Envisioning a disability-friendly Sri Lanka

The visually impaired community was one of the worst affected sectors during the COVID-19 pandemic

Colombo Mayor Vraie Balthazaar recently attended a walk for visually impaired persons to raise awareness on daily challenges that they encounter when walking about in the city. In order to personally experience their struggles, Mayor Balthazaar walked through parts of Colombo while blindfolded, accompanied by Sugath Wasantha de Silva, Sri Lanka’s first-ever vision-impaired Member of Parliament. It is a wise move to get into their shoes and experience the challenges that they face. But Sri Lanka has a long way to go in terms of building disability friendly cities. 

One of the pioneers of this concept was the late Senarath Attanayake, a provincial councillor at the Uva Provincial Council. His concept of Age Friendly/Disability Friendly City was the first of its kind in Sri Lanka. His proposal looked at upgrading facilities at public institutions to make it inclusive for disabled persons. The proposal included adding hand rails, upgraded floor plans, adequate signage, and accessible toilets and so on. The project also included empowering disabled persons and elderly by taking up various self-employment initiatives, developing a database to include details of elderly persons and disabled persons, establish accessible walkways, roads with regularly placed crossings, well-maintained, non-slippery pavements, streets with good lighting, buses with lower floors, more public vehicles with priority seating for elderly/disabled persons, establishing ramps at public places and institutions, priority parking bays and so on. 

Although statistics vary, records indicate that 1.7% of the Sri Lankan population are visually impaired. Eye health is considered a major public health challenge in Sri Lanka, particularly in rural areas – primarily due to conditions of cataract, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy, which can lead to blindness. Cataracts account for nearly 67% of overall blindness in the population aged over 40.

The visually impaired community was one of the worst affected sectors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most visually impaired individuals come from the poor segments of society and their disability often restricts them from finding a decent job. As a result,  they are usually confined to their homes. This is because most jobs are designed for people with eyesight, further widening the discrimination experienced by visually impaired persons. Employment for visually impaired persons often falls within the informal sector where they are compelled to do odd jobs to earn an income.

Successive governments paid Rs. 5000 as an allowance for disabled persons. But with the election of the first visually-impaired Member of Parliament, the incumbent government walked its talk in embracing inclusivity within their own party. Subsequently, a proposal was made to increase the disability allowance to Rs. 10,000 from the 2025 Budget. This proposal came into effect from April 2025. 

In order to be eligible for this allowance, individuals must be recognised as disabled by a government doctor, have a monthly income below Rs. 16,191, and be registered with the relevant authorities, though application specifics can vary. While many would argue that an allowance of Rs. 10,000 won’t suffice in the backdrop of having to earn over Rs. 100,000 to live a decent life in Sri Lanka, it is a positive development as far as visually impaired persons are concerned. 

The 2026 budget for Sri Lanka allocates funding for several measures to support persons with disabilities, including a monthly Rs. 10,000 subsidy for about 140,000 recipients through the Aswesuma programme, and Rs. one billion to improve accessibility in public places. It also proposes a private sector wage subsidy of 50% of the salary (up to Rs. 15,000 per person for 24 months) and aims to enforce the 3% public sector hiring quota for persons with disabilities. 

The world has already adopted these concepts and has provided maximum facilities for people to enjoy the right to accessibility. Singapore, Shanghai, and Hong Kong are ranked among the most disability-friendly cities in Asia due to their modern infrastructure, accessible public transportation, and inclusive design principles. Late Mr. Attanayake was driven by his passion and commitment to ensure a city that opened doors to all individuals. He made sure that nobody was being left out. Therefore, the incumbent government has ample opportunities to prioritise on similar initiatives and make Sri Lanka a safe and inclusive country for all.

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