Photo : BSS

DHAKA, May 13, 2026 (BSS) - Minister for Social Welfare and Women and Children Affairs Prof Dr AZM Zahid Hossain today said that approximately six percent of the country's population lives with various types of disabilities and that overall social development is impossible without including them.

"No person with a disability should feel alone, because the government always stands by them," he said while speaking as the chief guest at an event organised at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the capital to mark the 19th World Autism Awareness Day.

The minister said parents of children with disabilities often make tireless efforts to raise them as capable individuals, while the greater challenge lies in ensuring their proper care, treatment and rehabilitation. The government, he added, is working to strengthen access to treatment and support services for them.

He further said that irrespective of the number of persons with disabilities, the government has a responsibility towards all of them. Acting on that responsibility, it has undertaken numerous initiatives and projects for their welfare.