Disability in Egypt

Estimates of the prevalence of disability in Egypt have ranged from 1.8% to 11%. Egypt ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 10 April 2008. The Egyptian constitution of 2014 guarantees a range of rights for people with disabilities, and Egypt passed legislation entitled the Law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in February 2018.

History

Ramesses-Meryamun-Nebweben, son of the Pharaoh Ramasses II, had kyphosis.[1]

Prevalence

Estimates for the prevalence of disability in Egypt have varied widely. The 2006 Egyptian census reported that 1.8% of the population had a disability.[2] However, a study in 2011 by the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, and Egyptian civil society estimated that 8.5 million people, or 11% of Egypt's population, had a disability.[2]

Egypt is a party to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, having signed the treaty on 4 April 2007 and ratified it on 10 April 2008.[3]

In 1975, Egypt passed the Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons Act.[4] Egypt passed legislation entitled the Law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in February 2018, the first legislation on disability since 1975.[4] The law covers topic including health, the job market, legal protection, political rights, and rehabilitation.[4]

The Egyptian constitution of 2014 states:[5]

The State shall guarantee the health, economic, social, cultural, entertainment, sporting and educational rights of persons with disabilities strive to provide them with job opportunities, allocate a percentage of job opportunities to them, and adapt public facilities and their surrounding environment to their special needs. The State shall also ensure their exercise of all political rights and integration with other citizens in compliance with the principles of equality, justice and equal opportunities.

Policy

In response to the WHO's Global Disability Action Plan 2014–2021, in 2015 a technical consultation was carried out in Egypt for the development of a National Disability, Health and Rehabilitation Plan.[6]

Notable Egyptians with disabilities

See also

References
  1. Aidan Dodson & Dyan Hilton. The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt, (London: Thames & Hudson, 2004) ISBN 0-500-05128-3, p. 173.
  2. Meadows, Lila; Bamieh, Nadia Adib; Lord, Janet E. (2014). "Egypt". Africa Disability Rights Yearbook. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  3. "UN Treaty Collection: parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: List of parties". United Nations. 2012-03-21. Archived from the original on 2012-08-19. Retrieved 2015-11-20.
  4. Shalabi, Mahmoud (24 March 2018). "New Law in Egypt Supports Disabled Students". Al-Fanar Media. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  5. Ismail, Rehab (24 February 2018). "Deep look on people challenged with disabilities in Egypt". Egypt Today. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  6. Gutenbrunner, Cristoph; Nugraha, Boya (2018). "Responding to the World Health Organization Global Disability Action Plan in Egypt: A Technical Consultation to Develop a National Disability, Health and Rehabilitation Plan". Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine. 50: 333–337. doi:10.2340/16501977-2307.
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