Disability census to help the disabled join workforce

KUWAIT: The Public Authority for Disability Affairs will prioritize determining the number of people with disabilities in Kuwait as the next step towards building a strategy to integrate them into the job market, said the authority’s director. The number of people with disabilities currently registered with the authority amount to three percent of Kuwait’s total population, the Director General of the Public Authority for Disability Affairs Dr Bibi Al-Amiri told KUNA Wednesday.

“The number is considered small compared to the average percentage of disabled people in other countries across the world, which exceeds 15 percent,” said Amiri. Amiri stressed the importance of spreading awareness and thoughtful planning in the early stages of conducting the census. She said the certificate of proof of disability, for example, helps the authority implement a mechanism for providing people with disabilities with the best medical service available and in accordance with the needs of each case.

The authority, said Amiri, is moving towards minimizing the role that medical committees play in renewing these certificates so as to redirect resources towards locating new disability cases. It will also reexamine and standardize the medical criteria used by the committee to evaluate patients, with the aim of integrating the patient’s social circumstances into the evaluation process. Amiri said the authority is planning rehabilitation and training programs to help people with disabilities join the workforce. It will also advocate for the implementation of the disabilities law, which stipulates that disabled people make up four percent of an organization’s staff. – KUNA

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