Egypt’s Government Signs Valletta Declaration To Support The Differently Abled
By Muhammed Aladdin.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Egypt has just signed the Valletta declaration in support of people with disability all over the world. The agreement comes as a part of the Arab-European cooperation on a number of political as well as social issues.
The 25th of April saw the European-Arab meeting on the rights of persons with special needs held at the Maltese Parliament. Delegations from around 22 countries from the EMEA region attended to voice their support, including Egypt.
The Egyptian delegation headed by Nada Darraz, Egypt’s Ambassador to Malta, signed the declaration, and as a result, Egypt has become a part of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA).
In addition, Parliament Member Heba Hagras attended, speaking of the various measures taken by the Egyptian government over the past couple of years to support those with a disability and further integrate them into society.
The historic meeting organized by the ESCWA and the Arab League allowed the launch of the first European-Arab Forum on Persons with Disabilities/Valetta, which will serve as a platform for exchanging experiences as well as promoting Arab-European cooperation to support the rights of the differently abled all over both regions.
In Egypt alone, there are around 10 million people with disabilities out of Egypt’s population of 104 million. In recent years, efforts were established to empower many of them to unleash their full potential.
The most significant of these initiatives so far was the naming of 2018 as the year of persons with special needs with President Abdelfattah Al-Sisi promising that the Tahya Misr Fund will provide an EGP 80 million in donations to a new EGP 100 million investment fund for people with special needs.
The Egyptian government is obliged by its own constitution to provide equal opportunity along with a high standard of life to its disabled population.
According to Article 81 of Egypt’s 2014 constitution, the state must provide work opportunities for individuals with disabilities and allocate for them a percentage of job openings, in addition to adequately equipping public utilities and the surrounding areas for use by disabled persons.
