The Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance places high on its priorities the issues of vulnerable groups of the population and people with disabilities, said the Minister of Labour and Social Insurance, Kyriakos Kousios, in his address to the 34th Annual General Assembly of the Cyprus Myopaths Association, at the House of the Volunteer in Kokkinotrimithia. The address was read on behalf of the Minister of Labour by the Director of the Department of Social Integration of Persons with Disabilities, Christina Flourentzou.
Mr. Kousios said, among other things, that muscle diseases cause multiple problems at both individual and family level, requiring not only the provision of financial assistance to cope with the additional costs in the life of the myopath, but mainly the provision of quality social care services, accompaniment, supply of technological equipment, psychosocial support, support for participation and socialization.
He stated that the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance places the issues of vulnerable groups of the population and persons with disabilities high on its priorities and is constantly taking new measures to improve their quality of life. A long-standing goal, he continued, is to combat social exclusion and empower people with disabilities to remain active and integrated in society.
He added that he welcomes the recent new actions of the Myopaths Association, the cooperation with the Cyprus Paraplegics Organisation and the extension of the work of providing home care to members of the Association who need enhanced and specialised care.
Furthermore, he said that work not only as a means of livelihood, but as a process of creative social integration and skill development is crucial for people with disabilities. The Ministry, he added, recognizing this importance, promotes employment policies and measures in parallel with social protection policies and measures.
"Taking into account individual specificities and capabilities, we provide options and outlets, both in the chapter of employment integration and in the chapter of training and acquisition of knowledge and professional skills," he said.
He further said that social protection through social benefits ensures an adequate standard of living and compensates for the costs incurred by the social protection system. "Persons with myopathies may be entitled to a disability allowance under the minimum guaranteed income, a severe mobility disability allowance, care allowances for paraplegics or quadriplegics, a mobility allowance, financial assistance for the purchase of a car, a wheelchair and a wide range of technical means to facilitate daily life."
Mr. Kousios said that, always aiming at strengthening the role of persons with disabilities in society and highlighting their potential, "we will continue, as a Ministry, to focus our efforts on eliminating stereotypes and prejudices, as well as on strengthening respect for their rights, promoting their equal participation in all areas of their lives." Already, he added, "we have promoted a number of new actions and measures which are recorded in the first National Disability Strategy 2018-2028 and the National Disability Action Plans 2018-2020 and 2021-2023".
He also said that the government's decision to create the new Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare, to which the Department of Social Integration of Persons with Disabilities (DSI) will be transferred from 1.1.2023, is also an important reform.
Source: KYPE
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