Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Bologna (Agenzia Fides) - Since 1998, every year on 3 December the International Day of Persons with Disabilities is celebrated worldwide, officially promoted by the UN. About 10% of the world population of 650 million people, has a disability. 80% of disabled people (more than 400 million people) live in poor countries. 90% of children with disabilities in developing countries are excluded from school. About 20 million women are disabled due to pregnancy or childbirth complications. Throughout the world, people with disabilities face barriers to social participation, concocted barriers, cultural prejudice, denial of human and civil rights.
According to data from the latest Statistical Yearbook of the Church there are 15,985 homes for the elderly, chronically ill and disabled run by the Church around the world, of which 8,265 are in Europe, 4,143 in America, 2,234 in Asia, 834 in Africa, and 509 in Oceania.
Disability and poverty are closely linked and each can be the cause of each other. The two areas in which the rights of these people are most penalized are education and health. In Italy, the Italian Association, Friends of Raoul Follereau (AIFO), has chosen to commit itself to national areas to spread the promotion of disabled people's rights at all levels, with particular attention to those living in the most deprived and economically disadvantaged areas of the planet. In December the AIFO Groups took part with hundreds of volunteers in organizing events, debates, and shows focusing on disability, human rights and development issues. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 29/11/2010)
