Baghdad: The Ministry of Labor is scrapping the ten-year age requirement for re-examining certain cases of full-time appointees. The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs announced on Tuesday the cancellation of the age requirement of ten years for re-examining some cases of full-time caregivers.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, the Ministry stated in a press release, “The Commission for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Special Needs at the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs has directed its departments in Baghdad and the provinces to abolish the ten-year age limit for full-time caregivers for cochlear implant recipients and those with hearing impairments, and to re-examine cases whose medical decisions were suspended due to exceeding the age limit.”

The statement clarified that “this procedure is based on a letter and approval from the Ministry of Health,” explaining that “the re-examination will be conducted using the central database, after verification, auditing, and obtaining the necessary approvals, with new medical decisions being issued and entered into the approved system.”

It continued, “The disbursement of the full-time caregiver’s salary for cases for which a new medical decision is issued will commence from the date of issuance of the Mastercard, after fulfilling the inclusion requirements, completing the necessary procedures, and ensuring the availability of the financial allocation.” The statement emphasized that “abolishing the age limit does not mean including new cases or disbursing salaries to them before the inclusion process is opened.”

For her part, the head of the Commission, Dhikra Abdul Rahim, confirmed, according to the statement, that “the procedure aims to guarantee that eligible individuals receive their rights according to the approved regulations,” noting that “the procedure includes cases that were previously included in the full-time caregiver program.” Her salary or medical treatment was suspended due to exceeding the age limit, while new cases will be subject to the application process once inclusion is available and funding is allocated.