Malta is very progressive in its approach to disability, Colin Barnes, from Leeds University's Centre for Disability Studies, said yesterday.
"In some countries disability issues are low on the public agenda, but in Malta there is a lot of support from the public," he said.
Speaking to The Times, Prof. Barnes said lack of physical access for the disabled creates dependence, which in the long run costs money.
"Most European countries accept the importance of making places accessible, because this gives people with a disability independence," he said.
Prof. Barnes was in Malta this week for an EU-funded seminar on reasonable accommodation organised by the Centre for Disability Studies, Leeds University's Department of Civil Engineering and the University of Malta's Faculty of Architecture.
He said the island was similar to most other countries with regard to accessibility for the disabled. "Most countries abide by a particular standard with regard to accessibility. Malta is no better and no worse than them - some access issues have already been addressed, while others still need to be seen to," he said.
Prof. Barnes admitted it was not easy to make places accessible, and it was also costly, but lack of physical access would mean less independence for people with a disability, making them depend on others, thus increasing the need for assistance.
"Disability does not only affect the disabled person but also the people around him. This is increasingly becoming an issue in developed countries because we have an ageing population, and the older a person the higher the possibility that he will suffer from some sort of disability," he said.
Prof. Barnes said the feedback he got during the seminar was very positive. He was here through an EU-funded project to discuss reasonable accommodation for the disabled, and remained in Malta to conduct some meetings at the invitation of the National Commission for Persons with Disability.
The Leeds University's Centre for Disability Studies is an interdisciplinary centre for teaching and research in the field of disability studies.