The governor of Atlántico led this Thursday the space for participatory dialogue on responsibility, in which she announced the management of her administration in favor of the disabled population of the department.

More than 1,384 technical aids have been issued by the Government in the municipalities and corregimientos of the department, a process that is carried out with the support of physiotherapists and municipal liaison officers.

During the conference, the results of programs such as “More capacity, more nutrition”, the issuance of disability certificates, military notebooks, educational tools, sports support, universal accessibility in spaces public, inclusive beaches, among others, were highlighted.

Barranquilla, May 11, 2023. Atlantic Governorate. The Governor, Elsa Noguera, led the participatory dialogue space ‘Atlántico es Más Capacidad’, within the framework of the 2022 accountability, to learn about the achievements and progress of her administration for the benefit of the disabled population of the department.

The President underlined her administration’s commitment to achieving a more inclusive Atlantic and, together with her cabinet, gave an update on the programs she has promoted with her work team from the Ministry of Inclusion of the Disabled Population and other secretariats of the Governorate.

“I had anticipated that the Atlantic would be a much more inclusive department. For this reason, the first thing I did when I was elected Governor was to create a Special Council to be able to implement a cross-cutting policy that would affect all the secretariats”, underlined the Governor in his speech from the Cubo de Cristal, in Plaza de la Paz, in front of an audience made up mainly of people with disabilities.

Likewise, Noguera indicated that one of the programs with great results in terms of care for the disabled population is the provision of technical aids. “In the Atlantic, we have delivered more than 1,384 aids according to the needs of each person with a disability, an approach that we are carrying out with the support of physiotherapists and municipal liaison officers”, he added. he adds.

The technical aids delivered in the different municipalities and corregimientos of the department consist of standard and neurological wheelchairs, Canadian canes, guide canes, four-point canes, crutches and walkers.

The Senior Advisor for the Inclusion of the Disabled Population of the Atlantic, Nini Cantillo, pointed out that in the Atlantic there are 45,000 people with disabilities characterized. “It has been an honor for me to be able to work for this group of people who motivate us every day to fight for their rights, so that they have the opportunity to study, to dream and to make their life and that of their family a different and better world,” the official said.

Cantillo indicated that in coordination with the National Army, it was possible to resolve the military situation of 180 disabled people, with the delivery of military notebooks.

In this regard, the Governor of Atlántico announced that “this year a new call will be opened so that, thanks to the logistics that we provide from the government, more young people with disabilities can access the military notebook for free, which, without doubt, it opens many doors.”

Similarly, the president made a point of thanking the municipal relays in particular “because without you it would be impossible for us to know so closely the needs of our disabled population. Thank you very much for your work.”

Regarding the issuance of disability certificates, the Secretary of Health, Alma Solano, pointed out that to date 4,645 certificates have been issued in the 22 municipalities of the department and about 700 million pesos have been invested, among the national government and departmental resources.

“One of the Governor’s main objectives was to characterize the population with disabilities, to know where they were and what their needs were. At the end of 2020, we launched the first certification process with national government resources. Then we increased the budget, with our own resources, by another 200 million pesos and we managed to make almost 1,700 certifications in 2021. For this year, we have guaranteed 480 million pesos for disability certifications in the four departmental hospitals: Maternity and Childhood Hospital in Soledad, Baranoa, Ponedera and Sabanalarga,” explained Solano, who added that people who need it can now go to the mayor’s office to start their gait.

In turn, the director of Social Capital, Óscar Pantoja, affirmed that with the program “More capacities, more nutrition”, the government has taken care of 2,200 people with disabilities in an integral way, through four components: food and nutritional, psychosocial, support for caregivers and care pathways.

“Thanks to this great program, we have brought nutritional packages and trained caregivers and family members in the municipalities of the department, so that they can implement healthy lifestyle habits at home, and can have health and well-being. -be,” added Pantoja.

Yorleidys Guette, 24, from Galapa, thanked the Governor for the nutritional and psychosocial support she received. “Thank you very much Governor, for being the leader of our people. I learned a lot thanks to the program, that a disability is not a barrier, that we are all the same and that we can continue to dream despite a disability,” said the young woman.

On education, Education Secretary Catalina Ucrós said the goal of Governor Elsa Noguera’s administration from day one was to ensure access to schools for children with disabilities. “Today, there are already 2,500 students with physical, visual and cognitive disabilities enrolled in educational institutions. In addition, we have worked with important allies, such as the Ce Camilo Foundation, Fundavé, Grupo 11 of Spain and the American University, to provide them with tools and favorable conditions, managing to deliver the first inclusive masks of the country during the pandemic. , have 31 support teachers throughout the department, to arrive with technical solutions such as kits including mobile phones, laptops, tablets and briefcases with school supplies, as well as the support of 500 caring families “.

According to the director of Indeportes, Luis Restrepo, since the institute, support for the disabled population has been provided in the areas of promotion and development and high performance.

“In 2022, for the first time, the first South American Amputee Football Championship was held in the department of Salgar Township, where Colombia qualified for the World Cup in Turkey. To travel to Istanbul , the venue of the event, the governor’s office not only delivered the uniforms that the team wore during World Cup matches, but also provided all the tickets for the delegation, which consisted of 19 people” , Restrepo said.

He added that the foundations were also laid for the formation of the first women’s soccer team for amputees and, in High Performance, the support of Indeportes is total in the preparation and participation of the various athletes in the qualifying rounds of the Para-National Games. of the Coffee Axis 2023.

In total, there are 26 athletes with disabilities in the “Supported Athlete” program who receive monthly financial support and methodological support and from the Center for Applied Sports Sciences.

Regarding the area of ​​technology, the secretary of ICT, Juan Carlos de la Cruz, said that a strategy has been developed for the visually impaired population of the municipalities of Atlántico, who, through software such as Jaws and ZoomText, enables visually impaired people to use computers, tablets or mobile phones.

“The goal is for ICT to be inclusive in each of our programs. In Sabanalarga, for example, we deliver inclusive software so that visually impaired people can use computers and become increasingly independent,” said the secretary.

Inclusion is also reflected in the public spaces recovered by the departmental administration and this was announced by the Secretary of Infrastructure, Nury Logreira, explaining that the universal accessibility component is transversal in the “Parks for People” program . “We build infrastructure for a purpose, and the purpose is for reclaimed spaces to benefit everyone. Inclusion in public spaces is the coexistence of all. We have taken into account the fundamental characteristics of accessibility and universal circulation and all our projects include elements such as tactile tiles, accessible paths, ramps, public toilets for the disabled, furniture and equipment inclusive, anyone can use these spaces,” he said. .logreira.

On the other hand, within the framework of the order of beaches, the secretary of economic development, Luis Martínez, argued that the government carried out the intervention on the beach of Salgar (Puerto Colombia) with the supply of bathrooms with batteries for people with disabilities, food court places with access ramps, Ipanema wheelchair access to the beach and parking spaces for people with disabilities.

“We are transforming the beaches so that they are also inclusive and that everyone has the opportunity to take advantage of this tourist infrastructure and have a pleasant day, and to join us in all this tourist development that we are putting in place in the department”, he added.

In the same way, Martínez pointed out that through the Popular Fund, 10 companies of people with disabilities have been helped with economic support, training and accompaniment. Among these businesses, located mainly in Barranquilla and Soledad, there are gastronomic businesses, crafts and clothing, variety and catalog sales, among others.