KATHMANDU, Sept 29: The government has integrated the Disability Management Information System (DMIS) into its Social Information Management System (SIMS) to improve the delivery of disability-related services.
The system was formally handed over to the Ministry of Women, Children, Gender and Sexual Minorities and Social Security at a ceremony on Monday.
Ministry Secretary Krishna Bahadur Raut said the government had taken ownership of the system, marking a new phase in managing disability-related information and services.
Understanding disability
He said the priority was to ensure that people at the local level benefit from the system and that local governments have the capacity to use it.
SIMS has been implemented in around 160 local levels over the past two years and has 11 modules covering social security services, beneficiary information and governance-related data.
The Social Protection Civil Society Network (SPCSN) developed and piloted DMIS with UNICEF support in around 40 local levels. The system was designed to improve the identification and record-keeping of persons with disabilities and their access to social protection.
The integration is expected to reduce duplication and make services more efficient by bringing disability identification, assessment, digital records and reporting into one system.
The ministry has assumed full responsibility for operating and technically managing the system and plans to expand it to all 753 local levels.
SPCSN Chairperson Gopal Thapa Magar said the network would continue working with the government and provide technical support and capacity-building assistance for one year.
UNICEF Nepal Representative Alice Akunga stressed the importance of partnerships and inclusive digital services in strengthening social protection.
The integration was carried out under the Empowered Women, Prosperous Nepal (EWPN) program with financial support from the European Union and in partnership with UNICEF.
