Why we need to bolster My Aged Care to come at par with the NDIS

20/10/2021 0 Comments read Disability, Health & Science, NDIS

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 20.10.2021 (Hireup): George Laszuk is among thousands of Australians with a disability who are not covered by the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), which excludes people over the age of 65.

He missed the NDIS safety net by less than a year. “It came as a bombshell. I felt cheated. We had campaigned for it for so many years. Until today, it has never been made clear as to why we were excluded,” says Laszuk, who contracted poliomyelitis at 11 months of age in 1951. October is polio awareness month.

He is now experiencing Post-Polio Syndrome and requires a powered wheelchair and assistance with showering and daily chores. His My Aged Care package barely meets his daily needs despite him being in the highest category of the program.

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CommonSensing Project helps build climate resilience in Fiji

11/09/2021 0 Comments read Climate Change, Environment & Development, Health & Science

Vineil Narayan on Vio Island in Lautoka, Fiji. Photo Credit: Supplied by Vineil Narayan

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 10.09.2021 (IPS): The UK Space Agency’s International Partnership Programme (IPP) CommonSensing is led by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) through its United Nations Satellite Centre (UNOSAT), which is working with selected partners including the Commonwealth Secretariat to improve resilience to the effects of climate change in Fiji, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.

Vineil Narayan, Climate Finance Specialist and Head of Climate Change and International Cooperation Division, Ministry of Economy, Fiji, talks about the use of CommonSensing data in climate change adaptation and mitigation; and its potential in accessing the much-needed climate finance.

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Is NDIS the gold standard for disability care in the world?

23/08/2021 0 Comments read Disability, Health & Science, NDIS

Jonathan Marchand, who has muscular dystrophy and requires a ventilator to breathe, had been living in a long-term care home for nearly 10 years. Last August, he had "caged" himself in front of the national assembly in Quebec (Canada) to highlight the institutionalisation of people with disabilities. Photo Credit: Supplied by Jonathan Marchand

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 23.08.2021 (Hireup): Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is said to be a ‘game changer’ for people with disabilities and their families, but how does it hold up on the global stage? I spoke to three leading disability organisations in Canada, the United Kingdom and Singapore to find out what supports are available in their countries. Are they advocating for a universal, person-centred scheme which offers people with disabilities more ‘choice and control’ over the care and services they receive?

Every Canadian Counts Coalition (ECCC) board member Jonathan Marchand says: “[The] NDIS is an example to follow. In Canada, there is no centralised funding for services and support for people with disabilities. It is left to the provinces and there’s a patchwork of support that, for the most part, hasn’t been updated for decades now. In some places, you will even struggle to get funding for a wheelchair”.

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