The Sultanate of Oman assures better living standards and inclusive society for people with disabilities and the Vision 2040 guarantees advanced amenities for future, according to experts in caring for children with disabilities.
The future route map of the nation has clearly stated a clear path to establish a very bright future for these needy children while elevating their positive mindedness towards life.
“However, we will need to give more prioritisation, funding, policies and plans for early diagnosis, early screening and rehabilitation at a national level,” said Dr Watfa al Mamari (pictured), Senior Consultant, Developmental Paediatrician at the Sultan Qaboos University Hospital.
A lot of work has been done towards this cause and the need for more research and data is vital to help us define our own special demands and prevention, according to her.
According to World Health Organization (WHO), over 1 billion people, about 15 per cent of the global population, currently experience disability, and it is expected that the number will increase due to many factors including the fact that people are living longer and as a result, more people are living with chronic diseases and the other important etiologies of disabilities such as child developmental conditions like cerebral palsy and autism continue to exist.
One billion people experience some form of disability, and one-fifth of the estimated global total experience significant disabilities. A report from the National Center for Statistics and Information (NCSI) based on the 2020 census says that the number of Omani people with disabilities reached 42,304 (1.55 per cent of Omanis) with different types of disabilities.
“As many as 0.2 per cent of children in the Sultanate of Oman aged 0 to 14 years are on the autism spectrum. This estimate is about 15 times higher than a 2011 finding as per a study by the Developmental Paediatric Unit at SQUH, Royal Hospital and Al Masarra Hospital in 2019”, Dr Watfa said.
It was found that only 1.4 cases per 10,000 children in the Sultanate of Oman have autism. That was the only study of autism prevalence in the country.
“These figures are still below the international prevalence figures hence more efforts are required to be able to estimate the magnitude of the problems,” adds Dr Watfa.
REHABILITATION
What do they lack in terms of rehabilitation?
The number of rehabilitation services in the country has increased dramatically since 2010 until today, especially for children with autism.
Vision 2040 envisages that providing intervention at a very early childhood age is fundamental for successful inclusion and was proven scientifically over the years. Also, the quality of rehabilitation services and the number of trained qualified professionals will require more focus, that is because certain disability will require a highly specialised intervention.
“For example, in case of autism applied behavioural therapy is a key to better outcome. It has to be family-centred and available at different setting including community and home.”
LEGISLATION
What legislation do we have to protect them?
The sultanate of Oman give all privileges and rights to the children with disability without any kind of discrimination between them and other typical children.
Therefore, many laws and regulations were issued such as: “Disabled Persons Welfare and Rehabilitation Act” by Royal Decree, “The implementing regulations for the establishment of rehabilitation centres”, “Promulgation of rules governing the issuance of status cards for disabled people” and “The National Committee of Disabled Persons Welfare”.
In addition to that, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was signed and ratified by Royal Decree. Also, the Child law didn’t forget the rights of disabled children, especially for education.
There are many educational and training institutions established to include persons with disabilities, including: Disabled Care and Rehabilitation Centre, Care Home for Disabled Children in Muscat. Al Wafaa Social Centres in addition to a number of privet rehabilitation centres working under the supervision of the Ministry of Social Development.
