Fri 03 December 2021:

December 3 is International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD), and on this Day WHO joins other partners around the world to celebrate a day for all.

According to figures released by the World Health Organization on Thursday, more than 1 billion people throughout the world live with some sort of disability.

The organization defined disability as “the interaction between individuals with a health condition and personal and environmental factors,” stating that four out of every five people with disabilities live in developing countries.

According to the WHO research, the number of individuals with disabilities is rapidly increasing as a result of demographic trends and the rise in chronic health disorders, among other factors.

Around 15% of the world’s population is considered to be disabled, with up to 190 million persons aged 15 and up projected to have severe disabilities that cause difficulty in functioning and necessitate the use of health care services.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected the people with disabilities, the WHO noted, saying it is likely that almost everyone will experience some form of disability, temporary or permanent, at some point in their lives.

While disability is a human rights issue, people with disabilities are four to 10 times more likely to experience violence, and are “subject to multiple violations of their rights, including acts of violence, abuse, prejudice, and disrespect because of their disability, which intersects with other forms of discrimination based on age and gender, among other factors,” the report added.

Disability is a development priority because of its higher prevalence in lower-income countries, and disability and poverty reinforce and perpetuate one another, according to the organization. People with disabilities also face barriers, stigmatization, and discrimination when accessing health and health-related services and strategies, according to the organization.

240 million children living with disability denied basic rights – UNICEF

The United Nations Children’s Fund on Thursday revealed that 240 million children living with disabilities all around the world are being denied basic rights.

By this figure, one in 10 children worldwide suffer from denial of basic human rights.

UNICEF stated this in a report on Thursday titled, ‘Fact Shee: The world’s nearly 240 million children living with disabilities are being denied basic rights – UNICEF’, which was released ahead of International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

In the report, UNICEF Global Lead on Disability, Rosangela Berman-Bieler,said, “Like every child in the world, children with disabilities have the right to be nurtured through responsive care, supported in education, and provided with adequate nutrition and social protection, including in humanitarian situations. But all too often, such rights are denied.

“We can and must do more to ensure the nearly quarter of a billion children with disabilities worldwide are able to realise their rights.

“We must provide children with disabilities with equal opportunities by ensuring community support and services are inclusive and accessible, stigma and discrimination are eradicated, and that they are protected from violence, abuse and neglect.

“There is a story behind every statistic – a child with hopes, fears, potential and ambitions.”

The latest data also showed that children with disabilities are 24 per cent less likely to receive early stimulation and responsive care, and 42 per cent less likely to have foundational reading and numeracy skills.

As a result, UNICEF called on governments to ensure that children with disabilities are provided with equal opportunities.

The agency maintained that all services should be inclusive and accessible to children living with disabilities.

Such services include birth registration, early childhood development, education, health, nutrition, immunizations, water and sanitation, and other social services.

Key messages

Many of us will experience disability in our lifetime, particularly as we grow older
WHO commits to supporting countries to realize a world where health systems are inclusive and persons with disabilities can attain their highest possible standard of health.
COVID-19 has resulted in further disadvantage and increased vulnerability for many persons with disabilities due to barriers in the health and social sectors, including discriminatory attitudes and inaccessible infrastructure.
Building back better requires persons with disabilities to be central to health sector decision making, to ensure barriers are addressed in an inclusive and timely way.
Disability inclusion in the health sector is not only the right thing to do, but also the smart thing to do, as it directly contributes to the achievement of broader global and national health priorities.

(with agencies)

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