{"id":93530,"date":"2026-02-07T16:36:44","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T16:36:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/uncategorized\/nodo-calls-for-disability-representation-in-national-assembly"},"modified":"2026-02-07T17:37:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T17:37:15","slug":"nodo-calls-for-disability-representation-in-national-assembly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/nodo-calls-for-disability-representation-in-national-assembly","title":{"rendered":"NODO Calls for Disability Representation in National Assembly"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"ap-article-header-tag\"> <strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Gambia. <\/strong> <\/span><b>The Chairman of the National Organization for the Disabled and Orphans (NODO), Lamin Manneh, has expressed concern over the absence of persons with disabilities in The Gambia\u2019s National Assembly.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>He warns that the lack of political representation leaves a significant segment of the population without a voice in national decision-making process.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking in an interview with The Voice newspaper, Manneh says while development initiatives targeting persons with disabilities are commendable, true empowerment must include representation at the highest levels of governance.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are talking about empowerment, but how can people with disabilities be empowered when they have no voice in Parliament?\u201d he questioned.<\/p>\n<p>Manneh noted that a considerable proportion of the Gambian population lives with some form of disability, yet none are directly represented in the legislature to advocate for their interests.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is a serious disappointment,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>He commended development partners and stakeholders for supporting programmes aimed at improving access to education and assistive technologies for children with disabilities, describing such interventions as milestones that can promote independence and enable beneficiaries to contribute meaningfully to national development.<\/p>\n<p>However, he stresses that the long-term success of such initiatives depends on strong government commitment and sustained funding.<\/p>\n<p>Manneh also highlighted persistent social barriers, particularly negative attitudes at family and community levels, which he said continued to marginalize children with disabilities.<\/p>\n<p>According to him, many children with disabilities are denied access to education and other opportunities, a situation that often leads to street begging and long-term dependency.<\/p>\n<p>He called for increased public awareness to combat discrimination and promote inclusion.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor years, people with disabilities have been neglected, yet they have the same abilities and potential as anyone else,\u201d Manneh said. \u201cWith education and opportunity, they can work, lead and contribute to this country.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He urged the government and relevant stakeholders to strengthen the implementation of disability-related laws, increase budgetary allocations, and ensure the inclusion of persons with disabilities in leadership and governance structures.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDevelopment is incomplete when an entire group of citizens is left behind,\u201d he said. \u201cInclusion must be practical, not just promises.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"ap-article-footer-note\">Find more news and analyses on <span class=\"ap-highlight-country\">Gambia<\/span> on the <span class=\"ap-highlight-brand\">Africa Press<\/span> website<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Gambia. The Chairman of the National Organization for the Disabled and Orphans (NODO), Lamin Manneh, has expressed concern over the absence of persons with disabilities in The Gambia\u2019s National Assembly. He warns that the lack of political representation leaves a significant segment of the population without a voice in national decision-making process. Speaking [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":93528,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[260],"class_list":["post-93530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-gambia"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>NODO Calls for Disability Representation in National Assembly - Gambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"-article-header-tag&quot;&gt; Africa-Press - Gambia. The Chairman of the National ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/nodo-calls-for-disability-representation-in-national-assembly\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NODO Calls for Disability Representation in National Assembly\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"-article-header-tag&quot;&gt; Africa-Press - Gambia. 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