Every Human Being is Special: Support People with Disabilities Rather than Ridiculing Them

International Day of Persons with Disabilities (Dec 3rd)

Aim to Promote Well-being of Persons with Disabilities

​When you and I are mocked by people around us for some reason or the other, what about the impaired and the disabled? We all have disabilities in the general context-some of us have physical disabilities, some have mental disabilities, some of us are unable to comprehend the feelings of others, some people cannot perform well academically, some don’t maintain a healthy body and so on. This day was designated specifically to promote the well-being of persons with disabilities in all walks of life. The theme for 2017 is ‘Transformation towards sustainable and resilient society for all.’

Disability is a term that includes impairments, activity limitations and participation restrictions. While autism, hearing loss, deafness, sight loss and physical impairment are the most common disabilities, others that are not often categorized as a disability include chronic illness, mental health and intellectual disability. Almost 10% of the world’s population (650 million people) live with a disability and the pity is that, only 5-15% of disabled people who need assistive devices and technology have access to them.

Demolishing Disability

1. Eradicating extreme poverty & hunger: Poverty is a cause and consequence of disability. Disabled people face discrimination in the society and incur extra costs mainly due to healthcare. The governments should take corrective actions and create jobs, schooling opportunities and make livelihood possible for disabled individuals.
2. Establishing universal primary education: Children with disabilities are least likely to attend schools. There is a strong connection between low educational outcomes and having a disability.
3. Ensuring gender equality and empowering women: Women are stilled considered as the weaker sex and being disabled as a woman subjects her to more discrimination. Such women are denied access to education, employment opportunities and face more risks of violence and abuse.
4. Decreasing child mortality: Worldwide, around 200 million children live with disabilities. Many disabled children die not because of lack of healthcare services or threatening medical conditions but because they are neglected in different cultures or left to die.
5. Elevating maternal health: Millions of women experience depression and disability because of pregnancy and childbirth complications. But, these women can also become mothers themselves and sometimes might need the help of other people when rearing children.
6. Prevent HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases: Infectious diseases are disabling (HIV can cause dementia, neuropathy and blindness) and a person with disability is at an increased risk of contracting HIV.
7. Ensure environmental sustainability: Environmental hazards (poor sanitation or water quality) and natural disasters can lead to ill health and disability. Individuals with disabilities are sometimes not allowed to access even community facilities such as wells and latrines and are often excluded from disaster management activities.
   
   

All said and done, we, as a society must ensure equal treatment of the disabled and also make sure that they are not treated as ‘special’ people but one among us to make them forget about their disability. Disability due to infectious diseases can be prevented by reducing the risk of contracting an infectious disease in the first place. A healthy lifestyle, proper sanitation facilities and an improved standard of living are few factors that ensure good living standards in an individual. Adopt a healthy lifestyle by visiting a reputed dietitian/nutritionist at www.firsteatright.com.