Abu Dhabi, 26 Oct, 05 (WAM) - UAE Tedad (Census) 2005, the single-mostimportant nationwide initiative currently under way across theUAE, has announced a training programme for its enumerators tohelp in gathering statistics about people with disabilities inthe country.

As part of this initiative, the Higher Census Authority hasunveiled its cooperation with Zayed University, British Universityin Dubai and the Dubai Education Council for the training inDisability Measurement. The Census, a programme spearheaded byUAE Ministry of Economy and Planning, is aimed at investing inthe UAE community and providing vital benchmark data on the stateof the society, demography and economy, according to a pressrelease.

The inclusion of a question on disability in the Census processis crucial in order to promote inclusive development that fullyintegrates people with disabilities and their families into theeconomic and social milieu of the UAE. The training, which involved10-20 select enumerators from the Higher Census Authority, alsofocused on increasing awareness and encouraging households tobe transparent in the Census efforts about family members withspecial needs.

The training also provided an overview on key vital issues whichsheds light on the benefits of gathering basic statistics tohelp policy development and planning, social stigma associatedwith disability, the complex and evolving definition of disability,the data collection method employed and the way it is to be usedand the sources of measurement error specific to disability datacollection.

Speaking about the cooperation with the institutions for thetraining, Hafsa Abdullah Al Ulama, Assistant Under-Secretaryfor Planning and Director-General of Census 2005, said: "Thefindings of Tedad are set to impact the social and economic futureas well as the global positioning of the UAE in the 21st Centuryand hence it is vital to gather the demographic information aswell as social characteristics of all the residents in the country.

The benefits of this association with Zayed University, BritishUniversity in Dubai, Dubai Education Council, and Future Centrefor People with Special Needs is multifold and we are happy toget their support in our nationwide initiative." She added: "TheCensus information on disability can serve to motivate inclusivedevelopment of people with disabilities into the economic andsocial life of their communities. This training has helped indesigning, delivery and monitoring of effective programmes todocument good practices and encouraging all households in thecountry to be open about their family members with special needs.

In fact, we are also exploring the possibility of conductinga follow-up Household Survey in disability and special needs."As part of the working relationship between the Higher CensusAuthority with the institutions, the enumerators underwent specialisedtraining on how to conduct the interviews with people with disabilities.

The modules at the training also help in promoting understandingof issues related to disability statistics and data requiredfor policy formulation.

In her comments, Dr. Sandra Willis, Assistant Professor at ZayedUniversity, said: "The determination of the number of peoplewith disabilities in a population is complex and depends on howdisability is defined and how it is measured. Through this associationwith the Higher Census Authority, we at Zayed University triedto engage in a constructive training programme to design instrumentsthat can effectively identify persons with disabilities takinginto account the socio-cultural dynamics and policy needs ofthe UAE." The initiative assumes great significance given thefact that the Census is one of the few sources of informationfor disability in the country.

Dr Sandra added: "Disability is an integral part of the humanexperience and the Census gives us a very good platform to gatherstatistics related to disabilities in the country. This is avery noble initiative to collect data and also counter socio-culturalpressures to curb under-reporting of disability prevalence. Thistraining has helped in devising methodologies for social stigma,especially keeping in view respondents who are reluctant to admitthe presence of people with disabilities in the household. Weare thankful to Mr. Naji Al Hai, Manager of People with SpecialNeeds Department, and Mr. Hussein Al Shaikh at the Ministry ofLabour and Social Affairs for their support to the initiative."Voicing his comments, Dr. Abdulla Al Karam, Secretary Generalat the Dubai Education Council (DEC), said the Council was supportiveof the initiative as information derived from Census is criticalfor decision-making. "The whole process will help in determiningthe data for prevalence of disability which will provide theknowledge base for DEC's educational projects," he said.

Dr Eman Gaad, Senior Lecturer, British University in Dubai,also delivered the training and as a special educationalist valuesthe opportunity for accurate disability data in the UAE.