2025-11-20
The work, living, and service environments must be accessible to everyone—this is an essential condition for ensuring the independence and equal opportunities of people with disabilities. However, there are still many problems to be solved in this area in Lithuania: many residential buildings and public buildings – municipal offices, social service centres, educational, health, and cultural institutions – are not adequately adapted to the needs of people with disabilities. This situation increases their social exclusion and limits their opportunities to participate fully in society.
"An accessible environment is not a privilege—it is a prerequisite for a dignified life. Every inaccessible public building means closed doors for people who want to participate in society," says Auditor General Irena Segalovičienė.
In its 2020 audit Social Integration of Persons with Disabilities, the National Audit Office pointed out that in as many as 32 municipalities, less than 30% of public buildings were adapted for persons with disabilities. Although some progress has been made over the past five years, the situation remains challenging.
The Ministry of Environment is almost three years late in assessing how many important public buildings are still not adapted to the needs of people with disabilities. No concrete action plan has been prepared that would set out measures, responsibilities, and deadlines for addressing this problem.
One of the significant steps taken was the creation of the STASIS information system by the Agency for the Protection of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities under the Ministry of Social Security and Labour, which allows data on the accessibility of buildings to be collected from municipalities. However, these data are not entirely reliable, as not all municipalities enter it into the system.
According to STASIS data, a study conducted at the beginning of this year showed that about 80% of the buildings assessed do not meet the minimum accessibility requirements. According to data from the association Savarankiškas gyvenimas (Independent Living), as many as half of Vilnius elderships are still not adapted for people with mobility disabilities.
The implementation of the National Audit Office's recommendations aimed to ensure that by 2025, 40% of important public buildings would be adapted for persons with disabilities. However, without reliable data on the actual accessibility of buildings, this goal may not be achieved.
More about the audit Social integration of persons with disabilities.