Regional Leadership in Integrated Care: Innovations from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the Arab States (COSP19 Side Event)

Yeah.
Can you hear me now? Yes.
Very good.
Okay.
Welcome everyone to our session.
I I would like to welcome you all in today's session on regional leadership in integrated care, innovations from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the Arab League, and the Arab States, exploring how countries can move towards an integrated care economy ecosystem that effectively supports persons with disabilities across their life cycle.
Please note that we have simultaneous translation in English and in Arabic and we also have sign language interpretation.
This session is also being livestreamed.
We will have two opening remarks from the World Bank and from the Authority of People with Disability, and then we will follow that with a panel discussion.
We have a number of panel speakers.
Some are with us in the room, but one of our panelists was not able to join us, which is from Egypt and we will share her recorded message with us.
Each speaker will have around five to 7 minutes to make their remarks so that we have time for discussion and questions.
My colleague, Anna, will help us keep the time and with the 1 minute left for any of the speakers, she will be able to let them know.
Before starting, I really want to thank the government of Saudi Arabia for co hosting this session with us.
Together also with Egypt and the Arab League, we are very grateful for the partnership.
We are very grateful for our partnership also in Saudi Arabia.
With that, let me start with our first speaker, Charlotte McLean.
Our global disability advisor at the World Bank.
Charlotte supports our operational team to ensure that policies, programs, and projects take people with disability into consideration.
Charlotte served as USAID coordinator for Disability and inclusive development, appointed by US President Barack Obama in 2011 to lead the government's efforts in disability inclusive development.
Earlier in her career, Charlotte was appointed by President Nelson Mandela to the South Africa Human Rights Commission focusing on social economic rights, disability rights, and child rights.
With that, Charlotte, the floor is yours.
Thank you.
Good afternoon and good evening to those that may be connecting virtually.
I really want to welcome you to the side event on regional Leadership in Integrated Care, innovations from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the League of States.
My name is Charlotte McLean Sa.
As mentioned, I'm the Global Disability Advisor at the World Bank Group, and I really truly want to express my deep appreciation to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for co organizing this event with us and the organizations who are contributing to this site session this afternoon.
Those include the Authority of People with Disabilities, the Human Rights Commission, the League of Arab States, UNICEF, and the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Thank you very much for joining us.
We are here at the 19th session of the Conference of State Parties, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which coincides with the 20th anniversary of the CRPD.
There's no better moment to have a candid, forward looking conversation about the care economy.
Because here's the reality.
Across the globe, persons with disabilities continue to encounter fragmented, under resourced, and insufficient systems of support that limit their ability to fully and equally participate in society.
So we know that when those systems fail, persons with disabilities pay the highest price.
The ability to participate fully in economic and social life, to exercise autonomy, to live with dignity.
All of this is often directly shaped by whether or not integrated rights based care is available to them.
The World Bank recently published a report titled The Care Economy and Disability Inclusion in low and middle income countries.
The findings from this report sharpen the urgency of the conversation that we're having today.
Across 14 countries we surveyed, over 40% of adults with disabilities receive some form of human support.
But in most of those countries, more than one third of those already receiving support say that it is just not enough.
In some countries, including Laos, India, Sri Lanka, that figure climbed way above 65%.
In several countries, more than half of all persons with disabilities receive no support at all, despite the fact that they need it and require it.
The big question is, who fills that gap? Overwhelmingly, it's women, mothers, sisters with an average age of 50.
What they do is they provide unpaid care with no training, no relief, and very importantly, zero recognition.
In Latin American countries, women perform 80% of domestic caregiving tasks.
The economic cost is significant.
In Bolivia and in Costa Rica, unpaid caregiving reduces household income by roughly 10% and 50-70% of female headed households caring for a person with a disability are unemployed.
At the World Bank, we believe that disability inclusion is not exclusively a social question, separate from economic development.
We believe that it's an integral part of development.
Our report identifies a clear path forward, shifting from a care model that treats persons with disabilities as burdens, quote, towards a more support model that centers autonomy, independence, and community inclusion.
That means investing in personal assistance, risk by care, cash for care transfers, and professionalized care workforce.
It means a multi sectoral policies or a set of multisectoral policies linking disability services to health care systems, to inclusive education, very importantly to accessible transportation and essentially to the labor market pathways.
It means financing frameworks that are gender and disability responsive.
To step back, it also critically means that we need better data.
We need better disggregated disability data.
We cannot, and I repeat, we cannot design systems for people that are not seen, people who are invisible.
The World Bank is working with partners to expand the use of the Washington short set of questions in national surveys so that governments can measure unmet needs accurately and importantly allocate resources accordingly.
So what gives me some level of optimism about today's particular conversation is that we have some examples where we are seeing strides being made.
These examples come from Saudi Arabia, from Egypt, and their regional partners.
They have been doing the hard work.
They've been looking at their national strategies, implementing their national strategies, ensuring that their legal reforms match implementation, and looking at coordinated care models.
So this session is an opportunity for us to learn what is working, It's an opportunity for us to examine the links between disability services, health, education, and labor market participation, and to ask honestly, how do we finance and sustain these systems at scale? Most importantly, we're committed to ensuring that the voices of persons with disabilities and civil society more largely are essential to shaping what comes next.
