Forum to explore jobs for people with special needs
The DHH Forum meets tomorrow under the auspices of Shaikh Nasr bin Amer al Hosni, Under-secretary of the Ministry of Labour
The First Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) Forum will explore the possibility of better employability for the specially-abled people in the country. An initiative called ‘DHH Employment and Training’ will look into employment aspect of the people with special needs.
The DHH Forum will be held under the auspices of Shaikh Nasr bin Amer al Hosni, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Labour for Labour at the Hormuz Grand
Hotel on Wednesday.
Organised under a strategic partnership with the Ministry of Labour, Zubair Corporation, Tanmia, Octal by Vertex Business Solutions and Al Massa for Marketing and CSR Project Management, the initiative aims to promote education, employment and empowerment of Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) individuals in the country.
“We are pleased to be launching the nation’s first of its kind initiative for the DHH (Deaf and Hard of Hearing) in partnership with
Vertex Business Solutions,” said Muna al Shukaili, CEO, Al Massa Group. “Through the initiative it is our humble endeavour to bring about more awareness and discuss opportunities related to the general welfare of DHH individuals by providing expertise related to challenges faced by them; and encouraging the private sector to provide access to education, training, jobs, resources and services.”
The Sultanate of Oman has the second largest number of hearing impaired population in the Gulf Cooperation Council region after Saudi Arabia and the country has nearly 16,000 hearing-impaired, according to a test survey. This doesn’t include the cases in the far away villages, as the survey didn’t include those areas, according to
Oman Association for the Hearing Impaired.
The Association, established under Ministry of Social Development Decision No (177/2013), aims to cater to the needs of the people with hearing disabilities and support them in all aspects of their lives. The national prevalence of bilateral hearing impairment was 55.3 per 1000 Omani population.
According to a communitybased nationwide survey for hearing loss conducted by Dr Mazin al Khaboori and Rajiv Khandekar, the prevalence of bilateral hearing impairment was 55/1000 and the gender difference were 325 of 1000 males and 17 of 1000 females respectively, in the age brackets of 60-10-years.
Establishing primary ear care, introducing hearing screening for neonates and schoolchildren, promoting safe preventive practices for ear care, strengthening secondary-level ear care services and introducing comprehensive rehabilitative initiatives for the hearing-disabled are recommended to reduce the hearing loss rates.