Flourish eMag Dec 24 - final - Flipbook - Page 11
吀栀is Year’s 吀栀eme
This year’s o昀케cial theme for the Interna琀椀onal Day of Persons with Disabili琀椀es (IDPD) is
“Amplifying the leadership of persons with disabili琀椀es for an inclusive and sustainable future.”
It re昀氀ects the current interna琀椀onal poli琀椀cal and policy context, in par琀椀cular the Pact for the
Future and the upcoming 2025 World Summit for Social Development, and the need to create
momentum for achieving the 2030 Agenda. The theme seeks to amplify the centrality of the
leadership role of persons with disabili琀椀es, in all of these e昀昀orts - from the global to the local.
16
%
of the global
population
live with
some sort of
disability
Understanding Disability on
a Global Scale
Economic Impact and
Employment Challenges
Approximately 1.3 billion
people, or 16% of the
global popula琀椀on, live with
some form of disability,
according to the World
Health Organisa琀椀on (WHO).
Disabili琀椀es can be visible
or invisible, a昀昀ec琀椀ng a
person’s physical, mental, or
sensory abili琀椀es. Whether
due to congenital condi琀椀ons,
illness, or injury, disabili琀椀es
o昀琀en pose signi昀椀cant social,
economic, and physical
challenges for individuals
and communi琀椀es.
People with disabili琀椀es face
higher levels of poverty and
unemployment compared
to those without disabili琀椀es.
According to the Interna琀椀onal
Labour Organiza琀椀on (ILO),
80% of people with disabili琀椀es
are of working age; however,
they are twice as likely to
be unemployed as people
without disabili琀椀es. The
World Bank reports that
people with disabili琀椀es are
dispropor琀椀onately a昀昀ected
by poverty, o昀琀en due to
limited access to educa琀椀on
and job opportuni琀椀es.
Addressing these dispari琀椀es
is essen琀椀al for building a fair
and produc琀椀ve society that
bene昀椀ts everyone.
