Government Communication Forum discusses Social Development Ministry challenges, achievements

The Ministry of Government Communications Tuesday discussed the challenges and achievements of the Ministry of Social Development with the participation of the Minister of Social Development, Wafa Bani Mustafa, and the Spokesperson Minister of Government Communications, Muhannad Mubaideen. The meeting, part of the Government Communication Forum, discussed the national strategy for social protection and its relation to the three modernisation paths and the legal legislation of the Ministry of Development such as the new Social Development Law, and developments in the ten-year plan to implement the strategy for De-Institutionalisation. Bani Mustafa said, "The Ministry is leading the strategy for social protection, which is considered the umbrella under which all services related to citizens fall, and the Ministry is leading this strategy in partnership and cooperation with all relevant ministries and government institutions and with the private sector and civil society institutions." She said His Majesty Kin g Abdullah II directed the Ministry to update the national strategy for social protection and link it with the vision of economic modernisation, adding, "Before the end of September of this year, we will issue the new strategy for social protection, which will take into account networking with modernisation visions, especially economic modernisation." She added that the Ministry's priorities in the vision of economic modernisation are reviewing legislation concerned with social protection, expanding de-institutionalisation programmes, replacing institutional care with family-based care and women's empowerment programmes. Bani Mustafa added that the Ministry drafted 14 laws over the past three years to ensure the provision of legal frameworks to empower the target groups and launched 30 electronic services and that 158,763 poor families benefited from in-kind and cash assistance. She said that the Ministry built and purchased 201 and supported 500 associations to establish development projects for local com munities and provide job opportunities for groups most affected by economic conditions, adding that 112 poor families were also rehabilitated with productive projects, and 38 charitable associations were with projects. She added that 100,749 studies were submitted for granting and renewing health insurance and 1,832 studies were submitted for exemption from dialysis costs. Bani Mustafa explained that during the next week, an initiative will be launched under the title "With its Life," to maintain 200 homes during this year in partnership with the private sector. On persons with disabilities, she said, "There is an action plan to follow up on the strategy for persons with disabilities. There are 29 residential centres for persons with disabilities (5 government centres, 22 private-run centres and two for the voluntary sector) to house approximately 1,800 people." She explained that the ministry seeks to establish inclusive day centres for persons with disabilities and create three mobile centres to provide early intervention services across the Kingdom to include children to the age of six to have a "significant" impact on diagnosis. Bani Mustafa noted that the National Aid Fund (NAF) is making "tremendous" efforts to provide services to 200,000 Jordanian families, including 1,500,000 people and that the government increased the allocations of NAF to provide aid to 30,000 new families. Regarding begging, she said the Ministry is challenged in detaining beggars and sheltering those under 18, noting that the Ministry is cooperating with the media to raise awareness against begging. Source: Jordan News Agency