2 HOW MANY CHILDRENWITH DISABILITIES?It is estimated that, overall, between 500 and 650million people worldwide live <strong>with</strong> a significantimpairment. According to <strong>the</strong> World HealthOrganization (WHO), around 10 per cent <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>world’s children and young people, some 200million, have a sensory, intellectual or mental healthimpairment. Around 80 per cent <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>m live indeveloping countries. 3 Statistics such as <strong>the</strong>sedemonstrate that to be born <strong>with</strong> or acquire animpairment is far from unusual or abnormal.The reported incidence and prevalence <strong>of</strong>impairment in <strong>the</strong> population vary significantly fromone country to ano<strong>the</strong>r. Specialists, however, agreeon a working approximation giving a minimumbenchmark <strong>of</strong> 2.5 per cent <strong>of</strong> children aged 0-14<strong>with</strong> self-evident moderate to severe levels <strong>of</strong>sensory, physical and intellectual impairments.An additional 8 per cent can be expected to havelearning or behavioural difficulties, or both.These estimates were found to be useful in <strong>the</strong>detailed analysis <strong>of</strong> statistics on incidence andprevalence <strong>of</strong> childhood disability in <strong>the</strong> <strong>UNICEF</strong>study on <strong>Children</strong> and Disability in Transitionin CEE/CIS and Baltic States. 4 They are based onresearch and data ga<strong>the</strong>red over years in countries<strong>with</strong> <strong>the</strong> highest human development rankings.© <strong>UNICEF</strong>/HQ01-0216/Roger LeMoyne3 <strong>Promoting</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Rights</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Children</strong> <strong>with</strong> <strong>Disabilities</strong> Innocenti Digest No. 13
The minimum benchmark was found particularlyhelpful in comparing <strong>of</strong>ficial country rates to thisstandard since data, if available, are <strong>of</strong>ten not comparablebetween countries. Countries frequentlyuse different classifications, definitions and thresholdsbetween categories <strong>of</strong> ’disabled’ and ’non-disabled’,<strong>with</strong> <strong>the</strong> result that a child who is classifiedas, for example, having a mild impairment accordingto one system might be regarded as not being disabledat all under ano<strong>the</strong>r.Because <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> high degree <strong>of</strong> stigma associated<strong>with</strong> disability in certain countries, parents and o<strong>the</strong>rfamily members may be reluctant to report that<strong>the</strong>ir child has a disability. Often <strong>the</strong>se children havenot even had <strong>the</strong>ir birth registered, <strong>with</strong> <strong>the</strong> resultthat <strong>the</strong>y are not known to health, social servicesor schools. In countries where literacy rates are lowand children frequently receive no formal schooling,some learning disabilities (such as dyslexia) maynever be identified. In countries where diagnosisis more advanced and <strong>the</strong> likelihood <strong>of</strong> survivalis greater or where state benefits are available tosupport persons <strong>with</strong> disabilities, <strong>the</strong>re is a greaterincentive to register a child’s disability, thus contributingto a higher recorded prevalence <strong>of</strong> disability.The issue <strong>of</strong> identification is also linked to agegroup: it is not always easy to identify an impairmentin a very young child (a child under three yearsold, for example), and many impairments only becomeevident when a child starts attending school.Some children – especially in developing countries– will also acquire impairments through accidentsand illness, or in conditions <strong>of</strong> civil disturbance andarmed conflict.With regard to data collection, consistent and accurateinformation on children <strong>with</strong> disabilitieshelps to make an ’invisible’ population ’visible’ bydemonstrating <strong>the</strong> extent and, indeed, <strong>the</strong> normality<strong>of</strong> disability. For example, in Gambia, following <strong>the</strong>publication <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> National Disability Survey <strong>of</strong> 1998,recognition <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> rights <strong>of</strong> persons <strong>with</strong> disabilitiesincreased. The survey, administered to more than30,000 households by a task force that includedpersons <strong>with</strong> disabilities, was conducted to identify<strong>the</strong> kinds <strong>of</strong> disabilities affecting children and <strong>the</strong>irgeographical distribution. The aim was to facilitateprovision <strong>of</strong> services to children <strong>with</strong> disabilities. 