In implementation of the directives of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, to localize the manufacture of prosthetic devices and prosthetic limbs for people with special abilities, and coinciding with the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation, directed the completion of the efforts of the Prosthetic Limbs Center in Matrouh to deliver prosthetic devices. For those affected by mines, in cooperation with the Center for Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine and Rheumatology for the Armed Forces.
Representatives of the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation visited the center’s headquarters in Marsa Matrouh to supervise the delivery of limbs to about 46 beneficiaries of mine-affected families, in addition to maintaining 43 prosthetic limbs, and detecting another number of injured people in order to manufacture the required prosthetic limbs.
Dr. Rania Al-Mashat stressed that this step represents a translation of the commitment and keenness of the Ministry, represented by the Executive Secretariat for Mine Removal and Northwest Coast Development, to support mine victims, empower them, and enhance their ability to integrate into society in order to achieve the principle of equality and social justice, believing in the role that human power plays in advancing… The wheel of the national economy, after the state, in cooperation with development partners, cleared large areas of areas affected by mines and transformed them into areas suitable for construction and development.
She explained that earlier, the first phase of delivering prosthetic limbs was implemented to (49) cases of mine victims, bringing the total number of limb beneficiaries to (94) mine victims, in addition to implementing development projects for their benefit, the most important of which is the implementation and delivery of (100) Nashu wells in various areas. In Matrouh Governorate, starting from the villages and hamlets of the Dabaa Center, passing through the villages and hamlets of the El Negila Center and Sidi Barani, all the way to the Libyan border in Salloum, in order to secure some of the needs. Water for mine victims and their families.
Al-Mashat added that supporting people with disabilities represents a strategic priority within the framework of promoting human rights and achieving social justice, to provide a comprehensive environment that supports their inclusion in all aspects of economic and social life. The focus is also on improving access to quality education, equal job opportunities, and appropriate health services through National initiatives, working to remove physical and technological barriers that may hinder their effective participation in society, in conjunction with activating laws that guarantee the rights of people with disabilities in all fields, with the aim of creating a comprehensive and diverse society in which everyone has equal opportunities and capabilities.
She stated that the government is keen to integrate and include the rights of persons with disabilities in national strategies, and to provide integrated services to integrate them into society, as 62.7 thousand integrated services cards were issued to persons with disabilities from June 2019 until March 2024, and the economic and social development plan for the current fiscal year also aims to enhance Persons with disabilities enjoy their right to appropriate work and measures are taken to reduce the spread of unemployment among them, as well as enhancing social and health care. The plan also includes allocating public investments to develop services provided to persons with disabilities, including Establishing and developing 8 clubs, and establishing and developing 6 rehabilitation centers.
These efforts are consistent with the mandates of the President of the Republic to develop the prosthetic limb system and work to establish an entity (a huge industrial complex) for prosthetic limbs, through developing the prosthetic limb center affiliated with the Executive Secretariat for Mine Clearance and Northwestern Coast Development and standardizing its services in line with the approved standardization plan for all Centers for providing services related to prosthetic limbs nationwide to raise their efficiency and enhance their effectiveness in providing services.
For their part, the beneficiaries expressed their gratitude for the Ministry’s efforts to alleviate their suffering, and stressed that the Ministry’s keenness to provide them with the necessary artificial limbs had contributed to alleviating their daily suffering and providing them with a decent life.
It is worth noting that in 2007, the Executive Secretariat for Mine Clearance was established in the Ministry, pursuant to Ministerial Resolution No. (125), with the aim of working as a national coordination and communication point between all parties concerned with mine clearance and development of the northwest coast, whether governmental, private sector, or civil society, and mobilizing financial resources. necessary to carry out its work, and its current geographical scope of work is located on the northwestern coast and its desert backbone, starting from Al-Hammam in the east to Salloum in the west and Siwa in the south.
Among its most important works are clearing the land of mines, raising awareness of the dangers of mines, and projects to assist mine victims and their families, as the Secretariat’s efforts in this field resulted in the removal and disposal of a number of (397) mines, bombs, and highly dangerous mines, in addition to the implementation of nearly (300) seminars in centers Matrouh various mine risk awareness campaigns.
