Country Profile on Disability KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA

1 Country Profile on Disability KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA . March 2002. Japan International Cooperation Agency Planning and Evaluation Department Country Profile on Disability KINGDOM of SAUDI ARABIA Table of Contents Figures .. ii Tables .. ii iii 1. Basic 1. 1-1. Basic Indicators .. 1. 1-2. Indicators on Disability .. 3. 2. Issues on Disability .. 7. 2-1. Definition of Disability in SAUDI 7. 2-2. Current 7. 2-3. Documentation and Survey on Disability .. 8. 3. Administration and Policy on 10. 3-1. Administration on Disability .. 10. 3-2. Laws and Regulations on Disability .. 11. 3-3. Policies on 13. 3-4. Measures on Disability .. 13. 3-5. Experts and Workers in the Field of 20. 4. Disability -related Activities.

2 21. 4-1. Activities by Disability -related 21. 4-2. Cooperation Projects on Disability Organized by International Donors and Others .. 21. 5. 22. i Figures Figure 1: Disability -specific Data in 1997 .. 3. Figure 2: Number of Persons with Disabilities in Urban and Rural Areas .. 4. Figure 3: Number of Persons with Disabilities by Type of 5. Figure 4: Overall Prevalence of Categories of Disability .. 6. Tables Table 1: Age Specific Data on Types of 3. Table 2: Number of Persons with Disabilities by Area and Type of Disabilities .. 4. ii Abbreviations CBR Community-based Rehabilitation DPT Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus GDP Gross Domestic Product GNP Gross National Product JCRPO/RP Joint Centre for Research in Prosthetics and Orthotics and Rehabilitation Programmes NGO Non-governmental Organization UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNICEF United Nations Children's Fund WHO World Health Organization iii Country Profile on Disability SAUDI ARABIA 1.

3 Basic Profile 1-1. Basic Indicators Public Sector Expenditure1. Health 1996-98. Education 1997. Social welfare N/A. Defense 1997. Population1. Population (total) million 2000. % of women 2000. % of urban population 85% 1999. Life Expectancy2(total) 1999. Male 1999. Female 1999. Medical Care Medical care personnel2. Population/Doctor 602 1990-99. Population/Nurse & midwife 287 1992-95. 1. World Bank. World Development Report 2000-2001. 2. UNDP. Human Development Report 2001. 1. Country Profile on Disability SAUDI ARABIA Education Education system3. Primary education 6 year Compulsory education N/A. Adult literacy rate1. Male 83% 1998. Female 64% 1998. Enrollment ratio3. Primary education (Net enrollment ratio).

4 Total 60% 1997. Male 81% 1995-99. Female 73% 1995-99. Primary education4. (Gross enrollment ratio). Total 76% 1997. Male 77% 1997. Female 75% 1997. Secondary education (Net enrollment ratio). Total 59% 1997. Male 54% 1996. Female 41% 1996. Higher education (Gross enrollment ratio). Total 1996. Male 1996. Female 1996. 3. UNESCO. Statistical Yearbook 1999. 4. USAID ESDS. GED2000 Retrieved February 21, 2002, from 2. Country Profile on Disability SAUDI ARABIA 1-2. Indicators on Disability Disability -specific Data Figure 1: Disability -specific Data in 1997. Overlapping Psychiatrical Physical Intellectual Hearing Visual Source: The Economic Bureau, KINGDOM of SAUDI ARABIA . Profile on Welfare and Disability in KINGDOM of SAUDI ARABIA .

5 2000. Age-specific Data Table 1: Age Specific Data on Types of Disabilities Number of Persons Physical Visual Hearing Intellectual Psychiatric Overlapping with Disability Impairment Impairment Disability Disability Disabilities 0-2 - - - - 3-13 - - - - 14-24 - - - - - 25-60 - - - - - 60+ - Majority - - - Note: - = N/A. Source: The Economic Bureau, KINGDOM of SAUDI ARABIA . Profile on Welfare and Disability in KINGDOM of SAUDI 3. Country Profile on Disability SAUDI ARABIA Area-specific Data Table 2: Number of Persons with Disabilities by Area and Type of Disabilities Number of Persons Physical Visual Hearing Intellectual Psychiatric Overlapping with Disability Impairment Impairment Disability Disability Disabilities Urban Rural Source: The Economic Bureau, KINGDOM of SAUDI ARABIA (2000), Profile on Welfare and Disability in KINGDOM of SAUDI ARABIA .

