Social affairs officials are being trained to identify people with disabilities through the use of digital technology.
The training was launched by the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation. Officials who complete the training are expected to pass along the knowledge to commune and district officials across the country.
Yeap Malyno, the director of Welfare for Persons with Disabilities Department, told The Post on Thursday the EU-funded training started this month with the cooperation of UNICEF Cambodia.
“We trained coaches in Siem Reap, Banteay Meanchey and Oddar Meanchey last week,” he said.
He said the training started in four more provinces – Stung Treng, Kratie, Tbong Khmum and Kampong Cham – on Wednesday.
Malyno said the training is for local officials to better understand different types and levels of disability, both physical and mental, and how to talk to people and gather detailed information.
“We trained local authorities on technology use through the Disability Identification App. District authorities can use the system both online and offline to collect data,” he said.
According to Malyno, Cambodia still lacks data on people with disabilities. The latest data from the 2014 Cambodia Demographic and Health Survey (CDHS) counted 520,000 people in the country with disabilities.
The new training is slated to last through March next year but data will continue to be collected throughout the year. Data will include people who have been disabled due to traffic accidents, chronic diseases and dangers caused by mines, among others.
Stung Treng provincial social affairs department acting director Suth Vanna said on Thursday there are 1,158 disabled people in the province.
He said collecting data in the past was done with pen and paper. It was hard to collect data in detail and costly. The new app will cater to the specific needs of disabled people.
Ministry secretary of state Suong Menglong said the government policy is intended to improve the lives of disabled people and poor families.
