| AT A GLANCE: Disability encompasses people with | | | | safety nets can often lead to family members of |
| physical, intellectual, and sensory impairments, as well | | | | people with disabilities having to forgo paid employment |
| as people with mental health conditions. | | | | to stay at home to provide care. These factors |
| The Bank's work in this area is guided by three | | | | translate into forgone GDP of about 5-7 percent. |
| factors: multi-sectoral approach, analytical expertise | | | | How Disability Affects Countries |
| and leadership role. | | | | In Uganda, disabled people are nearly 40 percent more |
| The Bank is working in three key areas: building internal | | | | likely to be poor, and children living in households with |
| and external capacity, regional working groups and | | | | disabled family members are less likely to attend |
| international partnerships . Overview | | | | school. In Serbia, the poverty rate of disabled people is |
| Estimates of how many people in developing countries | | | | 70 percent. In Honduras, 51 percent of people with |
| live with some form of disability vary. Country | | | | disabilities are illiterate compared to 19 percent for the |
| definitions and measurement systems vary widely, as | | | | general population.. Without access to education and |
| do official estimates. | | | | employment they will remain in poverty. What Do We |
| The World Bank is working with the United Nation's | | | | Mean By The Term 'Disability'? |
| Washington Group on Disability Statistics and the | | | | Disability is not simply a medical condition. It results from |
| World Health Organization (WHO) to establish an | | | | the interaction of physical, mental, or sensory |
| internationally comparable approach for measuring the | | | | impairments with culture, social institutions, and physical |
| prevalence of disability. In the few developing countries | | | | environments. People with physical or mental limitations |
| in which this approach has been implemented, findings | | | | are often disabled not because of a diagnosable |
| indicate a disability rate of about 10-12 percent, with | | | | condition, but because they are denied access to |
| about 2-4 percent of the population having significant | | | | education, labor markets, and public services. This |
| disabilities. This estimate is in line with the United | | | | exclusion leads to poverty and, in a vicious circle, |
| Nations' often cited figure of 10 percent rate, which is | | | | poverty leads to more disability by increasing people's |
| more like an informed guess based on data available | | | | vulnerability to malnutrition, disease, and unsafe living |
| from developed countries. | | | | and working conditions. |
| Efforts to reduce poverty and spur economic growth | | | | This concept of disability is known as the social model |
| will fall short if the plight of disabled people is ignored. | | | | of disability, in contrast to the older medical model of |
| For example, disabled people face significant barriers | | | | disability. The medical model focused on the individual's |
| to full participation in society, including the ability to | | | | clinical condition. The social model views disability as an |
| participate in the job market or receive adequate | | | | interaction between individuals' functional limitations and |
| education and job training. Stigma and discrimination | | | | the environment. |
| can be very severe, and exist not only towards | | | | Thus, disability encompasses people with physical, |
| people with disabilities, but in some countries, their | | | | intellectual, and sensory disabilities, as well as people |
| families suffer similar treatment. To avoid this prospect, | | | | with mental health conditions. They include people |
| families may hide members with disabilities, preventing | | | | whose disabilities are readily apparent and those |
| them from benefiting from services that may be | | | | whose disabilities are invisible, as in cases of learning |
| available. | | | | disabilities or depression. They include people born with |
| Even in developed countries, employment rates of | | | | disabilities as well as those who acquire them through |
| disabled people remain much lower than those of the | | | | malnutrition, disease, conflict, traffic accidents, and |
| overall population, in part because of bias by | | | | unsafe living and working conditions. |
| employers. Inadequate education, health services, and | | | | |