Over the next 75 minutes, we will hear from a range of perspectives, and I encourage you to listen not just to the achievements, but for lessons, the challenges, the gaps, and the places where regional collaboration can in fact unlock and that not one single country can accomplish this alone.
In closing, I just want to say that the CRPD sets the standard Countries in this region are rising to meet those standards.
The World Bank is proud to stand alongside with them.
With that, I'll hand back to Nata.
Thank you.
Now we will move to doctor Him Al Hideri, the Chief Executive Officer for the Authority of People with Disability in Saudi Arabia.
Doctor Hism is a visionary leader with more than 30 years of executive experience in leadership, organizational transformation, and disability inclusion.
As the Chief Executive Officer of the Authority of People with Disability, he has led transformative national initiatives that advance the rights, empowerment, and quality of life of persons with disability while fostering innovation, institutional excellence, and human centered leadership.
Aligned with Saudi's vision 2030, he champions inclusion and accessibility by fostering cross sectoral collaboration and expanding opportunities for persons with disabilities, contributing to more inclusive and sustainable future.
With that, the floor is yours, your excellency.
Thank you, Na.
Thank you, Mr.
Charlotte.
Good afternoon, everyone.
Allow me to speak in Arabic in my own language.
I hope everybody is awake and there is no jet lag at all.
I have it.
In the name of God, most compassionate, most merciful, Excellencies, distinguished guests, persons with disabilities, ladies and gentlemen, distinguished colleagues and partners, may the peace and blessings of God be upon you.
Allow me at the outset to welcome you to this session.
On an issue of utmost importance, which pertains to the daily life of persons with disabilities everywhere across the world.
How to build an integrated care system, one that empowers and allows personal development for persons with disabilities so that they can truly contribute to their societies.
Wish at the outset to thank the delegation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations or on behalf of the delegations.
Allow me to thank the World Bank and all of our partners who have worked with us on holding this session in order to ensure exchange of expertise, to allow for an exchange of information on a topic that is of utmost importance at the international and national levels, so as to enhance collaboration and cooperation and pave the way for more sustainability and inclusivity.
When we talk about integrated care, it is not merely about services, it is about an integrated system that prioritizes the individual, one that is a human centered, one that promotes independence, self sufficiency, and access to services, and care to allow for active participation in communities.
The success of this system requires cooperation and coordination between various sectors, including the health sector, the social affairs sector, the labor market, as well as long term care to allow for sustainable care to be provided through life.
And so as to enhance living standards and quality of life for persons with disabilities.
One cannot address integrated care without addressing the vital role undertaken by caregivers and the family as essential partners providing support for persons with disabilities.
They can pave the way for more sustainable care to be given to persons with disabilities.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia believes that the CRPD constitutes an important framework for the strengthening of policies and practices that are centered on development and empowerment.
We consider that the empowerment of persons with disabilities is essential to ensure that persons with disabilities are part and parcel of the development pathway of our kingdom.
In the past few years, we've developed and enacted the institutional and legislative frameworks and we've worked on strengthened cooperation between various entities to pave the way for a more integrated, inclusive and sustainable system.
This is aligned with our international obligations and our 2030 vision.
We seek exchange of expertise and experiences amongst states.
This is a cynic one for progress, namely, regarding issues that require interagency collaboration and sustainable and innovative solutions.
And we'll be providing information on practices and our expertise and experiences in our region.
And this is important for more sustainable and integrated system and for strengthened justice across the world, a And we wish to welcome doctor Ahmad Af and Taken Bolsi we thank Mr.
Carlos Acosta for joining us and we wish them every success, including doctor Heba Hags who was unable to join us so as to help us achieve our goals, we wish you every success in this session.
May the peace and blessings of God be upon you.
Thank you very much.
Move to our panel discussion.
We will start with Saudi Arabia, our co host for the session with doctor Idleb.
Doctor Hessam is the General Manager for regulations and Knowledge at the Authority for People with Disability in Saudi Arabia.
Doctor Hessam is specialized in human rights law with a focus on disability inclusion and rights based public policy.
He has contributed to the development of Saudi Arabia's Disability Rights framework and broader policy transformation in alignment with Vision 2030 and UNCPRD.
With that, the floor is yours, doctor Hessam, I will have one question for you.
What governance and policy shifts are needed to transition from fragmented support that Charlotte was mentioning in the beginning of the session to coordinated right based care ecosystem for persons with disability.
How can national disability entities drawing also on Saudi's experience, help align a unified, inclusive and sustainable national framework.
Over to you.
Thank you and hello.
Hi everyone.
Similar to doctor Isham.
I will be speaking Arabic so my voice can actually matching my outfit.
Sarkian Hikula.
Welcome everyone.
I understand that I have to respect time and this will be difficult because persons with disabilities require care and I can talk about this for quite some time.
We wish to welcome you all, our international partners, Charlotte, and we thank the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's delegation to the United Nations for convening this very important session.
We wish to thank the Sign Language interpreters.
This interpretation is essential to build bridges with persons with disabilities.
This is akin to simultaneous interpretation provided by the United Nations without sign language interpretation, we would not be able to have access to persons with disabilities, so thank you very much for doing your job.
Regarding persons with disabilities and how they are perceived, it is not merely about medical issues.
It is also an issue that is linked to justice.
