State of the World's Children 2013 - Unicef

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PERSPECTIVE Children with disabilities and universal human rights By Lenín Voltaire Moreno Garcés There can be no such thing as the universal exercise of human rights unless these rights are enjoyed by all people – including the most vulnerable. Spurred by this conviction, the Office of the Vice-President of the Republic of Ecuador has focused on ascertaining and improving the situation of people with disabilities – starting with children. technical assistance donations consisting of such items as wheelchairs, walkers, antibedsore mattresses, walking sticks, hearing aids and visual kits, depending on the need or needs identified. Three new prosthetics shops were established and expected to deliver 1,960 prosthetic and orthopaedic devices to the country’s children in 2012 alone. Lenín Voltaire Moreno Garcés, Vice-President of the Republic of Ecuador from 2007 until May 2013, was Latin America’s only holder of high office with a physical disability. The statistics in this essay were drawn from national programme documents. Beginning in July 2009, we conducted surveys throughout Ecuador under a project known as the Manuela Espejo Solidarity Mission. By visiting 1,286,331 households in the country’s 24 provinces and 221 cantons, we were able to identify 293,743 persons with disabilities. Of this total, some 24 per cent had intellectual disabilities and the remaining 76 per cent had physical or sensory disabilities. We estimated the prevalence of major disabilities at over 2 per cent of the national population, as measured by the 2010 census. We found that about 55,000 boys and girls under 18 years of age had disabilities, accounting for about 19 per cent of all persons with disabilities in Ecuador. As of June 2012, these children had received 87,629 We also found that many families live in extremely difficult circumstances. The care of children with severe disabilities can be particularly expensive, forcing mothers to abandon them in order to earn money. So the Joaquín Gallegos Lara Subsidy was established and provides the equivalent of US$240 per month in financial assistance to the primary caregiver of a child or adult with a disability. Training in first-aid services, hygiene and rehabilitation is also provided. Ecuador is thus recognizing, for the first time, the labour of love performed by families who care for persons with disabilities. As of June 2012, the subsidies had benefited 6,585 children, 43 per cent of them girls. In addition to support, our approach attaches importance 86 THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S CHILDREN 2013: Children with Disabilities
We [in government] must understand that disability is not a problem but rather a circumstance. . . . [We must] assist our youngest citizens in entering the mainstream. to early detection and intervention. By 2012, some 1.1 million children under age 9 had been screened to detect hearing impairments and promote early intervention. To this end, 1,401 diagnostic and aural screening service units were set up in the Ministry of Public Health network; 1,500 health professionals were trained; 30 speech therapy service units were established; and 1,508 hearing aids were provided. In 2013, 714,000 children will have been screened at 24 impaired-sight service centres and we expect that some 2,500 children will receive aids to help them improve their vision or function with blindness. We have also set up a national programme to screen newborns for congenital conditions that can be treated. By December 2011, this effort, known as ‘Right Foot Forward: The Footprint of the Future’, had screened 98,034 newborns and found 30 cases of congenital hypothyroidism, galactosaemia, congenital adrenal hyperplasia or phenylketonuria. Each of these 30 girls and boys has received treatment for conditions that, if left untreated in the first few weeks or months of life, place children at increased risk of low cognition, speech impairment and tremors, among other impairments. Beyond bio-social support and early intervention, we are pursuing social and cultural inclusion. Under the banner of ‘An Ecuador of Joy and Solidarity’, 70,000 children and young people with and without disabilities have participated in inclusive fairs held throughout the country. Play and games are being promoted as means of creating space for integration. At these fairs, persons with disabilities take the lead as instructors in physical exercise, arts and crafts, games and storytelling. Some 7,700 marginalized or vulnerable children and young people are advancing their personal development, self-esteem and social integration through such pursuits as dance, music, painting and literature. They include 1,100 children and young people who are involved in the Social Circus, an initiative run in collaboration with the Canadian entertainment company Cirque du Soleil. These innovations have awakened interest among Ecuador’s neighbours, a number of whom are seeking to learn more about our experience. The first thing to note is that there is no time to lose. No child should have to wait for the services and supports that are rightfully hers or his, but this is especially the case for children with disabilities, because their vulnerability can increase with age. We in government must tackle the tasks at hand without delay. We must understand that disability is not a problem but rather a circumstance. It is up to us, regardless of the place or the role we have to play, to assist our youngest citizens in entering the mainstream. We cannot even dream of a country with social justice, one that abides by the principles of good living, unless we guarantee that persons with disabilities, especially children and adolescents, can fully exercise their rights. Disability does not mean incapability: It is the wonderful diversity that enriches humankind. AN AGENDA FOR ACTION 87
