It is wonderful that Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Minister of Higher Education and acting Minister of Health, came out to direct us to respond to the cries of the handicapped regarding several points that they requested more than once and launched in more than one place.
Finally, a small part of what they wanted was achieved for the disabled when Abdul Ghaffar ordered the development of the electronic system for services for people of determination to facilitate their access to a medical examination and to overcome the problems and challenges they face.
The minister also ordered the speedy completion of updating the website with a new perspective.. and making it available to citizens within 10 days, adding a number of new "fields" on the website to enter citizens' data, in a way that contributes to facilitating them during registration, and setting up a specific mechanism for the time period to be completed. During which people of determination get an appointment for a medical examination.
The minister directed an increase in the number of medical committees, as well as the number of consultants and university professors working in these committees. Whether in branches of specialized medical councils located in all governorates or in hospitals specialized in signing medical examinations, to match the numbers of those registered on the website.
All of these orders and directives are a very good matter for which His Excellency Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar is thanked.
However, there remains a very important and dangerous matter that we should not forget, ignore, or overlook. League for the disabled to prove their disability.
There are two types of disabilities, fixed and temporary. For the handicapped.. it is fixed for eternity.. and sometimes the percentage of disability may increase, but it does not decrease in any way.
So where is the problem?! The problem lies in the various requirements for the periodic medical examination and issuance of a certificate for the disabled that he is disabled, whenever he desires or wants to obtain a new government service. .
And every time he has to repeat the medical examination.. and re-establish that a part of his body is inoperable.. and that this part is still paralyzed or dead.. and is not functioning.
In fact, this is a very strange matter, to ask the disabled specifically for this.. Why only them and not others?! No one knows.. Why are the disabled the only group that is required to prove their status periodically whenever they want to perform a service with or from the government?!
Have we seen an engineer, every time he goes to build a building, the state requires him to pass an exam in engineering and mathematical equations.. Likewise, doctors, every time he performs a surgical operation, the state requires him to pass exams in medical sciences and its branches.. And so on for all groups of society.. It is not required They have no new test.. So why the disabled?! Why are they the only ones required to re-prove their disability time after time?!
Nowadays we have the integrated services card and through it we can prove the disability of people of determination only once.. either through reliable medical centers affiliated with the Ministry of Health or, for example, the "recruitment centers of the armed forces"... because the disabled are exempted from performing Military service after conducting a medical examination on them.. and after we agree on a specific mechanism, after which we do not need to re-examination over and over again.. only the disabled person has to go and pay the prescribed fees and then get the service without re-examination.
I trust that Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar is able to do justice to the disabled and relieve them of the trouble of proving their disability time after time, year after year, and service after service.
I hope that he will do as he did of the aforementioned items.
Twitter: @AhmedTantawi