In the conference held by the Office for Good Governance in honor of World Autism Awareness Day, Acting Minister of Justice, Albulena Haxhiu, called on central institutions and municipalities to fulfill their obligations toward individuals receiving social assistance, KosovaPress reports.

She emphasized that the Ministry of Justice is continuing to focus on reforms for social and family services in both legislative aspects and budgeting, with the aim of creating an inclusive system.

"In the past three years, the Ministry of Justice and the Government of Kosovo have allocated 6.3 million euros for social and family services. I would like the focus and commitment of the central level toward social and family services to also be reflected at the local level. I must say and repeat that we face many challenges in cooperating with municipalities. Wherever we have visited organizations operating in municipalities within the Republic of Kosovo, we hear that they are not supported in relation to the challenges they face from the municipalities. It is a responsibility. I call on each institution, both local and central, to fulfill their obligations," said Haxhiu.

Meanwhile, the director of the Office for Good Governance, Habit Hajredini, added that together with such organizations, they have developed and finalized the national strategy for persons with disabilities, a strategy aimed at inclusion, healthcare services, and adequate access for them.

The head of the "Autism" association, Hatixhe Hoxha, spoke about the challenges faced by individuals with autism.

Hoxha calls for early intervention for individuals with autism

World Autism Awareness Day aims to raise awareness towards autism spectrum disorders and improve the lives of those living with autism. It is estimated that 1% of the global population is autistic.

Autism is a complex disorder that affects many developmental areas, including social interaction, verbal and non-verbal communication, imagination, behaviors, and interests. The symptoms of this disorder appear early in life, sometimes in infancy, but generally before the age of three.