5Data on <strong>the</strong> types <strong>of</strong> impairment and <strong>the</strong> numbers<strong>of</strong> children affected can inform service deliveryand improve <strong>the</strong> provision <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> appropriate aidsand appliances. It also enables <strong>the</strong> monitoring <strong>of</strong>equality <strong>of</strong> opportunity and progress towards <strong>the</strong>achievement <strong>of</strong> economic, social, political andcultural rights. The most useful statistics are thosedisaggregated by gender, age, ethnic origin andurban/rural residence. It is important that figuresare fur<strong>the</strong>r disaggregated in relation to <strong>the</strong> extent<strong>of</strong> impairment, <strong>the</strong> numbers <strong>of</strong> children <strong>with</strong>disabilities living at home or placed in institutions,and <strong>the</strong> number enrolled in regular education orspecial education systems or receiving benefits.Although accurate and representative data ondisability are lacking in many parts <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> world,international efforts are underway to improve <strong>the</strong>quality and availability <strong>of</strong> data. In 2005 <strong>the</strong> UnitedNations Statistics Division initiated <strong>the</strong> systematicand regular collection <strong>of</strong> basic statistics on humanfunctioning and disability by introducing a disabilitystatistics questionnaire to <strong>the</strong> existing datacollection system. 6Box 2.1 Changing levels <strong>of</strong> disability in CEE/CISand <strong>the</strong> Baltic StatesSince <strong>the</strong> break-up <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Soviet Union, manystates in <strong>the</strong> CEE/CIS and Baltic region haveregistered dramatic changes in <strong>the</strong> recordednumber <strong>of</strong> children <strong>with</strong> disabilities. The totalnumber <strong>of</strong> children recognized as disabled in <strong>of</strong>ficialdata across <strong>the</strong> region tripled, from around500,000 at <strong>the</strong> onset <strong>of</strong> transition to 1.5 millionin 2002. In Estonia, for example, <strong>the</strong> number <strong>of</strong>children aged up to 15 <strong>with</strong> disabilities who wereregistered more than doubled from 1,737 in 1989to 4,722 in 2001, while in Ukraine <strong>the</strong> number <strong>of</strong>children aged up to 17 <strong>with</strong> disabilities rose from93,156 in 1992 to 153,453 in 2001. i In Uzbekistan,according to <strong>of</strong>ficial statistics, <strong>the</strong>re were 33,280children registered as having an impairment in1992, while by 1999 this number had increasedto 123,750.These <strong>of</strong>ficial data do not reflect <strong>the</strong> situationfully. There are additional numbers <strong>of</strong> children<strong>with</strong> disabilities, especially in rural areas, whohave never been <strong>of</strong>ficially registered and whoare effectively hidden because <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> stigma attachedto <strong>the</strong>ir condition.A detailed discussion <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> background to andpossible reasons for <strong>the</strong>se dramatic increasescan be found in <strong>the</strong> <strong>UNICEF</strong> report <strong>Children</strong> andDisability in Transition in CEE/CIS and BalticStates. ii The report attributes <strong>the</strong>se changes toa combination <strong>of</strong> improved identification andreporting techniques, and in some cases, <strong>the</strong>incentive <strong>of</strong> improved cash benefits for children<strong>with</strong> disabilities living in <strong>the</strong> community.Sources:iFigures provided from <strong>UNICEF</strong> Innocenti ResearchCentre, MONEE database. These data were used insupport <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> report ’<strong>Children</strong> and Disability in Transitionin CEE/CIS and Baltic States’, Innocenti Insight,<strong>UNICEF</strong> Innocenti Research Centre, Florence, 2005.iiIbid.Innocenti Digest No. 13<strong>Promoting</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Rights</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Children</strong> <strong>with</strong> <strong>Disabilities</strong>4
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