Saudi funder Alwaleed Philanthropies, together with Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, are launching a platform to assess childhood development and cognitive skilled. Called ‘Maharat’, the application provides professional services such as early detection and intervention is hoped to be used for more than ten million children across the Arab region.

Alwaleed Philanthropies say the application will benefit all children in early childhood, with particular importance for children with motor and cognitive developmental delay, hyperactivity, impulsivity, poor communication, and motivation for language learning, concentration problems, distraction, inattention, and working memory deficit.

‘Maharat’, which was developed with assistance from experts in psychology, pedagogy, and other relevant areas, aims to facilitate the detection of development-related problems among children, while also engaging teachers and parents in the assessment process, which will help provide accurate professional diagnoses of cases that need early intervention. It aims to lay the foundations to provide tailored programs designed for the children, informed through scientific and practical methods to address their needs.

The app was unveiled at a recent virtual launch, which was attended by, among others, the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, the Secretary-General and member of the Alwaleed Philanthropies Board of Trustees, and the Assistant Minister of Communications and Information Technology.