U.N.: Most World's Disabled Live In South, Southeast Asia
BANGKOK (AP)--Nearly two-thirds of the world's disabled people live in South and Southeast Asia, where they are locked in poverty and suffer discrimination, a U.N. agency said Friday.
Some 400 million out of the world's 600 million disabled people live in the region, said a statement by the U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, or ESCAP.
Most are impoverished as a result of their disabilities or face handicaps resulting from poverty, including nutrition-related problems, such as stunted mental and physical development, said the statement, citing a recent study.
Others are disabled as a result of road accidents, aging, alcohol dependence and schizophrenia.
"Poor people with disabilities are caught in a vicious cycle of poverty and disability, each being both a cause and a consequence of the other," it said.
Disabled women and girls face the most severe discrimination, and while laws have been passed by some governments to guard against it there remains a lack of enforcement.
ESCAP said there is a strong need to improve community access to education, training and rehabilitation for persons with disabilities in the region.
It will present a full study on people with disabilities in South and Southeast Asia at a meeting of regional government ministers for the 58th Commission Session of ESCAP from May 16-22 in Bangkok.
|