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THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S CHILDREN
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THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S CHILDREN
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FOREWORD Is there a child who does
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FOCUS Violence against children wit
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CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Reports such
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Under the Convention on the Rights
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People with disabilities are becomi
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Education is the key to stopping th
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(continued from p. 3) the right to
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CHAPTER 2 FUNDAMENTALS OF INCLUSION
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hierarchy and traditional expectati
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to education and health-care servic
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An inclusive kindergarten in Nizhny
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Assistive technology products Categ
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We need to make media more accessib
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CHAPTER 3 A STRONG FOUNDATION Good
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Early childhood stunting, which is
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are particularly important. Develop
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the needs of all children. In an in
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Look at Hanif and you will see that
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terms for 20 schools at a time, wit
Page 43 and 44: epilepsy. The ketogenic diet is an
Page 45 and 46: Reading Braille at a school in Ugan
Page 47 and 48: Saja opened my eyes to my own abili
Page 49 and 50: CHAPTER 4 ESSENTIALS OF PROTECTION
Page 51 and 52: Independent States, institutionaliz
Page 53 and 54: Children with disabilities are at g
Page 55 and 56: It is much harder to protect childr
Page 57 and 58: CHAPTER 5 HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE Hum
Page 59 and 60: Explosive remnants of war (ERW) on
Page 61 and 62: esist, than children without disabi
Page 63 and 64: Since monitoring began in 1999, the
Page 65 and 66: FOCUS (continued) Child casualties
Page 67 and 68: Child casualties by type of explosi
Page 69 and 70: If people with disabilities can’t
Page 71 and 72: CHAPTER 6 MEASURING CHILD DISABILIT
Page 73 and 74: Mental Development Scale, 120 canno
Page 75 and 76: single set of questions for both gr
Page 77 and 78: FOCUS Lessons learned Since 1995, U
Page 79 and 80: A strategy for intervention on beha
Page 81 and 82: Data can be hard to gather: Indigen
Page 83 and 84: CHAPTER 7 AN AGENDA FOR ACTION The
Page 85 and 86: discrimination is vital in reducing
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Page 89 and 90: Support families The CRC states tha
Page 91 and 92: Being visually challenged, I’ve h
Page 93: Six-year-old Nemanja (far left) sit
Page 97 and 98: 33 South African Disability Institu
Page 99 and 100: 106 Mental Disability Rights Intern
Page 101 and 102: Statistical Tables Economic and soc
Page 103 and 104: under-five mortality rate (per 1,00
Page 105 and 106: TABLE 10. THE RATE OF pROGRESS The
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Page 109 and 110: TABLE 1 BASIC INdICATORS Countries
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Page 113 and 114: TABLE 2 NuTRITION Countries and are
Page 115 and 116: TABLE 2 NuTRITION Countries and are
Page 117 and 118: TABLE 3 HEALTH Countries Use of imp
Page 119 and 120: Countries Use of improved drinking
Page 121 and 122: TABLE 4 HIV/AIdS Prevention among y
Page 123 and 124: TABLE 4 HIV/AIdS Prevention among y
Page 125 and 126: TABLE 5 education Countries and are
Page 127 and 128: TABLE 5 EduCATION Countries and are
Page 129 and 130: TABLE 6 dEmOGRApHIC INdICATORS Coun
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Page 133 and 134: TABLE 7 ECONOmIC INdICATORS Countri
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Page 137 and 138: TABLE 8 WOmEN Countries and areas L
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Page 141 and 142: TABLE 9 CHILd pROTECTION Countries
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TABLE 10 THE RATE OF pROGRESS Count
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TABLE 10 THE RATE OF pROGRESS Count
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TABLE 11 AdOLESCENTS Countries and
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TABLE 11 AdOLESCENTS Countries and
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TABLE 12 disparities by residence C
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TABLE 12 dISpARITIES By RESIdENCE C
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TABLE 13 dISpARITIES By HOuSEHOLd W
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TABLE 13 dISpARITIES By HOuSEHOLd W
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TABLE 14 EARLy CHILdHOOd dEVELOpmEN
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