TEHRAN – The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Tejarat Bank have started a campaign titled ‘Disability is part of me, not all of me’ which aims to empower children with disabilities in Iran through raising awareness and fostering a supportive environment.

This initiative highlights the commitment of both organizations to promoting inclusion, accessibility, and equal opportunities for children with disabilities in Iran, UNICEF website announced in a press release on January 30.

The nationwide fundraising campaign is designed to improve children with disabilities’ lives. The campaign’s messages emphasize empowerment, dignity, and inclusion for children with disabilities.

This co-branded campaign will run across all Tejarat Bank branches, ATMs, Tejarat Bank customer clubs, and digital platforms, encouraging the public to donate to UNICEF.  

UNICEF is working alongside the Iranian government to provide quality, inclusive education for children with disabilities through several initiatives, including:

Improving the capacity of pre-primary and primary teachers to provide timely interventions for children with disabilities in mainstream schools.

Expanding the coverage and quality of national screening systems for early disability detection and referral.

Promoting the adoption of disability-inclusive data collection methods at institutional levels and establishing functional data management systems for disability-related information.

Facilitating access to assistive technologies and developing a national assistive technology innovation cluster within Iran’s innovation ecosystem to enhance access for children with disabilities.

Strengthening the capacity of adolescents with disabilities to acquire relevant employability skills and supporting their transition to meaningful employment.

Enhancing national intersectoral collaboration on the rights of children with disabilities.

Combating stigma and discrimination against children with disabilities through social behavioral change initiatives.

Between 2018 and 2021, UNICEF Iran and Tejarat Bank collaborated on several impactful initiatives, including the procurement of lightweight nebulizers for children with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) and the provision of essential water quality equipment for flood-affected populations in Golestan and Khuzestan provinces. 

Building on this success, the two organizations renewed their partnership in August 2023, reaffirming their commitment to improving children’s health, education and well-being over three years.  

By combining their resources and expertise, UNICEF Iran and Tejarat Bank are committed to making a lasting, positive impact on the lives of children with disabilities, ensuring they receive the care, support, and opportunities they deserve.

Measures focusing on children with disabilities 

Under a globally unique program called ‘Earthquake Preparedness Education for Children with Disabilities’, UNICEF and its partners have developed three books each targeting different stakeholders, i.e. parents/caregivers of children with disabilities, teachers, and policymakers.

Throughout the books, UNICEF and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), in collaboration with the International Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Seismology (IIEES), offer guidelines on disaster management, including mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery, focusing on children with hearing impairments, mobility impairments, and autism spectrum disorder so far, UNICEF website announced in a press release on January 19.

Furthermore, four consultative training workshops were held, where teachers, social workers, and aid workers learned and provided feedback on strategies for supporting children with disabilities before, during, and after earthquakes.

The program’s journey does not stop here. Plans are already underway to update the guidebooks to include guidelines for children with vision impairments and to expand the resources to address all types of disabilities. This initiative represents a significant leap towards inclusive earthquake preparedness, ensuring a safer and more resilient future for every child in Iran, regardless of their disabilities.

In September 2024, the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) held a training of trainers (TOT) workshop based on the UNICEF training package on ‘Disability Inclusion for Frontline Workers’.

Organized in cooperation with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the two-day training of trainers pilot workshop was held at the IRCS physical rehabilitation center from September 8 to 9, 2024 in Tehran, the UNICEF website announced in a press release on September 26, 2024.

UNICEF Disability Inclusion Policy and Strategy (DIPAS) 2022-2030 is guided by the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and the United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy (UNDIS).

MT/MG