Muscat: The Ministry of Social Development announced its achievements in 2024 and its future plans in the areas of welfare and integration of people with disabilities.
This was unveiled at a briefing held on Wednesday in the presence of Dr Laila bint Ahmed al Najjar, Minister of Social Development.
The Ministry reviewed six main targets it had accomplished within Oman Vision 2040 out of 32 targets, including electronic connectivity with the population base and the Central Bank and relevant authorities. The goals also include the preparation of a national guide for engineering specifications for urban environments and transportation for people with disabilities, the preparation of a guide for quality standards for services provided to people with disabilities, the completion of the intervention and referral system for domestic violence, the establishment and completion of a donation platform or charitable work portal and the development of guidelines for regulating integrated early childhood centres.
The Ministry revealed that the total social assistance benefits disbursed in 2024 amounted to RO 11,968,546, provided to 102,167 cases. The Ministry also indicated that a total of 1,635 beneficiaries received job-related training between 2020 and the end of 2024 including 234 in 2024. The Ministry also provided 675 job opportunities in the public and private sectors for individuals from social protection and low-income families and people with disabilities between 2020 and 2025, including 92 job opportunities provided in 2024. This is in addition to 86 cases who received support to start home-based businesses at a total amount of RO 46,558.
The Ministry of Social Development said it oversees 119 government, private, and community rehabilitation centres including 19 newly-opened centres bringing the number of beneficiaries to 8,893. The ministry distributed 28,111 prosthetic devices between 2020 to the end of 2024 including 10,795 in 2024.
The Ministry said that the number of beneficiaries of assistance provided by the Social Development Committees and their volunteer teams reached 317,463 at a cost of RO 25,506,062. The Joud Charity Platform has received 168,747 donors with total donations to initiatives amounting to RO 2,551,923 while the total donations to relief campaigns amounted to RO 174,213.
The text is translated by Khalid Al Kush and written by Ohoud Al Jilaniyah
Photos by Abdul Wahid al Hamdani
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