TEHRAN – The National Week of Disabled Persons will be held across the country from November 29 to December 5, with the theme “Social Inclusion; Social Integration of Persons with Disabilities”, in conjunction with the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3.
At a press conference on Saturday, the head of the welfare organization, Seyyed Jafar Hosseini, said that in Iran’s current fiscal year, which started in March, the budget for supporting people with disabilities increased by 81% compared to the previous year.
Officials noted that the budget has increased from 132 trillion rials (approximately $115 million) to approximately 238 trillion rials (approximately $207 million) since the start of the government (July 2024), the welfare agency’s website reported.
According to a recent report, approximately 11.8 percent of the country’s population, or 10.5 million people, live with a disability, of whom men account for 11.2 percent. According to him, genetic diseases account for 40.7% and acquired diseases account for 59.3% in Iran.
Currently, more than 1.6 million people with disabilities benefit from the services of welfare organizations. The organization plans to open about 452 centers this week. These include 49 rehabilitation centers and 15 community-based rehabilitation (CBR) projects, 381 housing and employment projects, and 35 other projects, with total investments of 4.45 trillion rials ($3.86 million), 6.46 trillion rials ($5.617 billion) and 3.41 trillion rials ($2.713 billion), respectively.
More than 4,000 disabled people will be employed, 35 solar panel projects will be launched, and 21,000 hard-to-employ disabled people will be provided with job opportunities.
Welfare organization services
During Government Week (August 24-30), the welfare agency launched various projects: community-based social health, physical health, cancer screening for female household heads, CBR centers, verification of day care centers for the elderly, and a talent search system for welfare recipients.
IRNA quoted Hosseini as saying that neighborhood-based social health projects focus on revitalizing neighborhood institutions and benefiting from the capacity of qualified personnel to better serve the community, as well as welfare organizations and centers supervised by the community.
The organization has also launched 200 CBRs in disadvantaged and remote areas where access to welfare services is limited. Social workers undergo 20 hours of training to begin their work as facilitators at these centers. They will be responsible for approximately 150 cases. It is also their responsibility to supervise local communities, identify individuals with disabilities, and provide resources and interventions.
Hosseini further said that on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of National Welfare Week, which was held from July 16 to 22, a total of 10,566 housing, employment, social and rehabilitation projects with a total investment of 520 billion rials (approximately $452,000) were launched.
About 77% of the projects were focused on employment, 21% on housing and the remaining 2% on social and rehabilitation sectors, officials said.
Additionally, 359 projects have been launched, most of which will be implemented in Kerman, Lorestan and Isfahan provinces.
“In the past year, 14,000 housing units have been provided to beneficiaries and persons with disabilities. 45,966 housing units are under construction and 1,942 housing units will be handed over to persons with disabilities within this week,” Hosseini stressed.
The official went on to announce the launch of an employment support fund. “Thanks to welfare services, nearly 200,000 recipients and people with disabilities are employed, with the service sector accounting for 62 percent of employment.”
MT/MG