The care economy and social protection in Qatar is an essential pillar for enhancing the well-being of individuals, family cohesion, and supporting community integration, said a top official.

Assistant Undersecretary for Social Development Affairs at MoSDF Fahd Muhammad Al Khayarin was addressing an International Conference on the Care Economy and Social Protection held in Morocco.

“The care economy and social protection in Qatar refers to the economic system that focuses on providing care and protection for individuals and families in Qatari society, and aims to provide social protection, health care, and necessary services for all citizens,” said Al Khayarin.

The State of Qatar, represented by the Ministry of Social Development and Family (MoSDF), participated in an International Conference on the Care Economy and Social Protection “A Pillar for Empowering Women, Creating Job Opportunities, and Achieving Family Welfare”.

The conference was held in the capital of the Kingdom of Morocco, Rabat, at the Mohammed VI University, from June 25-26, 2024. The event was organised by Ministry of Solidarity, Social Inclusion and Family, in partnership with the General Secretariat of Arab League.

The Qatar delegation was led by Assistant Undersecretary for Social Development Affairs at MoSDF Fahd Muhammad Al Khayarin.

“The system of care services in Qatar is characterised by diversity, expansion, and continuous development. The country also supports the care economy in its various fields, such as social security, which includes providing financial assistance to individuals who are unable to work due to disability or old age,” said Al Khayarin.

He said that this is in addition to assistance to low-income families, which is provided through the Social Security Department at the Ministry of Social Development and Family.

Al Khayarin stressed that public health care includes providing health care services to everyone without discrimination, through the Ministry of Public Health and many supporting agencies. He added that education in Qatar is provided free of charge to all citizens through the Ministry of Education and Higher Education and the entities that fall under its supervision.

Social protection in the country includes social services for Qatari families, providing housing services for citizens and social housing, and empowering women to get job opportunities, providing loans, grants, and aid to productive families, supporting national productive projects, and establishing outlets for selling and marketing their products.

It also includes family and childhood support through programs dedicated to children, the elderly, and people with disabilities, provided through the Ministry and its affiliated centers for enhancing social cohesion, to build a sustainable society to achieve Qatar National Vision 2030.

The conference aimed to create opportunities and engage in the process of building an integrated system for the care economy, through exchanging Arab and international experiences and expertise about this important sector.

The conference also focused on developing a set of answers that contribute to confronting the challenges and enriching the discussion, especially with regard to identifying the economic activities that fall under the care economy and its actual contribution to creating job opportunities that enhance the economic empowerment of women.