We know that disabilities and differ in terms of their severity and we know that persons with disabilities may require more care when they are in rural areas and based on their gender, for example, and their situation.
So there are persons with disabilities who require various degrees of assistance within the community.
When we talk about services, we must undertake additional steps to seek people who require services and care in order to detect them.
Within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, we've worked on this since our inception and we have sought to provide care for persons with disabilities.
Services were provided in the past as well.
However, with development with further developments, we considered that there was a dire need to adapt services provided.
Therefore, the challenge was not the lack of services, but rather the need to establish integrated care within our national system.
With technological developments as well as the establishment of the 2030 vision, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia saw the need to develop care and services further.
Therefore, we've sought to provide integrated care and we had a success story.
We've established the authority of people with disabilities as an umbrella organization that provides all forms of services for persons with disabilities.
This is not an authority that provides direct services and support to persons with disabilities.
It provides coordination between centers providing assistance and those in need in order to strengthen efforts, establish policies and strategies, and launch studies.
This is one of the most important issues that I will be addressing at this stage.
We or we live in an environment where rights must be upheld and establish or enacting a law in this regard was the cornerstone.
After signing the CRPD, we've established the authority to provide care for persons with disabilities and enact the law as an integrated system that provides for all rights of persons with disabilities in line with the CRPD.
People with disabilities were an essential part in drafting this system.
Of course, everyone knows this is in line with drafting policies while taking into account reducing ignorance, making sure everyone is informed of their rights, everyone is informed of what the system can provide to them.
There are a number of policies, but on the other hand, the authority has also looked into data and innovative solutions.
This authority is a knowledge hub.
Within the authority, we have a summary of studies, we have policy documents.
We know how to use data in order to reach decisions correctly to serve people with disabilities.
We have our own research, but we also have innovations and solutions.
We are very proud of this specific achievement, the establishment of a national registry for people with disabilities.
This registry includes data, but not just data.
It has become a portal of services provided through this registry.
We can know what are the challenges, what are the gaps between service A and service B, and we know what is the overlap also between service A and service B.
This also helps us to address any potential gaps so that there's no duplication as well, if any.
We've also by working on integrated care, we also worked on a system to provide job opportunities to people with disabilities.
They are an essential element for the success of Saudi's economy.
They participate in the labor market.
The quotas or the ratios of job opportunities provided to people with disabilities have improved.
We were able to include them in all sectors.
Among the achievements made when it comes to governance, of the system of services.
We have a board of directors.
We have a very beautiful practice within the board.
We send invitations to ministers to discuss the challenges that we have in different sectors so that we can address these challenges through discussions, by providing solutions.
We also have cooperation with governmental entities, NGOs, civil society, and through this system, we were able to bridge a number of gaps in order to provide an integrated experience in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
We also make sure there's no duplication of services, there's no waste of resources.
Thankfully, I apologize if I am taking long to present this intervention.
But by knowing these gaps, by knowing these challenges, by having this system within the authority, we were able to create an independent authority that can reach everyone, that can identify the needs of people with disabilities to know what they need so that we have an integrated economy.
We do hope that this was an enriching experience and we hope to have similar experiences in other countries.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Thanks for sharing with us.
Role of APD in developing the national framework, the governance, the institutional model, your relationship with the ministries and also the board composition and the partnerships that APD does.
The World Bank is very proud of the partnership actually we have with the APD, where we're doing beneficiary satisfaction surveys to get like doctor Hessen said, APD doesn't provide services.
It's the ministries that provide the services, but they're interested to know how people feel about the services.
We're working together on these beneficiary services.
Still staying on Saudi Arabia, I will move to doctor Ahmed Asif.
Doctor Ahmed is member of the Human Rights Commission in Saudi Arabia.
He's a legal and human rights expert specialized in the rights of people with disabilities and international framework.
He is a board member of the Human Rights Council and the Authority for people with Disability.
He was appointed as an expert member of the UN Committee on the rights of people with disability 2017-2020.
Doctor Ahmed, can you please tell us about the role of the national Human Rights institutions and how can they strengthen accountability and rights based disability care systems and how can governments ensure meaningful inclusion of persons with disability in developing and monitoring related policies? Thank you, Chair.
Also, as my colleagues, I will deliver my statement in Arabic.
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon.
At the outset, I would like to thank the delegations of Saudi Arabia and the World Bank for organizing this important session on building systems of integrated care for people with disabilities throughout their lifetime.
This discussion today is very important, not just because we are focusing on social and health services, but because we are focusing on the capacity of countries to build an integrated system, to strengthen human dignity, independence, and the full participation of people with disabilities in society.
Despite the progress made at the international level for the rights of people with disability, however, care system in a number of countries are working in a segregated way when it comes to providing lifelong services.
We see that families and people with disabilities are handling the burden of moving from one system to another to receive all these services.
In my opinion, the challenge today is not the absence of care, but the absence of a right based care system.
Ladies and gentlemen, the CRPD, as you all know, has made a deep impact when it comes to the way we view the rights of people with disability.
We not only look at providing services, we also want people with disability to live independently with dignity and to fully participate in society.
When we look at care from a right based perspective, we're not looking to provide lifelong dependency.
We need to provide a system that supports independence and strengthens integration and equality.
A true care is not measured by dependency.
It is measured by its capacity to expand independence and participation.
