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1. The Committee takes note of the information supplied by the Government in its report received in October 2004. It notes in particular the adoption of a final draft of the disability policy document which has been submitted for final comment prior to publication. It notes that the Handicapped Persons Act is still in draft form and hopes that the Government will make the necessary effort to reinitiate dialogue with the social partners on this matter. The Committee asks the Government to provide copies of the aforementioned texts as soon as they are published and to provide further information on the following points.

2. Measures taken to develop vocational rehabilitation and employment services for persons with disabilities. The Ministry of Social Development and Persons with Disabilities has launched a pilot project with assistance from the Norwegian Association of the Disabled (NAD), allowing ten disabled students to receive training at Soche Technical College (Malawi), and there is a possibility that their number will be increased to 40 in 2005. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on all new measures taken under the National Policy for vocational rehabilitation and employment of disabled persons, including, for example, statistics, extracts of reports, studies or inquiries showing the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, in accordance with Part V of the report form.

3. Training of staff responsible for vocational rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities. The Government indicates that the staff of the Kamuzu and Lilongwe vocational training centres have only received training in vocational guidance, and that there is no specialized training in the country. The Committee notes that the Government is seeking assistance from the Office in order to introduce specialized training, as prescribed in Article 9 of the Convention, and asks the Government to report on measures taken to ensure the availability of suitably qualified vocational rehabilitation staff for the persons concerned.