About 50 per cent of infrastructure and building projects in Fiji lack accessibility for persons living with disabilities, it has been revealed.

This information came to light during a disability inclusion training organised by the Fiji Disabled Peoples Federation (FDPF) and Australian Humanitarian Partnership (AHP) for the Live and Learn Fiji staff.

The training took place at the Friendly North Inn in Labasa yesterday.

Live and Learn Fiji’s gender and resilience officer, Joseva Ravula, said to address this growing concern, there was a plan in place to conduct a disability access audit.

“We are working with the FDPF on how to facilitate the audit and collaborate with relevant stakeholders to create accessible environments for persons living with disabilities,” Mr Ravula said.

He added that following the training, they would be in a better position to begin working on the audit.

Fiji Disabled Peoples Federation (FDPF) representative, Jay Nasilasila, said the access audit was a process, and an assessment would be conducted on physical infrastructure and the environment.

“We hope that all institutions and service providers will also ensure accessibility for persons living with disabilities,” Mr Nasilasila said.

“We identified the need for this audit during a workshop in Suva, as we have observed that public spaces in Fiji still require some adjustments.”

He said the access audit is not about removing infrastructure or projects, but rather about finding ways to adjust or modify them to allow access for persons living with disabilities.

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