If we look at the structure of the CRPD, it is based on rights integration.
Article 19 of the CRPD on living independently and integrating within society.
It is directly linked to societal protection, health, rehabilitation, job opportunities, and other related rights.
Article 4 of the CRPD reaffirms the need to provide legislative and policy steps order to make sure that institutional integration between different sectors, this is a right based obligation and not an institutional choice.
The Committee on the rights of people with disability In its memo number five, talked about moving from silos to society based approach that strengthens independence and participation.
Ladies and gentlemen, building an integrated care system requires, in my opinion, four main elements.
One, institutional integration between different sectors, to guarantee the ease of access to services and support.
Second, institutional governance frameworks to strengthen accountability and sustainability.
In this regard, national institutions for Human Rights, including the National Authority for Human Rights in Saudi Arabia play an important role in strengthening accountability by monitoring the implementation of policies and following up on their consistency with rights on identifying gaps and strengthening a right based approach within the care systems for people with disabilities.
Fourth or fifth data.
We cannot have efficient policies without accurate data that would help identify needs and gaps and measure impact.
We also need to support families and care providers.
We are investing in societal stability.
It is also important to guarantee an effective participation of people with disability and their organizations.
They are a partner in developing the different policies and programs for providing care and support.
They need to also participate in the implementation of these policies and in measuring their impact.
In line with the participatory approach within the CRPD, we also need to focus on prevention.
We shouldn't only intervene after the fact.
If the system is integrated and effective, then societies are more able to reduce isolation, poverty, school dropouts, and unemployment.
In the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, We are increasing policies in order to strengthen integration between societal protection, enablement, empowerment, and integrating people with disability in the 2030 vision of the Kingdom.
We have a number of regulations.
We are also coordinating between relevant authorities, providing support through programs to improve the living standards and the participation of people with disability in society at the same time.
We are developing an integrated care system.
This is an ongoing process that requires ongoing development, strengthening data, taking full advantage of best practices around the world.
In conclusion, building an integrated care system based on rights.
This is not only a choice or a development choice.
This is a legal and moral and human obligation linked to the proper implementation of the CRPPD and the ability of our societies to build equitable societies, inclusive and sustainable societies.
I thank you.
Doctor Ahmed for sharing with us perspective on actually what people face on daily lives navigating a system to get the services or the benefits that they need.
When we say rights based, it's not slogans, it's not laws.
It's actually helping people navigate the system, get to the rights that they deserve, live independently, live with dignity.
These are not slogans, these are actually the means to achieving sustainable and independent living.
I think the Saudi Arabia experience the steps that you mentioned about how to support families, how to link the health, with social protection, with labor, which is very much aligned with the spirit of the UNCPRD.
We now need to move to the video.
No, we will not be able to do the video.
Okay.
All right.
So we will move to doctor Heba because I think we were supposed to do the video and then Tre Navsi was supposed to join us from another session.
So if it's okay with you, Actually, we can move to Unicef and then after Unicef, we would move to doctor Hiba.
Is this okay with you, doctor Heba? Yeah.
Okay.
Let me introduce Mr.
Carlos Agusta.
He's the Deputy Director for the Global Program Division at Unicef.
Welcome, Mr.
Carlos.
Mr.
Carlos works to accelerate results for children across the region, including in humanitarian context by aligning global policy, technical assistance, and investments, enabling coherent multi sectoral action at country level.
Mr.
Agosta has experience in multiple region, including close collaboration with governments, international financial institutions, and within the UN system.
Mr.
Carlos, how can governments in the Middle East and North Africa strengthen integrated community based support systems for children with disabilities and their caregivers across the life course, considering the diversity of contexts between and within countries.
Thank you.
Thank you, Nana.
First, let me appreciate the presence of our colleagues and partners on the table.
The only difference in the message from my colleagues is that I will not be doing it in Arabic.
I will do it in.
But we do have a very aligned message.
So if you allow me, from UNIC perspective, this situation has two very strong angles that we need to start from.
The first is that children with disabilities have the same needs as every other child, but have so many layers of challenges to obtain.
But not only that, those needs change over the life scores of these children, and we need the systems to respond to that.
The second element is that despite the efforts, governments still struggle in providing a coordinated response to these children.
This is why the emphasis that all the colleagues have put on integrated care is so important and it's going to be part of the core of the message they want to deliver.
But their success across the region.
We've seen how Saudi Arabia has put in place differentiated support packages informed by disability related cost analysis, in Egypt on cash support, ECD and inclusive education, in Lebanon, adoption of disability allowances, efforts on ECD in Oman, humanitarian cash plus in Syria and Yemen.
So there's clearly a lot that we can learn from within the region.
From UNICEF perspective, again, we have five areas that we promote around enhancing this programming.
The first one is to start with early identification and support and early childhood intervention.
Governments need to identify children with disabilities, their needs for health, immunization, ECD, but identification is not enough.
It needs to come with a response, and that is the second challenge that I want to highlight.
We need to make our sectors more inclusive, but we need to build bridges within the sectors.
And those breach ins are very clear, referral pathways, shared protocols, joint planning, clear responsibilities, interoperable systems, including for data.
And coordination does not happen by itself.
It has to be an intentional result of what we do.
It requires incentives, it requires workforce capacity financing, and we need to make that stronger institutions part of the results of our work.
