Sindh govt to enhance funding for disability rehabilitation

KARACHI: For empowering persons with disabilities, the Sindh government has proposed enhanced funding for disability rehabilitation, inclusive education, specialized healthcare facilities, and vocational training programs to improve opportunities and services for persons with disabilities across the province.

In his budget speech, the Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah reaffirmed his government’s commitment to ensuring equal opportunities, quality education, rehabilitation services, and dignified livelihoods for persons with disabilities, enabling them to participate fully in the province’s social and economic development.

During FY2025-26, the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPD) expanded its outreach through 67 government rehabilitation schools, 10 operational Centres for Autism Rehabilitation and Training Services (C-ARTS), and partnerships with 140 organizations across Sindh.

The government provided Rs2.8 billion in grant-in-aid to partner institutions supporting persons with disabilities.

Under the Inclusive Education Programme, more than 1,000 teachers from 300 schools received specialized training, while a target has been set to train 5,000 teachers in the coming year.

The department also accelerated the expansion of rehabilitation facilities. C-ARTS centres in Shaheed Benazirabad, Sukkur, and Larkana continued providing educational, vocational, and rehabilitation services, while new centres in Tando Muhammad Khan and Korangi have been completed and are ready to become operational. The Sukkur Mega Complex is nearing completion, with additional facilities under development in Mirpurkhas, Karachi Central, and DHA Karachi.

Healthcare and rehabilitation infrastructure also witnessed significant progress. The Sindh Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (SIPM&R) in Larkana has reached nearly 90 percent completions, while a new SIPM&R facility is being developed in Sukkur.

Rehabilitation centres are also being expanded in Karachi, Badin, Tando Muhammad Khan, Shahdadpur, Jacobabad, Moro, Daur and Mithi.

Among key initiatives launched during the year, the department established 42 digital classrooms for deaf students, set up Pakistan’s largest vocational training centre for persons with disabilities in Korangi, and distributed assistive devices worth approximately Rs800 million across Sindh.

The MILAP mobile application, developed in collaboration with Sindh Police, was also launched to support vulnerable children and has already helped reunite several lost children with their families.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026