By Asma Kundi
ISLAMABAD: The International Day of Persons with disabilities is being marked in Pakistan like other countries on Saturday with the aim to play an individual and collective role in the rehabilitation of special people, regardless of colour, race, and caste.
Day of Persons with Disabilities
According to the United Nation Development Programme (UNDP) in Pakistan, 6.2 percent of the population have some kind of disability whereas, other organizations estimate that this number could be much higher. The Human Right Watch (HRW) the number of persons with disability ranges from 27 million to 3.3 million in Pakistan.
According to the United Nations, around 650 million people around the world are suffering from some kind of disability, which is 10 percent of the total population. Currently, around 20 million newborns are born with disabilities worldwide due to maternal weakness and other causes.
Medical inequities can lead to premature death of people with disabilities
A recent report released by the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that medical inequities and the unavailability of these facilities can lead to the premature death of people with disabilities.
The report cited social attitudes, inability to improve economic conditions, non-availability of transportation means and facilities, lack of opportunities for advancement, and lack of access to recreational facilities as reasons for this.
The United Nations says that 80 percent of disabled people live in various developing countries where they do not have any facilities. These people do not have opportunities to read, write and grow like ordinary people.
On the contrary, 20 percent of disabled people in developed countries are provided worldwide facilities and their treatment is also the responsibility of the government.
