27 May 2007 :: by Raid Qusti
& Ali Al-Zahrani
The first database of disabled people in the Kingdom
is soon to be established, said a senior official from
the Prince Salman Center for Disability Research
(PSCDR).
"This database will be comprehensive. It will also be
the main source of information in the field of disability
and a resource for decision makers, researchers and
academics in the country," Prince Sultan ibn Salman,
chairman of the board of trustees of PSCDR, said
yesterday during the second annual meeting of the
center's founding board members.
The event was attended by over 100 founding members,
the majority of whom local businessmen and
representatives of banks and private institutions. Also
attending were Minister of Health Dr. Hamad Al-Manie,
Minister of Education Abdullah Al-Obeid, Deputy Minister
of Petroleum and Minerals Prince Abdul Aziz ibn Salman,
and Saudi Research and Marketing Group Chairman Prince
Faisal bin Salman.
Prince Sultan also announced that a new academy
specializing in research is soon to be established with
the cooperation of the Ministry of Higher Education, the
Prince Sultan University and the Prince Sultan Charitable
Association.
"The new academy would be under the supervision of
PSCDR and has been approved by members of the board,"
said Prince Sultan.
He said the PSCDR had proposed the establishment of
the first nationwide center to follow up on the growth of
children.
"The proposed center will specialize in identifying
diseases that cause disabilities among children at early
stages. It will also identify the environmental causes of
disability and cure them once they are identified," he
said.
Prince Sultan said that this year's board meeting
signaled the care shown by the government to disabled
persons. "This is evident in the huge sums allocated on
an annual basis to establish rehabilitation centers for
the disabled," he said.
The meeting was held to review the center's
achievements last year and to approve its budget for the
current year.
Commenting on the achievements of the PSCDR, he said
the center is due to finalize a nationwide awareness
program on the causes of disability and methods to combat
them with the cooperation of the Disabled Children's
Association and the sponsorship of the Saudi Telecom
Company (STC).
He also said the PSCDR had set an outstanding example
for the management of charitable endowments, which could
be followed by others.
Governor of Riyadh and the founder of PSCDR Prince
Salman thanked the members for their efforts to develop
the center. "There is full cooperation between the
management of PSCDR, businessmen and government bodies to
take this center to higher grounds," he said.
Prince Salman said businessmen had been generous to
the center in the past. "I tell you with all openness: I
do not complain at all of any negligence on the
businessmen's part," he said, adding that the majority of
charitable projects nationwide were being endorsed by
local businessmen.
Saad Al-Hassan, consultant of reproductive medicine at
the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center,
said that the PSCDR had cooperated recently with the
hospital to cure a Saudi woman of a genetic disorder that
made her give birth to disabled children.
"The woman, along with her two disabled children, had
been transferred to us. We managed to remove her genes
that caused the disability and replace them with healthy
ones. ... She has now given birth to a healthy baby free
from diseases via incubators. She named the newborn
infant Salman after the Riyadh governor," said
Al-Hassan.
Source
Arab
News
