They were speaking at the inaugural session of a three-day workshop titled 'Capacity building of southern disabled people's organisations (DPOs)' at Brac Centre Inn at Mohakhali in the city.

Action on Disability and Development (ADD) organised the workshop with the financial assistance of Department for International Development (DFID).

Inaugurating the workshop, former adviser to the caretaker government Rokia Afzal Rahman said more employment opportunities should be created for the persons with disabilities.

They can be turned into a productive force if trained and given support, she said adding 300 disabled people were appointed as election observers in the last general elections.

She urged the participating countries to exchange their knowledge, success, and experiences to empower the persons with disabilities so that a comprehensive plan of actions can be taken.

ADD Country Representative Mosharraf Hossain said 25 participants from Afghanistan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Bangladesh are participating in the workshop that aims at contributing to more effective poverty reduction programmes in line with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The speakers said the MDGs cannot be achieved without addressing the needs and rights of disabled people as 20 percent poorest people of the world are disabled and 90 percent disabled children in the developing countries do not receive schooling.

Shaila Rahman, social development adviser of DFID, Momena Bandy, first secretary of Pakistan, Kevan Moll, consultant and representative of Overseas Development Group, University of East Anglia, UK and Hafizul Islam, additional secretary of Social Welfare Directorate, also spoke in the workshop.