The third very practical is to complement services with cash support and practical support.
All the cost that families bear related to transport, healthcare, assistive technologies.
These are real challenges, bottlenecks that people face and cash combined with practical support, assistive technologies, inclusive VCD go long ways of getting children to the services and the outcomes that we expect for children.
Fourth, we use specialized services to support community and family living.
Children with disabilities may need rehabilitation, assistive technologies, mental health, and psychosocial support.
Priority should be to organize the services in a way that families receive the support before a crisis point, and our goal is to prevent unnecessary separations.
Fifth, build government led co resourced and realistic pathways.
And it doesn't mean that government delivers.
It means that government sets the policy direction, financing standards, workforce development and does it as a public good so that it can reach the families that already have the trust, proximity, and the practical problem solving skills.
So to close out, if one message they want to deliver is the critical importance of continuum of support.
Reform must be realistic and progressive, making each sector inclusive, building bridges, and creating practical ways for families to navigate this support.
For us, UNICEF, supporting government is the way that we work.
We will support systems through our disability inclusion policies, our strategic plan.
And it's our central commitment to help every child with disability grow up in a family, learn in an inclusive environment, participate in community life, moving into adulthood with dignity, autonomy, and support.
Thank you, colleagues.
Thank you very much, Mr.
Carlos.
I think when you were discussing what UNICEF does, it's exactly the integrated approach to what care systems should do.
I think the philosophy that UNICEF is adopting to support children, bringing the cash and the continuum of support and the early identification and to have that identification with the response package, I think you're walking the talk and you gave us really nice examples, also mentioning that our region in Mana has good examples.
We don't always often hear about them, so I'm happy that you mentioned a number of countries, not just Egypt and Saudi, but also Yemen.
Lebanon and others.
Thank you very much for sharing this.
I think we will move now to doctor Heba because Tori Nabolsy is still not around.
Let me first introduce doctor Heba Hagras.
Although she doesn't need an introduction, but I will still introduce her.
Doctor Heba is the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of Persons with disability.
She's a sociologist, an advocate, a researcher with extensive experience as an international disability expert.
She has done work in the region, but also globally.
She served as member of the House of Parliament in Egypt, Secretary-General of the Egyptian National Council for Disability Affairs.
She also contributed to the National Human Rights Strategy for Egypt.
Doctor Heba, why is integrated care a human rights obligation? What concrete priorities should guide governments and partners? Over to you.
Thank you so much, Nala.
Excellencies, distinguished colleagues, and dear friends.
Also, I would like to say that like my colleagues, I would have liked to deliver my speech in Spanish, but I will deliver it in English.
As we continue this important discussion, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the World Bank Group, the government of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and all partners and speakers who have contributed to this rich and looking forward exchange.
Why is integrated care a human right obligation? It's a very short question but a difficult one to answer.
Building integrated care and support system is not simply a technical reform or a matter of efficiency.
It is fundamentally about fulfilling human rights commitments.
International laws guarantee the right to the highest attainable standards of health alongside rights to social protection, dignity, autonomy, and equality.
Yet, in many countries, care systems remain fragmented.
Health, social services, disability support, and community care operates in isolation.
This results that individuals, especially older and persons with disabilities and those with complex needs fall through the cracks.
For a human rights perspective, this is not acceptable.
Fragmentation leads to denial to denied access to care, preventable suffering, unnecessary institutionalization, and deep inequalities.
In contrast, integrated care and support enhances continuity, promotes equality and non discrimination, and respects dignity and autonomy.
So does effective integrated care and support looks like? As its core, it is people centered and right based with care organized around individual needs and preferences, not administrative silos.
It requires coordination across sectors, health, social protection, mental health, housing, and community support working together seamlessly.
It also means systems that are accessible and inclusive, ensuring no one is left behind.
A shift toward community based care is critical, bringing support closer to where people live and reducing reliance on institutions.
Care must also be holistic and preventative, addressing both medical needs and the broader social detriment of health.
This involves multidisciplinary teams, shared care plans, effective information systems with the safeguards and governance structures that enable collaboration.
When it comes to your second question, what concrete priorities should guide governments and partners? I believe we should first embed a human rights based approach, aligning laws and policies with international standards.
Ensuring meaningful participation of those who rely on care and strengthening accountability so people are partners and not passive recipients.
There must also be a decisive shift towards community based care, moving away from institutional models and investing in services that support people at home and in their communities while recognizing and supporting caregivers and addressing inequalities in care responsibilities.
Progress depends on strong coordination and governance with clear frameworks that brings sectors together, financing that incentivize collaboration, and data systems that support coordination while safeguarding privacy.
Equally important is investing in the care workforce, ensuring workers are skilled, supported and supported and and fairly compensated and trained in person centered right based care.
We must also ensure systems are equitable and inclusive by removing barriers, tailoring services to diverse populations and using data to address inequalities.
All of this must be underpinned by sustainability with long term investment and systems able to adapt to demographic changes and remain resilient in times of crisis.
Continuous learning is essential, measuring not only efficiency, but whether systems deliver dignity, equity, and real improvement in people's lives.
Integrated care and support systems are not just a policy choice, they are a human right imperative.
They ensure care is available, accessible, acceptable, and of quality for everyone.
If we place dignity and equity at the center, we can build systems that truly leave no one behind.
