CAIRO – 2 December 2019: Interior Minister Mahmoud Tawfik has issued orders to allow disabled persons to obtain national identity cards, travel documents, and work permits free of charge, for one week starting Tuesday.
Tawfik's decision comes ahead of the International Day of Disabled Persons, celebrated worldwide on December 3rd every year.
The step comes as part of the national initiatives of Kolena Wahed (We are all one) and Hayah Karima (a decent life), under the auspices of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, a statement by the ministry read.
It also comes within the framework of the ministry's strategy to activate police's social and humanitarian role, the statement added.
In October, the Ministry of Social Solidarity has launched an initiative to employ people with disabilities, in cooperation with a private company.
The initiative, dubbed "Hayah Gadida" (New Life), comes as part of national efforts to expand the social protection umbrella for people with special needs, including providing monthly cash assistance or through providing them with job opportunities.
Ministry of Manpower and Immigration appointed in September 1,777 youth including 21 with special needs, according to a statement issued by the ministry. Earlier In the same month, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli has inaugurated a rehabilitation center for people with special needs, established by the Ministry of Interior, in the 10th of Ramdan City.
Moreover, in December last year, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi allocated LE 80 million ($4.46 million) of the country's Tahya Misr Fund in support of people with special needs.
The president made the announcement while attending a celebration marking the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. "People with special needs in Egypt represent 9-10 percent of the total population," Sisi said.
Sisi also announced last year establishing a technical center for services for disabled persons, to be the first of its kind in Africa.
The center is set to enable people with hearing or speech related disability to use technology to communicate through mobile phones.
During the inauguration of the 7th International Conference on Information Technology Convergence and Services for People with Disabilities (ICT4PwDs), Sisi also announced establishing an initiative that aims to enable disabled people to get services and information introduced by online websites of governmental institutions.
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