People of determination are given top priority and the government is looking after their welfare.
More than 1,200 Emirati families have at least one member with special needs, and the government ensures that each of them is provided with monthly financial support, on top of other social services, a minister said at a Federal National Council (FNC) meeting on Tuesday.
Hessa bint Essa Buhumaid, Minister of Community Development, explained the support that the government is extending to people of determination, in response to a question posed by FNC member Hamad Al Rahoumi about the need to provide more incentives to families with three members with special needs.
“People of determination are given top priority and the government is looking after their welfare. We have special social support programmes for families of people of determination,” Buhumaid said.
Currently, the government is supporting 7,358 people of determination from 1,295 families across the UAE, she said. These families receive a monthly allowance of Dh5,280 for every member with special needs.
At least 667 families have one member with disabilities; 514 families have two; and 114 families have three, the minister said.
Raising the matter at the FNC, Al Rahoumi said there are families who are struggling as they have to take care of a number of people of determination.
“Besides the monthly financial support, families with people of determination need special treatment, including at the workplace, so they can be able to take good care of disabled children,” he said.
Al Rahoumi also said parents with at least three kids of determination must be considered for early retirement so they can have enough time to raise their kids.
He recalled that a 48-year-old mother, who was working in a government entity, lamented how challenging it was to take care of three children with disabilities.