Excellencies, the leadership demonstrated by countries in the Mana region is encouraging and timely.
It shows progress, is possible and that cooperation can accelerate change.
But the journey ahead requires sustained commitment, investment, policy cohesion, and strong partnerships, including with persons with disabilities themselves.
As we leave this room, I invite you to reflect on three questions.
Are our systems enabling independence or reinforcing dependency? Are we listening to persons with disabilities or speaking on their behalf? Are we building systems that include them or exclude them? Our answers will shape the future of care and support and the realization of their rights.
Let me move forward with determination to build integrated care and support systems that uphold dignity, enable choice, and enable full inclusion of all.
Thank you.
Thank you very much, doctor Heba.
I think you really nailed it when you really explain what does fulfilling human rights commitments actually mean? And the three questions that you raised, it's basically, how can we translate these human rights commitments into actual actions? I also like the fact that it's a continuous learning process, what you mentioned.
I think we are all learning, we will always continue to learn.
The issue of demographics, which you also mentioned, demographics are changing all around the world.
I think more and more we will find more people, I think, living with disability because of the transition that is happening in many of the countries.
I think we have to start now so that when we hit that aging transition, the care systems are integrated and they are there and ready to support.
Finally, I also like very much when you talked about incentivizing financing because This is on the how, what we all know what needs to happen.
But how we can accelerate the integration and the multi sectoral collaboration, if it's done through financing incentives, I think this is also a way to make things happen, so The World Bank does a lot of results based financing, so we are very much all about that.
Anna, are we able to put the video on your laptop and just put the mic? Yes, give it a try.
This is a Let me say who was supposed to speak because we had our partners from Egypt join us for this session.
Miss Zena Tako, the Executive Director of Egypt's National Disability Fund was supposed to share a recorded video.
We're unable to project the video, but I'm sure if we put the video on the laptop and just put the mic, it will work.
I've done this before in other conferences, so I know it will work.
Zena is the Executive Director of Egypt's National Disability Fund called Ra Betlev.
She is a health care and social development leader with extensive experience in translating national policies into impactful programs through strategic partnerships, innovative financing, and system level change.
Zena serves on several national boards and committees dedicated to advancing inclusion, social protection, and sustainable development.
Our question for Zena was to share Egypt's experience in how to build an ecosystem that effectively translates disability inclusion into sustainable and measurable impact.
What do social protection systems, national initiatives, and dedicated financing mechanisms such as the National Disability Fund play in that process? Let's give it a try.
Just put the mic close to the.
Again, they're saying no.
They're.
She's shaking your head.
No, it's just not.
Discussion.
Play video and say that I'm disappointed Excellency' distinguished colleagues, ladies and gentlemen.
First, allow me to express my sincere appreciation to the World Bank, the Government of Saudi Arabia, UniCf, the League of Arab States, and all partners for convening this important discussion.
I must also say that I'm disappointed not to be with you in New York today.
Cost parts for is a valuable opportunity to exchange experiences and learn from colleagues and partners from around the world.
While I'm joining you virtually from Cairo, I'm delighted to have the opportunity to contribute Egypt's perspective to this important conversation.
Egypt's experience demonstrates that disability inclusion is most effective when it's approached as a whole of government and whole of society agenda rather than a standalone social program.
Over the past decade, Egypt has made significant progress in moving from policy commitments to implementation.
Today, disability inclusion is increasingly mainstreamed across national legislation, social protection systems, public services, and national development initiatives.
The Rights of persons with disabilities law number ten of 2018 established a strong rights based framework, while sustained political commitment has ensured that disability inclusion is embedded within broader national development priorities.
One of the key lessons from Egypt's experience is that legislation alone is not enough.
What creates impact is the combination of legislations, institutions, financing mechanisms, and delivery systems working together.
When we speak about integrated care, we are ultimately speaking about a system that accompanies a person throughout their entire life journey.
For persons with disabilities, support cannot begin at one stage and end at another.
It must start in early childhood, continue through education and skills development, facilitate access to employment and economic participation, and ensure protection, independence, and dignity in older age.
This life cycle approach is at the heart of Egypt's vision for social protection and disability inclusion.
This is closely linked to Egypt's broader social protection architecture.
Tkefan Kara has evolved into one of the largest and most advanced social protection programs in the Middle East and North Africa, reaching approximately 4.6 million households.
This includes nearly 2 million beneficiaries under the Karroa Program, which provide income support to persons with disabilities, older persons, and other groups.
Beyond income support, the program serves as a platform for inclusion, helping connect individuals and families to services, opportunities, and support systems that improve quality of life and improve and promote participation in society.
At the same time, Egypt has invested in creating integrated mechanisms that link persons with disabilities to a broad range of services and entitlements.
One important example is the Integrated Services card for persons with disabilities, through which more than 1.2 million citizens are connected to a wide range of rights, services, and benefits.
The card is not simply an administrative tool.
It acts as a gateway to an integrated ecosystem of support facilitating access to health care, education, transportation, rehabilitation services, social protection programs, and economic empowerment opportunities.
This reflects an important shift in approach.
Disability inclusion is no longer viewed as a separate sector, but as an integral component of national development and public service delivery.
This approach is also reflected in major national initiatives such as Ha Karma, which have brought investments in infrastructure, healthcare, education, and community services to underserved areas across Egypt.
