According to the World Health Organisation, about 15 per cent of the world’s population, or more than one billion people, live with some form of disability. The vast majority of these people (80%) live in developing countries. The linkage between poverty and disability seems very strong and goes in both directions. Those who live in poverty are more likely to acquire a disability through malnutrition, poor health care and dangerous living conditions.

The World Bank estimates that 20 per cent of the world’s poorest people have some kind of disability. Those who already have a disability are more likely to become impoverished because they can hardly participate in the economic and social life of their communities and are forced into a situation of dependency.

In most developing countries, supports and accommodations for people with disabilities are not available. The UN cited a figure of more than 350 million people with disabilities living in areas where essential services needed to help them in overcoming their limitations are not available. As a result, people with a disability must depend on their families, but they are mostly too poor to give them the support they need. 

Children and adolescents with a disability in developing countries are very likely to end up in the vicious circle of poverty, exclusion and dependency as most of them have no access to any form of education. UNESCO states that 98 % of children with disabilities in developing countries simply do not attend school. Instead they are often shunned, isolated and stigmatized by their community and sometimes even hidden by their families. More info

Fracarita International assists hundreds of children and adults with disabilities to gain greater independence by providing rehabilitation programmes and special needs education in 19 facilities. With a focus on their abilities instead of disabilities, they could improve their quality of life.