site.btaOver 1,400 People with Disabilities Receive High-Tech Assistive Devices Under Social Policy Ministry's Project

More than 1,400 people with disabilities have already received high-tech assistive devices free of charge under a project of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy (MLSP), funded through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, the Ministry announced here on Wednesday. A total of 2,061 people have been issued certificates for receiving such devices. 

The Ministry noted that the assistive technologies available to people with disabilities include modular prostheses made to individual specifications, smart AI-powered glasses that help visually impaired users navigate their surroundings, standing wheelchairs that allow users to rise to an upright position, electric motors for manual wheelchairs, braille computers, screen-reader software, and others. These devices will enable them to lead more independent and fulfilling lives, study, work and develop professionally, engage in sports, maintain social contacts, and successfully carry out everyday tasks on their own. 

“Our task as a society is to ensure that people with disabilities have increasingly greater opportunities for full integration,” said Labour and Social Policy Minister Borislav Gutsanov. “Behind these more than 2,000 certificates are real stories. That is why it was important for people to decide for themselves which high-tech assistive device would improve their lives the most,” he added. 

On the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the MLSP is presenting the stories of three individuals who have already received such devices. Their stories are told in a film by Maria Vasileva, produced by the Ministry under the project Provision of Assistive Devices to Persons with Permanent Disabilities.  

In June, the MLSP announced that nearly BGN 370 million have been allocated for services for the elderly and people with disabilities.