The call was made in a joint declaration adopted at the National Leadership Training Seminar for Representatives of Disabled Peoples' Organisations.

Bangladesh Protibandhi Kalyan Samity (BPKS) organised the seminar at the LGED Seminar Hall at Agargaon.

A total of 120 representatives from 80 disabled people's organisations from across the country took part in the seminar.

The joint declaration demanded of the government to provide administrative, financial and technical supports for the development of the disabled with special attention to physically challenged women.

It also urged the government to implement all its commitment made at national, regional, international and UN forums for the welfare of the disabled.

Speaking at the concluding session, State Minister for NGO Affairs Lutfor Rahman Khan said the disabled are not burden, rather they could be turned into human resources if proper training and opportunity are provided to them.

BPKS Executive Director Abdus Sattar Dulal said the physically challenged should not be excluded from any policy making process as they constitute 10 percent of the total population of the country.

He however regretted that there is not a single institution which is suitable for the disabled.

Action on Disability and Development (ADD) Country Representative Mosharraf Hossain, Australian High Commissioner Lorraine Barker, Managing Director of Bangladesh National Foundation for the Development of Disabled Persons (BNFDDP) M Ishaq Bhuiyan, Director General of Social Welfare Department Hafizul Islam Mian and BPKS Chairperson Saiful Islam also spoke.