Number or % of disabled people and children in developing countries:

  • Of the estimated over 600 million people who have impairments in the world (ACFOA), 75% live in developing countries (DFID).
  • 10-20% of the population of developing countries has an impairment (source: 10%: WHO, 20%: WB). However, if we consider social exclusion and discrimination people with impairments and their families face, the figures above will be even higher.

Education

  • 98% of disabled children in developing countries do not attend school … or 40 million of the 115 million children who do not attend school have a disability/impairment (UNESCO).
  • Disabled female children are less likely to attend school in comparison with disabled male children. ?Literacy rates for disabled individuals are as low as 3% globally (Helander, E.), thus making communication of messages about HIV/AIDS all the more difficult (CRIN).

Health

  • Mortality rates for disabled children may be as high as 80% in countries where under-five mortality as a whole has decreased to below 20% (DFID).
  • 500,000 children every year are visually impaired due to vitamin A deficiency (UNESCO).
  • 41 million babies are at risk of mental impairment due to lack of iodine in their mothers’ diet (UNESCO).
  • 70% of blindness and 50% of hearing impairment in children in developing countries is either preventable or treatable (WHO).
  • More than 80% of the 50 million people affected by epilepsy live in developing countries. Treatment costs can be as low as $5 per person per year. In Africa more than 80% of people with epilepsy receive no treatment (WHO).
  • Only 2% of disabled people in developing countries have access to basic services and rehabilitation. 80% could have their needs met in the community; only 20% would require specialist attention (DFID).
  • 20 million people in the world who need a wheelchair don’t have one (Motivation). Many more have inappropriate or worn-out machines (New Internationalist) due to various factors.
  • Less than 0.1% of deaf/blind people in developing countries receive appropriate support (Sense International).
  • The global literacy rate for adults with disabilities is as low as 3%, and 1% for women with disabilities, according to a 1998 UNDP study.

Violence & Conflict

  • 90% of people with intellectual impairments will experience sexual abuse, often in childhood. Disabled children are more likely to experience violence from birth (CRIN).
  • Research indicates that violence against children with disabilities occurs at annual rates at least 1.7 times greater than for their non-disabled peers (UN).
  • For every child killed in warfare, three are injured and permanently disabled (UN). 40% out of 26,000 persons killed and injured by landmines every year are children. Over 10 million children are psychologically traumatized by armed conflicts (UNESCO).

Child Labour

  • Child labour and maltreatment such as corporal punishment, amputation, blinding of detainees, are responsible for children becoming disabled, and can lead to mental illness, physical and psychological disabilities/impairments, difficulties in school or at work, etc. (UNICEF).