President Sisi at the annual celebration for Egyptians with special needs. Presidency
The president's directives came during a celebration for the differently-abled in an annual event that has been held for the past four years in Egypt to support people with special needs who are estimated to be around 20 million.
During the event, the president announced the establishment of a fund for differently-abled people, instructing five different state funds to support the new fund at a total of EGP 1 billion.
As per the president's directives, the Armed Forces Fund will contribute EGP 500 million to the new fund. The Ministry of Housing Fund will contribute EGP 200 million. The Suez Canal Fund, the Honouring of Martyrs Fund, and the Healthcare Fund will each contribute EGP 100 million.
The president ordered all concerned bodies to continue working on enhancing programmes and plans to integrate differently-able people in all national projects and initiatives.
This year's celebration was held at Al-Manara International Conference Centre (AMICC) under the slogan 'We Have a Place'.
A documentary was screened during the ceremony to celebrate the achievements of Egyptian differently-able athletes in both Arab and international tournaments.
The film highlighted services provided to the differently-abled by the the recently launched Differently-Abled Fund.
The fund, which was established in 2020 as part of a series of measures to integrate differently-abled people in the community and improve their standards of living, has set up 20 service centres nationwide.
During the event, the president tasked the Ministry of Social Solidarity with ensuring that all people with special needs receive an Integrated Card that provides them with basic healthcare services and with social and other services.
El- Sisi also directed the Ministry of Youth and Sports to provide memberships to special needs individuals at youth, innovation and learning centres.
El-Sisi also instructed the Ministry of Housing to allot a quota in its projects to persons with special needs.
The president also charged the Ministry of Transport with guaranteeing persons with special needs accessibility in all ongoing national projects such as roads, bridges, tunnels, metro stations and monorails.
Furthermore, El-Sisi assigned the education, youth and social solidarity ministries to launch the "Companions of the Differently-Abled" initiative in schools, universities, youth centres, clubs, care homes and other entities.
He also tasked The Ministry of Manpower to develop programmes aimed at training and employing those with special needs to gain skills needed in the job market.
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