RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has taken measures to bolster social protection and integration for people with disabilities, said the counselor of the Kingdom’s permanent representative to the UN.
Ahmed Al-Frian, delivering a speech at the 12th session of the Convention on Persons with Disabilities at the UN headquarters in New York, said the Kingdom guarantees citizens’ rights in case of emergencies, sickness, disability and old age.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Development supervises centers for comprehensive rehabilitation throughout the Kingdom, he added. Some 7 percent of the Saudi population have a mild or severe disability.
On Tuesday, King Salman urged all government agencies to adopt the term “persons with disabilities” in all official communications and media statements regarding the disabled community in the Kingdom.