CAIRO, Oct 24 (IPS) – In a major transfer to handle the challenges confronted by folks with disabilities and the aged, six Egyptian parliamentary committees met in Cairo on October 12 to debate nationwide methods and legislative efforts.
The Discussion board of Arab Parliamentarians on Inhabitants and Improvement and the Asian Inhabitants and Improvement Affiliation (APDA), with assist from the United Nations Inhabitants Fund (UNFPA) and the Authorities of Japan, organized the assembly with the main focus of aligning Egypt’s insurance policies with the Sustainable Improvement Objectives (SDGs).
Roughly 1.2 million folks with disabilities presently obtain state help, whereas Egypt’s aged inhabitants continues to develop. In accordance with the Central Company for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), 10.64 % of Egyptians have a incapacity, and the aged inhabitants reached 9.3 million in 2024, representing 8.8 % of the full inhabitants—4.6 million males (8.5 %) and 4.7 million girls (9.2 %). The parliamentary committees convened to boost assist for these weak teams.
Dr. Abdelhadi Al-Qasabi, Chairman of the Committee on Social Solidarity, Household, and Individuals with Disabilities, emphasised latest legislative developments. He identified that Egypt has handed vital laws, such because the Aged Care Legislation in 2024 and the Legislation on the Rights of Individuals with Disabilities in 2018, to safeguard these weak teams. He underlined that these legal guidelines present the state’s adherence to the Egyptian Structure, which upholds everybody’s proper to a dignified life free from discrimination.
“Egypt has made vital strides by adopting insurance policies and legal guidelines that defend and empower folks with disabilities and the aged,” acknowledged Al-Qasabi. “We purpose to make sure they aren’t solely recipients of assist however contributors to the nation’s progress.”
The “Karama” program of the Egyptian authorities, which gives monetary support to these with impairments, was the main focus of the gathering. Egypt’s Minister of Social Solidarity, Dr. Maya Morsy, famous that this system, which has an annual finances of about 10 billion Egyptian kilos, presently serves 1.2 million folks with 1.3 million built-in companies playing cards distributed to make entry to social companies and healthcare simpler.
“We’re dedicated to making sure that folks with disabilities obtain their built-in companies playing cards inside 30 days, enhancing their entry to very important assets.”
Morsy emphasised the Aged Care Legislation, which assures these over 65 have higher entry to social, financial, and healthcare companies. “We purpose to create an surroundings the place the aged can dwell independently, free from abuse or exploitation, whereas persevering with to contribute to society,” she advised the viewers.
Dr. Hala Youssef, UNFPA Advisor, emphasised the necessity for worldwide cooperation in assembly the SDGs and making certain that nobody falls behind.
“Parliamentarians play a strategic function in making a legislative framework that addresses the wants of essentially the most weak,” Youssef added. “Innovation and know-how may be highly effective instruments for inclusion, offering folks with disabilities entry to schooling, employment, and social participation on an equal footing.”
Youssef went on to emphasise disturbing world figures, stating that 46 % of seniors over 60 have some kind of handicap and that individuals with disabilities had been among the many hardest struck through the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Kids with disabilities are 4 occasions extra more likely to expertise violence than their friends, whereas adults with disabilities face larger dangers of abuse and exploitation,” Youssef stated, urging a stronger dedication to defending their rights.
Dr. Sami Hashim, head of the Committee on Schooling and Scientific Analysis, pressured the mixing of people with disabilities within the academic system. He emphasised that, particularly within the age of synthetic intelligence, schooling should be adaptable, inclusive, and forward-thinking.
“Our schooling system should not solely train data however put together people for fulfillment in an more and more technological world,” stated Hashim. “That is notably vital for college students with disabilities, who ought to have entry to the instruments and alternatives that can enable them to thrive.”
The discussion board emphasised the crucial want for nationwide and worldwide collaboration to construct inclusive, egalitarian communities, provided that 80% of the one billion individuals with disabilities worldwide dwell in growing nations and that the variety of older folks in want of help is rising.
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