Ammon News - Minister of Social Development Wafa Bani Mustafa announced that Jordan has taken a strategic step toward phasing out residential care for persons with disabilities in favour of inclusive, community-based services. Speaking at the side session "Strategic Direction for Shelter Alternatives for Persons with Disabilities" during the Third Global Disability Summit in Berlin, she said this shift reflects Jordan’s commitment to disability rights and international conventions.

Bani Mustafa outlined Jordan’s legal and policy advancements, noting the Kingdom’s ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2008. She highlighted the launch of the National Strategy for Shelter Alternatives, which promotes three main models: group homes, alternative families, and family reintegration. The strategy also supports the expansion of integrated day centres and early intervention programmes, offering training and rehabilitation services.

She noted that this transformation is being implemented in close collaboration with civil society organisations, ensuring inclusive and acceptable living arrangements for persons with disabilities. The minister cited Shelter Alternatives Regulation No. 62 of 2021, which provides financial assistance to families and supports inclusive day services, including early intervention, counselling, training, rehabilitation, and peer support. She described this shift as a foundation for a broader care economy, empowering families to become partners in the transition.

Bani Mustafa also shared that a ten-year roadmap is in place to fully transition to inclusive services. Article 27 of Jordan’s Law on Persons with Disabilities mandates the replacement of residential institutions with inclusive day services. Moreover, the law restricts the issuance of new licences for residential shelters and prohibits expansions of existing facilities.

The summit, co-hosted by Germany, Jordan, and the International Disability Alliance, concluded in Berlin after two days of high-level discussions aimed at advancing global disability rights.