6 Figure 2: Persons with Disabilities in Urban and Rural Areas Urban 41%. Rural 59%. Source: The Economic Bureau, KINGDOM of SAUDI ARABIA . Profile on Welfare and Disability in KINGDOM of SAUDI ARABIA . 2000. 4. Country Profile on Disability SAUDI ARABIA Figure 3: Number of Persons with Disabilities by Type of Disabilities 100%. 90%. 80%. 70%. 60%. Rural 50%. Urban 40%. 30%. 20%. 10%. 0%. l g al al g al ua in rin isu ic ric ct pp ys ea at V. lle rla Ph H. hi te yc ve In Ps O. Source: The Economic Bureau, KINGDOM of SAUDI ARABIA . Profile on Welfare and Disability in KINGDOM of SAUDI ARABIA . 2000. Grade-specific Data N/A. 5. Country Profile on Disability SAUDI ARABIA Cause-specific Data Figure 4: Overall Prevalence of Categories of Disability Others Vascular Infectious Congenital T raumatic Hereditary Bone & Joint Metabolic Note: Each category includes etiologies as follows.

7 - Congenital Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation, Spina Bifida, etc. - Metabolic Diabetes Mellitus, Malnutritional Disease, etc. - Bone and Joint Rheumatoid Arthritis, Osteoarthritis, etc. - Hereditary Muscular Dystropies, Haemophilia, etc. - Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury, Traumatic Brain Injury, etc. - Infectious Poliomyelitis, Tuberculosis, Leprosy, Malaria, etc. - Vascular Smoke, Myocardial Infraction, Buerger's Disease - Others Cancer, Collagen Diseases, Other immunological diseases, etc. Source: The Economic Bureau, KINGDOM of SAUDI ARABIA . Profile on Welfare &. Disability in KINGDOM of SAUDI ARABIA . 2000. Gender-specific Data N/A. 6. Country Profile on Disability SAUDI ARABIA 2. Issues on Disability 2-1.

8 Definition of Disability in SAUDI ARABIA Under the Labor and Workman Law (Article 51), a persons with Disability is defined as any person whose capacity to perform and maintain a suitable job has actually diminished as a result of a physical or mental infirmity.. 2-2. Current Situation 1. Background of Policies on Disability in SAUDI ARABIA The KINGDOM of SAUDI ARABIA is based on the Islamic Sharia, which emphasizes human rights, and particularly person with disabilities rights to live with dignity and benefit from welfare. The KINGDOM has focused on person with Disability since initiation of its social and economic development plans two decades ago, with the government providing modern and appropriate welfare means for person with disabilities to help them adapt to society, the environment, and life by taking into consideration their intellectual, psychological, physical and livelihood features.

9 2. Issues on current policies on Disability Despite medical statistics compiled by the Ministry of Health for its annual reports, there are no regular and reliable reports on disabilities including numbers, types of disabilities, amputee population, or geographical distribution. Greater attention has been placed on person with disabilities health care services rather than education and training, and there is very little attention given to helping persons with disabilitiess gain employment. Meanwhile, iClose family intermarriages appears to be a major cause of Disability than socio-environmental factors. Royal family members support public and private organizations and facilities for person with disabilities, and donations are raised from wealthy families in the KINGDOM .

10 However, specialized organizations such as hospitals of the National Guard, Military, Social Security 7. Country Profile on Disability SAUDI ARABIA and others, extend services to persons with disabilities as part of their constituency services. Most of these specialized organizations are extremely sensitive about persons with disabilities statistics for security reasons, and it is estimated that statistics are vastly under-reported, when and if they are reported. Several royal foundations are quite active in terms of developing infrastructure for persons with disabilities, but the type and quality of services are not well known, as these institutions are still under development and not fully operational.