By Ishmael Zay-Bangura

Freetown, 9th November, 2026 – The National Commission for Persons with Disability (NCPD), in partnership with One Family People (OFP) and with support from Liliane Fonds, has laid a robust foundation for a National Community-Based Rehabilitation (CBR) Strategy, which provides a multisectoral approach to improving access to health, education, livelihoods, social inclusion and empowerment for persons with disabilities.

Discussing at a press briefing held at the Ministry of Social Welfare on 4th November, the Acting Director of the Ministry of Social Welfare, John Conteh, emphasized that the Ministry remains deeply committed to pushing the Community-Based Rehabilitation (CBR) agenda forward to ensure that persons with disabilities can fully enjoy their basic rights without any forms of discrimination.

By anchoring the framework in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and the Persons with Disability Act 2011, the strategy aims to address persistent barriers, such as poverty, inaccessible infrastructure, and geographical disparities in service delivery. The ultimate goal is to move away from fragmented interventions and establish a sustainably financed national system that brings quality rehabilitation services directly to communities.

The initiative recently culminated in nationwide stakeholder engagement, bringing together over 550 participants across five districts, including Makeni, Bombali, Port Loko, Kenema, Bo and Kono.

Beyond infrastructure and policy, the discourse also spotlighted the importance of dignity in everyday language. Brima Sheriff, chairman of the NCPD, said it is preferable to say person with disability rather than a disabled man, saying that he or she must be recognized as a human being before the disability, underscoring that social inclusion begins with recognizing the inherent personhood of every individual.

Program Officer at the Center for Coordination of Youths (CCYA), Binty Phebean Fofana, revealed that her organization is actively aligning with this national push. Fofana also stated that CCYA is currently working on three distinct projects, which directly involve persons with disabilities.

As a critical next step, the NCPD and OFP plan to engage the Parliament of Sierra Leone and the Office of the Attorney General to facilitate the establishment of a National CBR Steering Committee, which will drive the final development and implementation of the strategy, ensuring that quality rehabilitation services are brought closer to persons with disabilities across the nation.