By embedding accessibility and inclusion into broader development efforts, these initiatives help ensure that persons with disabilities benefit from the national progress alongside their communities.
Within this broader ecosystem, the National Disability Fund or ad Bertlev represents an important institutional innovation.
Established under law number 200 of 2020 and activated in 2025, the fund was not created to replace existing government efforts, but rather to complement and strengthen an already robust ecosystem of legislation, social protection programs, national initiatives, and public services.
Role is to serve as a dedicated financing and coordination mechanism that helps translate national commitments into practical action by mobilizing resources, fostering partnerships, supporting innovation, promoting accessibility, and addressing gaps that may not be covered through traditional systems alone.
As a newly activated institution, the fund is also focused on strengthening the foundations of a more effective disability inclusion ecosystem through better data, stronger evidence, innovative approaches, and enhanced collaboration between government, civil society, development partners, and the private sector.
Ultimately, our goal is to ensure that resources are directed towards interventions that generate measurable outcomes for persons with disabilities and their families.
For me, the most important lesson from Egypt's experience is that sustainable impact requires strong social protection systems, integrated service delivery mechanisms, national development initiatives that mainstream inclusion, and dedicated financing vehicle that accelerate implementation.
These elements are most effective when they operate as part of a coordinated ecosystem rather than in isolation.
Looking ahead, I believe the next frontier for Egypt is not creating new commitments, but strengthening data, evidence, and impact measurement so that we can better understand what works, scale successful interventions, and maximize the return on investment of disability inclusion efforts.
This is particularly important as we seek to move beyond measuring activities and outputs and focus instead on outcomes that matter to people's lives.
Ultimately, success should not be measured by the number of policies adopted, institutions established, or programs launched.
Success should be measured by whether a child with a disability can access a quality education, whether a young person can secure decent employment, whether a family can find the services they need close to home, and whether persons with disabilities can participate fully and equally in society.
That is where policy becomes impact and where inclusion becomes a lived reality.
Thank you very much.
Thank you, Zena.
Sorry that we could not have the video, but at least we were able to hear the message from Egypt and to hear the Egypt experience.
I think Zena really explained how in Egypt, the whole work around supporting persons with disability is embedded within their social protection policy, their social protection strategy, and the very famous program in Egypt, which is called Karama Dignity Program, which serves persons with disability.
It's serving 2 million individuals she mentioned and also the integrated Service card.
I was happy that actually Zena spoke after doctor Heba because she spoke about financing doctor Heba and about the National Disability Fund and how the fund is trying to work with private sector, governments, and people to serve persons with disability.
With that, we will move to our last speaker.
Mr.
Tare Nabolsi, Mr.
Torre is the Minister of Plenipotentiary, and Director of Development and Social Policy Department at the League of Arab States, he's a member of the Cabinet of the Assistant Secretary-General for Social Affairs.
Mr.
Tare has 25 years of experience with the League of Arab States, contributing to a diverse portfolio, including social protection, rights of persons with disability, and supporting the efforts of Arab countries to implement the UNCPRD.
So, Mr.
Tore, how can the League of Arab States, particularly through the second Arab decade on the Rights of People with Disability, help enhance the inclusion of persons with disability in social protection systems? Thank you so much, first, I hope that I have 25 years, not 25 years of expertise.
Anyway, if you allow me, I'll speak in Arabic, if you allow me, please.
At the outset, I would like to express how happy I am to be here.
I apologize for arriving late.
However, we had a meeting for ministers on the CRPD.
I am happy that I am in this partnership with the League of Arab States, the World Bank, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to implement this initiative.
We had a number of success stories, whether from Saudi Arabia or Egypt.
Today, I will talk about the regional perspective.
The Arab Decade for People with Disability.
This was an Arab initiative by the Arab Summit.
The decade is 2023, 2033.
This decade was adopted by Arab leaders during the Arab Summit in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2023.
This shows the interest from Arab countries, 22 Arab countries, the interest they show to adopting this decade.
It is a clear roadmap, action plan to care for people with disabilities in all sectors, whether legally, socially, at the humanitarian level.
Within this initiative, we have two or three points that I would like to talk about in detail.
Women with disability.
To my left, of course, we have doctor Hiahagras and she was the head of this group on launching this initiative.
This was before she became a special rapporteur.
After this decade was adopted in Arab States, she became the Special Rapporteur.
This decade took into account all aspects of life, but I would like to focus on three points, especially within Arab States.
We have within this decade, the action plan to support people with disabilities in times of crisis and pandemics.
We learned important lessons from COVID.
We saw how there was misunderstanding of how we can deal with people with disabilities in times of pandemic and difficult times.
For instance, during the pandemic, we had to be isolated.
If we were isolated from people that we needed to provide care for, that was very difficult.
In the Arab world, we have a number of conflicts of challenges.
We have Israel, the occupying power, and how this is affecting people with disability We had this action plan to see how to address these challenges.
We started with a workshop.
There's an important workshop that will take place in Egypt with the Red Cross and Red Crescent and people with disabilities themselves will participate in this effort, how we can work together to address these challenges.
This was the first initiative, the second initiative, the Arab classification of people with disability.
The Arab classification takes into account, of course, it is known throughout the world.
We are speaking here at the United Nations.
We always look at the medical perspective issued by the UN.
