1	Numbers
. 500 million people in the world are disabled - roughly one in ten. . 300 million live in developing countries. . 140 million are children. . 160 million are women.1

 

2

Causes

. Over 100 million people are currently disabled as a result of malnutrition - that's one in five.2 . Iron deficiency, anaemia and chronic infections of the pelvis are major causes of disability in women in poor countries. The latter is often caused by female circumcision - which affects at least 80 million young girls and women - and early pregnancy.2 . A handful of green vegetables every day would be enough to save the eyesight of 250,000 children who go blind every year because their diets lack Vitamin A.2 . Lack of iodine is the chief cause of preventable intellectual disability in the world. It is estimated that about 800 million are at risk, mostly in Asia.2 . War and violence cause disability. An estimated 100,000 Cambodians have become disabled as a result of landmines. Between 300-500 people become amputees each month.3

 

3

Poverty

. Most people with spinal cord injuries in Third World countries die within two years of becoming disabled due to lack of facilities.4 . In developing countries only one per cent of disabled people have access to any form of rehabilitation.1 . 80 per cent of disabled people live in Asia and the Pacific but they receive just two per cent of resources allocated to disabled people.5 . In the US and UK over 60 per cent of disabled people live below the poverty line.6,7 . The cost of living for a disabled person in the West is estimated at $100 more per week than for a non-disabled person.8

 

4	Education
. In poor countries the vast majority of disabled children do not go to school and do not find a job. . In rich countries the majority of disabled children receive segregated education that does not enable them to reach their full potential. . In the UK only 0.3 per cent of higher-education students are disabled although disabled people are 10 per cent of the population.6

 

5

Work

. It is estimated that 80-90 per cent of all people labelled as mentally handicapped' are unemployed. . Disabled people in the US and the UK are three times more likely to be unemployed then any other group. 6,7 . Disabled men in full time work in the UK earn almost a quarter less than non-disabled men, and disabled women earn a third less than disabled men.6 . In the UK only 12 per cent of the disabled workforce are in professional or managerial jobs compared with 21 per cent of non-disabled workers.6

 

6	Gender
. Disabled women are doubly disadvantaged. The figures in all categories are much worse. . In Australia only 28 per cent of disabled women are in the workforce compared with 49 per cent of disabled men.9 . In the Philippines only 19 per cent of disabled women are employed and 95 per cent of those have to settle for very low wages, only $35 per month, one third of the poverty threshold.2

 

7

Rights

. Only one country in the world has anti-discrimination legislation - the United States which in July 1990 passed the Americans with Disabilities Act. . Human Rights charters for disabled people exist in Canada, Sweden and some states in Australia. . Many countries have equal-opportunities laws but these are rarely implemented. . The UN Human Rights Declaration on Disability of 1975 would give disabled people rights internationally - if it were properly implemented, monitored and evaluated.

 

1 Final Report on Human Rights and Disability, the United Nations Economic and Social Council, July 1991.
2 Women and Disability, Esther Boylan, (Zed Press, 1991).
3 Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation, 1992.
4 The Hesperian Foundation, Palo Alto, US.
5 Disabled People's International, 1992.
6 Disabled People in Britain and Discrimination, Colin Barnes (Hurst and Co., London 1991).
7 Toward Independence: a Report to the President of the Congress of the US, February, 1986.
8 Disablement Income Group, London, UK, 1990.
9 Disabled Women's International Newsletter, No 5, October 1991.