Cairo - On October 8th 2018 a technical expert from AICS Cairo participated to a development partner group meeting on innovation in People with disability's accessibility organized by the United Nations representative in Cairo and the Swiss Cooperation Agency.
At the meeting was present also Dr. Nevine Elkabagg, Deputy Minister of Social Solidarity and Dr. Heba Hagrass, member of the Egyptian Parliament who presented the new elements of the new law on People with disabilities in Egypt issued in February 2018. This new law (n.10, 2018) is enhancing the role and right of people with disabilities in society through a human right approach that seeks to transform the vision that society has on PWDs only as people that need to take care of to primarily actors of their own life and personal development by allowing them to have access to rights and services (improve access to education , employability and health).
Dr. Nevine Elkabagg, Deputy Minister of Social Solidarity presented the new institutional strategy that the MoSS is implementing in the country in order to apply the recent approved law. Specifically, She highlighted that MoSS will apply the reform in 640 care centers where PWDs will have access to a community based inclusive social services .
This meeting was important to share information and knowledge between all stakeholders involved in this thematic , and in specific for AICS-Cairo to gain helpful insights to finalize the project document on PWDs in Egypt that is planning to start in 2019 .The initiative seeks to confirm the principles endorsed in the UN Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities (PWDs) and reaffirmed by the recent promulgation of the Law on PWDs (20.02.2018). The specific objective is to promote human rights of persons with disabilities through the strengthening of the National Council for Disabilities Affairs (NCDA) and promotion of interinstitutional dynamics and concrete actions to foster social inclusion. Concretely, it seeks to elaborate strategic action plans, policies, programmes, and on-the-ground actions, with an approach focused on the rights of PWDs which is two-fold: specific activities/policy mainstreaming. As a policy component, the project will support the NCDA, the entity mandated to foster, coordinate, and oversee the human rights of persons with disabilities, to be able to mainstream issues concerning PWDs across all Ministries, international/local non-governmental entities, media, and any other relevant partners. As a field component, in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Solidarity (MoSS), a pilot-project will improve integral services (health, education, cultural, recreational, family/community services) in two governorates that will serve as a model for the reform of the over 640 existing care centers spread across the country.
