On 9 June 2011, WHO and the World Bank officially launched the first-ever World report on disability. This landmark report reveals that more than one billion people in the world experience some form of disability. The report, which provides the first global estimates of persons with disabilities in 40 years, shows that almost one-fifth of all persons with disabilities – between 110-190 million – encounter significant difficulties in their daily lives. Few countries have adequate mechanisms in place to respond to the needs of people with disabilities.

“Disability is part of the human condition,” says WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan. “Almost every one of us will be permanently or temporarily disabled at some point in life. We must do more to break the barriers which segregate people with disabilities, in many cases forcing them to the margins of society.”

Barriers include stigma and discrimination, lack of adequate health care and rehabilitation services; and inaccessible transport, buildings and information and communication technologies. As a result, people with disabilities experience poorer health, lower educational achievements, fewer economic opportunities and higher rates of poverty than people without disabilities. As evidence of this, the report shows that:

• People with disabilities are more than twice as likely to find healthcare provider skills inadequate to meet their needs, and nearly three times more likely to report being denied needed health care.
• In low-income countries, people with disabilities are 50% more likely to experience catastrophic health expenditure than non-disabled people.
• Children with disabilities are less likely to start school than nondisabled children and have lower rates of staying in school.
• In countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the employment rate of people with disabilities (44%) is slightly over half that for people without disabilities (75%).

The World report on disability recommends that governments and their development partners provide people with disabilities access to all mainstream services, invest in specific programmes and services for those people with disabilities who are in need, and adopt a national disability strategy and plan of action. In addition, governments should work to increase public awareness and understanding of disability, and support further research and training in the area. Importantly, people with disabilities should be consulted and involved in the design and implementation of these efforts.

RELATED LINKS:

World report on disability – /?p=43215
World report on disability fact file – http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/disability/en/index.html
Interview on CNN International – http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/health/2011/06/09/who.disability.report.cnn?iref=allsearch