and HIV/AIDS.

The United Blind Persons of Fiji has launched a two week campaign with the aim for the public to foster positive attitude towards their disability. Akuila Rewatabua from the group said is urging the public to take a more human approach and be less discriminatory in the treatment of blind people. "What blind people dream of is a society that acknowledges them as fellow human beings, recognizes their hidden potentials and values their contribution towards community development and nation building," Mr Rewatabua said. The United Blind Persons of Fijis White Cane Safety Week was launched on Saturday and will be running for two weeks.

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