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Disability
An estimated one in 10 women has a disability that affects her daily life. Four-fifths of these women live in developing countries, where poverty, war, landmines, malnutrition and inadequate maternal and infant health care all contribute to the incidence of disability and make it harder for communities to meet the needs of women with disabilities.
Many women with disabilities are dangerously isolated — kept shut up in their families' houses, overprotected and excluded from education, and never expected (or are forbidden) to marry, raise children, or contribute to their communities. Most lack health care and information about their disabilities.
Women with disabilities need health information they can use — health information geared to their bodies that takes a broad view of health and wellness.
In addition there are an estimated 140 million children with disabilities in developing countries alone. UNICEF estimates that fewer than 4 percent of them have access to services. Caregivers of children with disabilities need information and resources on how to protect and nurture their children in order for the children to develop into active, creative and healthy members of their communities.
Our resources help enable both women with disabilities and children with disabilities — often the most vulnerable populations lacking access to adequate services — to lead full, productive lives.
Related Materials
A Health handbook for women with disabilities
Helping children at risk for emotional and behavioral problems.
