cbm welcomes World Report on Disability

cbm welcomes the first ever World Report on Disability, launched at the United Nations in New York on 9 June 2011.

The report presents evidence that previous figures underestimated global prevalence of disability - it says that one billion people experience disability worldwide. It regularly quotes persons with disabilities, emphasising the need for their voices to be heard, and its conclusions, especially regarding the world's poorest countries, strongly reinforce the need for - and worth of - cbm's work.

An historic occasion, at a critical time

On June 9th the World Health Organisation, together with the World Bank, launched the first ever World Report on Disability (WRD).

This is an historic occasion. The report will focus global attention on persons with disabilities all over the world, and it concentrates on the situation of persons with disabilities in the poorest communities.

It also comes at a critical time; 150 countries have now signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). These, and other governments, are in the process of planning the implementation of this convention, and the WRD will help with this; it provides strong evidence of the need to make rapid progress to equalise rights and opportunities for persons with disabilities.

Exclusion and discrimination - barriers to independence

The World Report on Disability - which cbm supported the development of - is based on the best scientific evidence, and draws on the knowledge of 380 experts across the globe.
It tells us that persons with disabilities globally face:

Unemployment: global figures show employment rates are low with 1 in 2 men and 4 in 5 women with disability being unemployed.
Poverty: persons with disabilities and their families experience higher rates of food insecurity, poor housing, lack of access to safe water and sanitation, and inadequate access to health care.
Poor educational attainment: even in countries with high enrolment rates, children with disabilities are often excluded; children with sensory or intellectual disabilities face even greater exclusion than children with physical disability.
Poor health outcomes and a higher risk of exposure to violence.

One billion people globally experience disability

The World Report on Disability presents evidence that there are one billion people in the world experiencing disability – 1 in 7 of the world’s population – and that the numbers are rising, and will continue to rise.

Downloads

cbm Press Release - World Report on Disability PDF document, 68.7 kB
ADDC Media Release - World Disability Report launch Word document, 83 kB

Personal video stories - What's disability to me?

The fact remains that people with disabilities are often as invisible in research as they are in society.

In the World Report, their perspectives are used a starting point for each topic, and these videos - produced by the WHO and the World Bank and partly financed by cbm - allow individuals to voice their thoughts and feelings:

    * Faustina's story
    * Rachael's story
    * Mia's story
    * Život u instituciji / Life in the institution
    * Stepping into the Unknown (Part 1)
    * Stepping into the Unknown (Part 2)
    * Feliza's story

Faustina Urassa works in Tanzania, on the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro, providing support for people with spinal cord injuries.
In her video, she talks about the importance of wheelchairs, she explains why she loves her work, and she retorts "What's disability to you?"

Read more about Faustina at the launch ceremony, in Catherine Naughton's blog.

From CBM's President

"cbm is grateful for the opportunity to support the development of the World Report, which provides new and reliable evidence on the importance of disability as a major development issue."
Prof. Allen Foster, cbm President
Read more in the cbm Press Release.

From New York

Follow cbm's Catherine Naughton as she attends the launch of the World Report on Disability, live from New York.


Blindness	Orthopaedics	Deafness	Community	Emergencies	Rehabilitation

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cbm welcomes World Report on Disability

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