Jordan Times
Thursday, October 19, 2006
King directs gov’t to support strategy
AMMAN (Petra) — In a letter addressed to Prime
Minister Marouf Bakhit on Wednesday, His Majesty King Abdullah underlined the
importance of providing the disabled with the care and attention they need to
maintain decent living standards.
The Monarch stressed that providing care to this segment of society was a
national duty and a right enshrined in international human rights agreements and
the Millennium Development Goals, adding that it is a measure used to gauge the
advancement of nations.
In spite of the country’s achievements in providing care and support to people
with disabilities, especially in the fields of education, legislation and
health, according to current indicators, some centres and societies and the
programmes they offer lack a clear philosophy and vision that facilitate
integrating this segment into society, the King said in his letter.
“During my meetings with citizens in governorates, the badia and camps in the
recent past, I sensed that many of those with disabilities and their families
suffer morally, psychologically and materially, due to the weakness of the
services offered to them and activities geared towards this segment, which is a
basic part of society,” King Abdullah said.
The Monarch, who issued directives yesterday for the formulation of a national
strategy for the disabled, said it would address the loopholes by creating a
national database on the people with disabilities in the country. It will also
determine the challenges they face, address them and suggest solutions for
overcoming them.
He added that a Royal committee will determine the cost of implementing the
strategy, set a timeframe for its execution and determine the tasks of the
concerned authorities.
“To ensure the success of the committee’s work, we direct the government and all
public and private institutions to extend all forms of support for the
committee’s efforts in setting the strategy,” the Monarch said in the letter.