Al-Birr Society to provide health insurance for orphans, elderly [Arab News, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia]

Apr. 18--JEDDAH -- Children and older people living in orphanages and shelters managed by Jeddah's Al-Birr Society will soon be entitled to medical insurance.

The society will reportedly become the first charity in the Kingdom to sign a contract with a medical insurance company.

Al-Birr's human resources director Osama Hassan Dahlan said several insurance companies had contacted the society.

"We will award the contract after examining the bids, and will aim to start implementing the scheme from mid-May (Jamad Al-Thani) onward," he said.

Dahlan said Al-Birr had used a third party firm to broker a deal.

"This shows that the society is keen to provide the best possible medical insurance services not only to its employees but also to orphans and the elderly people it shelters," he said.

About 300 orphans will benefit from the scheme. "There are three categories of people covered by medical insurance at the society. They include employees, children at Dar Al-Zahra orphanage, and those living at other orphanages managed by the society. They will be offered first-class insurance, which covers the cost of all medical services and surgeries," Dahlan said.

He hoped that other charities in the Kingdom would follow suit. "Around three million people can take advantage of medical insurance if all charitable organizations implemented a similar scheme," Dahlan said, adding that this includes more than 629,000 people working for the General Organization for Social Insurance and people helped by charities on a daily basis across the country.

He said the new initiative forms part of the society's annual development plan adopted by the board of directors at a meeting earlier this year.

Al-Birr's activities are concentrated mainly in Jeddah and its surrounding towns.

Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal is the society's honorary chairman. The Ministry of Social Affairs supervises the charity.

The society delivers a wide variety of programs and activities aimed at supporting vulnerable groups in society.

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Copyright (c) 2010, Arab News, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

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