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QNA
Doha
Minister of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs HE Dr Issa bin Saad al Jafali al Nuaimi and Minister of Culture and Sports HE Salah bin Ghanem al Ali have reiterated Qatar's increasing commitment to support persons with disabilities of all categories, especially those with autism.
The ministers said there are directives to provide the needed support to all the activities and events to integrate persons with disabilities, especially those with autism, into society and raise awareness about their potential and abilities.
Speaking on the sidelines of the closing ceremony of Qatar Autism Families Association (QAFA) under the slogan 'Together We Make Difference' on Thursday, Nuaimi said there is directive from Prime Minister and Minister of Interior HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al Thani on the need to take into account this category of people and make efforts to help them overcome their difficulties.
He praised the role played by QAFA in integrating autistic persons in the society and raising awareness about their capabilities by extending support to them and their families.
On his part, the Minister of Culture and Sports said all the sports facilities in Qatar are designed to accommodate persons with disabilities, adding that the ministry started to allocate comprehensive sports facilities for the disabled and provide specialised trainers and the latest equipment.
He said the ministry is also developing a number of facilities in Qatar Club and Al Ahli Club to accommodate larger numbers of persons with disabilities as part of efforts between the ministry and the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) to provide all sorts of support to prepare Olympian athletes and increase their participation in international competitions.
Chairman of QAFA Fatima al Shaheen al Sulaiti thanked the prime minister for his presence at the event, which provides the needed support to the autistic and their families. She added that this confirms PM's support for their right to integrate in the society and their positive participation in society.
She highlighted the importance of cooperation between the different governmental entities and centres for people with disabilities, especially autism, to better their lives.
She added that an autistic child needs joint work from different entities, in addition to the pivotal role of the family, stressing the need to consider improving their status as a priority in the next stage and to accommodate the newly diagnosed.
Sulaiti presented the recent achievements of the association.
She called on official institutions, including ministries and governmental entities to promote areas of assistance in the field of specialised services on educational, health and rehabilitation.
Qatar Autism Families Association (QAFA) was launched in 2015 to raise awareness, provide mutual support among its members and build and strengthen an interactive network of families, experts, specialists, institutions and entities capable of providing various services to the families of people with autism.