But in the Arab world, we were successful to come up with this Arab classification that takes into account the health dimension, but also the social and environmental dimensions surrounding people with disability so that we can have a national number or indicator.
We talked about statistics related to people with disability.
This classification will allow us to reach a national number that could be measured regionally and according to international standards.
This is one of the achievements of this initiative.
Also data when we have accurate data, This will help me identify who is providing support to people with disability and how while taking into account all these dimensions, this classification, we started with this classification and we implemented it.
Another important achievement that we started to work on based on the CRPD standards or principles, which is living independently.
This initiative has three main pillars.
Technology, innovations, artificial intelligence, in order to support people with disability in Arab states that are innovative so that we can expand their inventions so that we can support them.
Third, entrepreneurship.
A number of people with disability could have small businesses.
We launched a number of projects.
In order to support these businesses.
We have an important partnership with the private sector through the Chamber of Commerce.
So that we can work with the private sector in a coherent way to support entrepreneurship of people with disability.
Last but not least, changing the products.
Products created by people with disability or the households of people with disability.
We provide them with rehabilitation, with the proper skills.
We help them get a number in the commercial registry so that they can develop their business in a sustainable way so that they can have a proper job according to Arab and international standards.
These are some of the important points.
Another important initiative within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia recently, which is the Arab High Level Conference for tourism for people with disabilities.
Tourism is a very important sector that also supports people with disability and provides them with job opportunities.
Next year, we will have another conference based on the results achieved in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in this regard.
I think I have 30 seconds left.
I am taking advantage of this opportunity to be in this meeting to highlight our partnership with the World Bank and I call on the World Bank, maybe we can have a memorandum of understanding or a model to work with all Arab countries so that if we have this unified model to benefit from the success stories from the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and from Egypt so that it is a model that we can build on to come up with other action plans to support people with disability in the Arab world and support other countries around the world through coordination and partnership in this regard.
I thank you.
Mr.
Torre for sharing with us the regional perspective and the great work that the League of Arab State is doing around the second Arab decade.
I think you're doing a lot on women, disability, pandemics, entrepreneurship, classification, jobs.
I think, again, the Arab League is trying to work in an integrated way to serve people with disability.
Through multiple initiatives, also the independent living.
Thank you very much for sharing the perspective with us and thank you to all the speakers for joining us today.
I think we came to the end of the session, but maybe we can take just one quick question and then we will have to leave the room.
But also, I would like yes, please go ahead.
Yeah.
I'm Same Mukherjee from India.
I represent a social sector organization in India and the International Affairs Lead in there.
So this discussion has been a very fascinating discussion on economic integration, and what I have seen in the last 40 or years since I was born, is that a huge change in the approach of disability has happened.
And honorable Minister, you told about the support system to develop the full economic cycle with the support of the systemic growth.
So do you think that interdigional co cooperation and interconnectivity between the countries on disability policies and economic affairs would help the 18 trillion economy to be unplugged or to be surfaced, which is not yet been recognized, but we are trying to get it recognized? So I think you hit a very important point, which is, job creation and giving people opportunity to work because this is what gives people actual dignity and I think this is also the philosophy in the bank with the jobs agenda.
I think maybe I'll give the floor to Saudi Arabia and the League of Arab States to share a little bit about what you are doing along this agenda.
Thank you for your question, and I do appreciate it.
And you really you touched the pain that all of us we needed.
Do I go in English or Arabic again? Okay.
My speech was in Arabic, so I'll do it in English now.
Well, as doctor Hashim said, it is the outfit we didn't say reflect.
So yeah, from our experience in Saudi regarding the recruitment, we have a strategic goal for Division 2030 and we put that we will reach 15.4% with the employment for people with disability in the country.
But never say that we have initiative and we are proud of that initiative.
Every private company which recruited more than 25 employee, they have to have 4% of their employee from people with disability.
That one, it's really helped a lot.
And help that we have the integration and inclusion within the society.
There is a lot of initiative, but I'll get back to you with your question.
We are open to give all our experience and we could share it with anyone.
With the disability, it's something global and it's sharing with everyone.
You don't need to say that this is mine, this is yours.
So whatever you see in our website with the APD, just ask us and we will share it with you.
I hope that I answer part of your question.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
If you allow me briefly, I will do the same.
Anyway, we have in the Arab States, what we call is the Arab Indian Cooperation.
We have a framework of cooperation with India.
With America, with all the regions, even with the European Union and everybody.
Within that cooperation, of course, we can share our experience as my dear colleague and friend said.
But the idea that we can make maybe more initiatives, especially through the private sector.
As I mentioned, we have the Arab Union for Chamber of Commerce, but this is not for the Arab also Arab Foreign Commerce.
We have the Arab Indian Chamber of Commerce.
Within this Chamber of Commerce, we can work on because we are working with initiatives, with our regional Chamber of Commerce, that they do some training for the startups of the person with disabilities.
Easily we can share this through the Arab India Chamber of Commerce.
All the other attendees and participants, feel free to reach out to the speakers because I think just with this one exchange, we learned that there are many opportunities for actually learning and exchanging and thank you for asking the question.
I would urge anybody who is in the audience who did not have time to ask questions to please go to our speakers directly.
One more time, I would like to thank all the speakers, all the panelists for coming to this session.