Disability Insurance in the ESCWA Region

In contrast to the welfare states in more developed countries, the support and care for persons with disabilities in the ESCWA region is borne largely by the family. Community-based work and civil society organizations offer additional support in the absence of comprehensive governmental social insurance programmes. However, the relationship between the public and private sectors and civil society lacks adequate frameworks for consultation, capacity-building and monitoring. 

While progress in the disability agenda is slow compared to that in more developed regions, ESCWA member countries have made positive efforts in designing pension schemes to protect individuals and their families from loss of income owing to disability and from further disadvantage. In this sense, disability insurance is integrated into the national social security or pension scheme, which covers old-age, disability and survivors’ benefits based on contributions from workers and employers. Consequently, it does not cover the majority of the disabled population which is unemployed or working in the informal sector.  It should also be noted that these programmes do not include a cash transfer system as such, except for some exclusive forms of financial assistance. Rather, some countries have adopted a “disability card” as a mean to gain access to the disability services provided by the State.