375 social facilities in Minsk to be equipped with accessible environment in 2026

Work continues in the capital to create an accessible environment. How the city adapts to the needs of people with disabilities was discussed on September 21 at a meeting of the interdepartmental council on the rights of persons with disabilities of the Minsk City Executive Committee, the correspondent of the Minsk-Novosti agency reports.

Deputy Chairman of the Minsk City Executive Committee Adrey Strygelsky drew attention to the social importance of creating a barrier-free environment in the city.

- More than 100,000 people with disabilities live in the capital. They need special attention, first of all, in matters related to medical care, medical and social rehabilitation, ensuring the accessibility of social facilities, Strygelsky said. The city continues systematic work in this direction. It is important to ensure the smooth movement of people with disabilities around the city. Social facilities such as health care, education, trade and consumer services should be accessible to all categories of citizens.

Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Labor, Employment and Social Protection of the Minsk City Executive Committee Natalia Karavaya spoke about the implementation of the Social Inclusion subprogram of the State Program “Equal Opportunity Society” in the city.

- In 2026, it is planned to equip 375 social infrastructure facilities in the capital with affordable environment conditions. Including 23 objects of education, 22 - trade, 18 - health care, 16 - household services, 5 - sports, 3 - culture, said N. Karavaya. This year, 256 objects of the street-road network, 20,320 square meters of sidewalks, 161 pedestrian crossings, 15 traffic lights, 80 stops will also be equipped with the conditions of an accessible environment.

She noted that two hundred of the planned facilities have already been completed, another 170 will be completed before the end of the year.

The Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Labor, Employment and Social Protection of the Minsk City Executive Committee noted that in 2026 large-scale work was started on the application of contrast marking of the canvases of transparent doors of entrance groups, the placement of the information plate “Yellow Circle”, the installation of speech informants, mnemoschems, information plates with Braille, the laying of tactile tiles and floor indicators.

- In the capital, the share of the Minsktrans enterprise adapted to the transportation of disabled passengers is 93.2%, Karavaya said. To increase convenience and accessibility, tram routes are duplicated by low-floor pneumatic wheeled transport.

The meeting also discussed issues related to the provision of free medicines, the passage of the medical and rehabilitation expert commission, the organization of medical and social rehabilitation and habilitation of disabled people.

Photo by Denis Kulagi