See the Child – Before the Disability, UNICEF Says

Inclusion of children with disabilities benefits society as a whole

SUVA, 30 May 2013 – Children with disabilities and their communities would both benefit if society focused on what those children can achieve, rather than what they cannot do, according to UNICEF’s annual State of the World’s Children’s report.

Concentrating on the abilities and potential of children with disabilities would create benefits for society as a whole, says the report released today.

"When you see the disability before the child, it is not only wrong for the child, but it deprives society of all that child has to offer," said UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake. “Their loss is society's loss; their gain is society's gain.”

In the Pacific, the report was launched by Minister Counsellor, Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), Mr. John Davidson, who emphasized the importance of mainstreaming disability across all development. In thanking him, UNICEF Pacific Representative, Dr Isiye Ndombi said “children with disabilities have the same rights as all children, including the right to be recognized and provided with the same opportunities to flourish enjoyed by others. However, they are too often invisible—in statistics, in policies, in societies.”

Dr Ndombi added that “Society cannot be equitable unless all children are included. To be included, a child must first be visible; good data collection and analysis are therefore essential. This should include better research, disaggregation of facts and improved methods.”

The report lays out how societies can include children with disabilities because when they play a full part in society, everyone benefits. For instance, inclusive education broadens the horizons of all children even as it presents opportunities for children with disabilities to fulfil their ambitions.

More efforts to support integration of children with disabilities would help tackle the discrimination that pushes them further into the margins of society.

For many children with disabilities, exclusion begins in the first days of life with their birth going unregistered. Lacking official recognition, they are cut off from the social services and legal protections that are crucial to their survival and prospects. Their marginalization only increases with discrimination.

“For children with disabilities to count, they must be counted – at birth, at school and in life,” said Mr. Lake.

The State of the World’s Children 2013: Children with Disabilities says that children with disabilities are the least likely to receive health care or go to school. They are among the most vulnerable to violence, abuse, exploitation and neglect, particularly if they are hidden or put in institutions – as many are because of social stigma or the economic cost of raising them.

The combined result is that children with disabilities are among the most marginalized people in the world. Children living in poverty are among the least likely to attend their local school or clinic but those who live in poverty and also have a disability are even less likely to do so.

Gender is a key factor, as girls with disabilities are less likely than boys to receive food and care.

“Discrimination on the grounds of disability is a form of oppression,” the report says, noting that multiple deprivations lead to even greater exclusion for many children with disabilities.

There is little accurate data on the number of children with disabilities, what disabilities these children have and how disabilities affect their lives. As a result, few governments have a dependable guide for allocating resources to support and assist children with disabilities and their families.

About one third of the world’s countries have so far failed to ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The report urges all governments to keep their promises to guarantee the equal rights of all their citizens – including their most excluded and vulnerable children.

“In the Pacific, only the Cook Islands, Nauru and Vanuatu and have signed and ratified the CRPD. My message to Pacific leaders is – we need to achieve 100% ratification of the Convention,” said Dr. Ndombi.

He added that “in contributing to a more inclusive environment for children and people with disabilities in the Pacific, seven UN agencies and regional organisations – International Labour organization (ILO), World Health Organisation (WHO), United Nations Economic, Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), United Nations Volunteers (UNV), UNICEF, Pacific Disability Forum (PDF) and Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) – are working together under a two-year partnership aiming to provide, among other results, a number of outcomes such as enabling more people with disabilities in Fiji and Vanuatu to secure decent wages and self-employment and improving data, analysis, research and advocacy on disability.”

Progress is being made toward the inclusion of children with disabilities, albeit unevenly, and The State of the World’s Children 2013 sets out an agenda for further action.

The report urges governments to ratify and implement the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and to support families so that they can meet the higher costs of caring for children with disabilities.

It calls for measures to fight discrimination among the general public, decision-makers and providers of such essential services as schooling and health care.

International agencies should make sure the advice and assistance they provide to countries is consistent with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. They should promote a concerted global research agenda on disability to generate data and analysis that will guide planning and resource allocation, the report says.

It emphasizes the importance of involving children and adolescents with disabilities by consulting them on the design and evaluation of programmes and services for them.

And everyone benefits when inclusive approaches include accessibility and universal design of environments to be used by all to the greatest extent possible without the need for adaptation.

"The path ahead is challenging," said Mr. Lake in Da Nang, Viet Nam, for the launch of the report. "But children do not accept unnecessary limits. Neither should we."

ENDS

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