Sisi allocates EGP 10 bln to Differently-Abled Fund

Baheya Wael , Wednesday 28 Feb 2024

President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi announced, during the fifth edition of the "Kaderoun Bekhtelaf" (Differently-Abled) event on Wednesday, the allocation of EGP 10 billion to the Differently-Abled Fund.

Sisi
A still photo of Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi attending fifth edition of the Kaderoun Bekhtelaf event ("Differently-Abled”) on Wednesday.

 

The annual event, being held this year at the Al-Manara International Convention Centre in New Cairo, is organized by the Ministry of Social Solidarity, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and the Egyptian Sports Federation for Intellectual Disabilities.

The event aims to support and shed a spotlight on the abilities of people with special needs in Egypt, whose number is around 11 million.

During the event, a short film showcased the state's support for the disabled.

Another documentary was screened on the challenges facing disabled people and the achievements they accomplished in sports.

The film showed that 53 players are now en route to Paris to represent Egypt in the World Championship for People with Disabilities in nine global games. 

Egypt supports its champions and embraces differences in the world at large, the documentary stressed.

During the 2023 edition, the president allocated EGP 1 billion to the Differently-Abled Fund, which was launched in 2021.

At the time, he also announced plans to issue integrated service cards to people with disabilities.

The Ministry of Social Solidarity had a plan to issue around 2.5 million of these cards by the end of January 2024, 1.5 million of which were issued by August 2023.

Colours differ according to the type of disability, with blue designating severe disabilities, green designating moderate disabilities, and purple for those with mild disabilities.

These cards offer benefits including access to two pensions, educational integration, and government housing.

Additionally, they provide an exemption from taxes and customs duties on vehicles and prosthetic devices, along with discounts on transportation and membership to youth centres and sports clubs.

Furthermore, cardholders are entitled to free hospital examinations and complimentary admission to museums and archaeological sites.

In mid-2023, El-Sisi further directed the public and private sectors to follow the legally enshrined requirement of having at least a five percent employment rate of differently-abled people in their workforce.

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