Arab League's Secretary-General: Qatar Dazzled World by Organizing Exclusive Version of World Cup

Doha, January 25 (QNA) - HE Secretary-General of the League of Arab States Ahmed Aboul Gheit extended sincere congratulations to the State of Qatar, HH the Amir, government and the people of Qatar for the successful and impressive organization of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, confirming that it was an exclusive version, in terms of good organization, generous hospitality and suspenseful football event.
In his speech delivered before the high level session of the 42nd meeting of Arab Ministers of Social Affairs, Aboul Gheit stressed that through this impressive success of the tournament, the State of Qatar has proved to the entire world that Arab has the ability and grit to hold global events and activities at the highest levels.
He noted the efforts undertaken by HE Minister of Social Development and Family in coordination with the Social Affairs Sector at the League of Arab States to organize this vital Arab event and accomplish it with perfect image, which, he said, is a new phase in the joint development and social action through focusing on the issues that touch the life of every single Arab citizen.
Today, a new support is launched for persons with disabilities who constitute the most important categories that deserve social protection through the initiative of the Secretary-General of Arab League to launch the 2nd Arab Decade for persons with disabilities 2023-2032 that was prepared in partnership with the organizations with regard to persons with disabilities, Aboul Gheit pointed out.
He clarified that in the context of the implementation of the Arab Strategic Framework for the Eradication of Multidimensional Poverty that was ratified by the 4th development Arab summit, the Arab multidimensional poverty report came, after it was prepared in partnership with the specialized UN agencies. He added that such two topics, if they are implemented in the required form and content, will constitute an important paradigm shift in those two fields.
HE Secretary-General of Arab League talked bout the close connection between promotion of the rights of persons with disabilities, and poverty with its various dimensions, pointing out that the cost of caring for a person with disabilities exceeds a percentage that ranges between 32 and 38 percent, compared to the normal person. He said that it is a high percentage that all communities cannot afford, outlining that the critical role of the Arab initiatives come from here, with the Independent Living Initiative Program (ILI) coming at the forefront.
Having reviewed the findings of the second report of Arab multidimensional poverty, it turned out that reducing poverty rates is closely related to reducing those percentages, with respect to persons with disabilities, as they are the most affected segments by pandemics, political and economic crises, and natural disasters, considering that the number of persons with disabilities in the Arab region reaches up to 87 million people, many of whom fall under indicators of poverty in its various dimensions, he said.
He clarified that the Arab multidimensional poverty report indicates that the number of persons included in the category of national poverty, amounted to 129 million people, and it is expected that this number will increase to roughly 20 million additional people, due to the developments and challenges besetting some countries in the Arab region, in addition to the mounting global crises in energy and food, as well as the high levels of inflation and increasing cost of living.
In his closing speech, Aboul Gheit reviewed the recommendations that are poised to be presented to the Arab Ministers of Social Affairs, which include the implementation of new digitized surveys on multidimensional poverty and persons with disabilities, to further update the available data, have an accurate glimpse of change trends, and initiate the Arab classification of persons with disabilities accordingly, which enables the setting of targeting plans to provide ideal services for this segment, and respond to their needs, as well as completion of monitoring and evaluation processes of various services provided to persons with disabilities, based on what has been implemented in the 2030 Sustainable Development Plan.
Additionally, such recommendations include the establishment of a digitized follow-up and evaluation system at the national and regional levels, in addition to laying out an optimal model for the centers that support persons with disabilities, and priority categories, as well as updating and digitizing the Arabic sign dictionary for the deaf, and prepare a guidance model for a government budget which is friendly to persons with disabilities.
He confirmed that Arab League supports Doha Declaration which is due to be issued at the end of this event, to strengthen the Arab efforts dedicated to proceeding with the implementation of 2030 Sustainable Development Plan, which reflects positively on the Arab citizen.
In his speech delivered to the session, HE Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean Nasser Kamel reviewed the Union's efforts in the field of social development with its various dimensions, along with the nature of cooperation with the Arab states in this field. He also highlighted the nature of challenges facing the comprehensive development in the region, and the union's role in building a robust regional cooperation, specially with regard to persons with disabilities. (QNA)