NEWS > E-newsletters > What is the situation of people with disabilities in low income countries?
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What is the situation of people with disabilities in low income countries?Did you know that one in five of the world’s poorest people - approximately 650 million people – are living with a disability?[1] In fact, 80% of persons with disabilities live in low income countries.[2]
To get an idea of what this means, imagine a classroom of 30 students. If this represented the world’s population of persons with disabilities, 24 of them would live in middle to low income countries across Africa, South and Southeast Asia and South America. The remaining 6 would live in higher income countries across North America and Europe.
There are a number of reasons that low income countries have greater numbers of persons with disabilities, such as:
But most disabilities are preventable.
Disability is both a cause and consequence of poverty. Poverty is the major cause of impairment and disability; it is the primary reason that there are few services and little assistance available for people who have impairments and for persons with disabilities. And in turn, disability is a cause of poverty as it increases isolation and economic strain. People with disabilities often do not have access to education and vocational training, and consequently find it extremely difficult to find gainful employment. Children with disabilities are more likely to die young, or be neglected, malnourished and poor.
Disability has social impacts, too – not just on the individual, but on the whole community. The cost of excluding people with disabilities from participating in community life is high and weighs on society.
It is because of the disability-poverty cycle that disability is a development issue. In this context, ‘development’ refers to the notion of ‘human development’, which incorporates all aspects of individuals’ well-being, from their health status to their economic and political freedom.[3] The development field addresses quality of life issues for people living in low income countries around the world, and focuses on poverty alleviation, human rights, equality, freedom and means of achieving this, for example health care, education and economic growth.
cbm, together with its partner organisations, acts upon the needs and rights of persons with disabilities. Worldwide, nearly 17 million people benefit from cbm's support. However, much more needs to be done, as an estimated 500 million people with a disability are currently living in middle- and low-income countries, in need of services and support.
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