Targeted social assistance of almost Br140 million was provided to disabled people in the Vitebsk region in 2009

December 2, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. Targeted social assistance worth almost Br140 million has been provided to disabled people residing in the Vitebsk region this year, the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee's Labor, Employment and Social Protection Committee informed a BELTA correspondent. As of October 1, over 120 families raising children with disabilities received financial support from the state worth over Br69 million, and targeted assistance worth almost Br70 million was provided to over 300 single disabled individuals. The Labor, Employment and Social Protection Committee recalled that Decree No. 458 "On State Targeted Social Assistance" will come into force on January 1, 2010. In accordance with this decree, state support will be provided for the payment of technical means of social rehabilitation to children under 18 years of age who are not recognized as disabled but require such technical means for medical reasons, as well as to disabled individuals of Group III. According to the committee, there are over 14,000 disabled individuals of Group III in the region who, prior to the decree coming into force, had to purchase rehabilitation aids at their own expense. However, due to the high cost, the proportion of rehabilitation aids received by them out of the total number of recipients decreased year by year. The committee specialists hope that this legislative act will improve the quality of life for disabled individuals of Group III. In the Vitebsk region, over 8,000 disabled individuals of Groups I-II have been provided with technical means of social rehabilitation at the expense of the budget: prosthetic and orthopedic products, therapeutic bandages, and mobility aids. Over Br2 billion has been spent on these purposes. According to the committee, over 52,000 citizens recognized as disabled are registered with the labor, employment, and social protection authorities, including 2.8 thousand children. -0-