Disability, Exclusion and Poverty

People with disabilities are often excluded from mainstream development, especially in developing countries. The concentration of disability services in the main cities renders accessibility to these services more problematic for people living in rural and remote areas. Other leading causes of exclusion include subtle forms of discrimination, stigmatization, lack or limited access to social environment, deficient education and training, lack of enabling legislation, unemployment, inadequate benefits systems, overprotection and lack of public awareness, which all affect the ability of persons with disabilities to manage an independent life and strain the resources of their families. In many parts of the ESCWA region, the lives of persons with disabilities are very challenging given that families tend to “hide” or overprotect them, and have no or little expectations for their development, especially women with disabilities. Consequently, some persons with disabilities become withdrawn, reliant on their caregivers or disability benefits and do not enjoy the empowerment and productive life that is possible through social participation. For those who lead a more independent life, major exclusion factors include access to information and infrastructure, discrimination and an unsupportive policy environment. 

In this context, it is not surprising that disability is intrinsically linked to poverty and can be both a risk factor of poverty and a consequence of poor living conditions. The additional costs resulting from disability treatment and devices can put persons with disabilities or their families at an economic disadvantage in the absence of income maintenance or disability insurance programmes. On the other hand, poor families often fail to have adequate food supplies, which can cause malnutrition, developmental disabilities and debilitating diseases. Moreover, inadequate housing, poor sanitation and an absence of preventive health care can further aggravate disease outcome, especially if the person with disability is the breadwinner, thereby resulting in a vicious circle of deprivation and exclusion.