Children and adolescents with disabilities are more likely to drop out of school: UN data

According to the WHO’s Partnership for Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health  (PMNCH), the global population of disabled children and adolescents is expected to be almost 240 million (1 in 10).

As per the PMNCH statement, 41% of children with disabilities are more likely to feel discriminated against and 51% are more likely to be dissatisfied than their counterparts without impairments.

Despite the fact that disabled children and adolescents are among the most marginalised and discriminated against populations, their importance on the general health agenda is low, according to the PMNCH.

Children and adolescents (0-17 age group) with impairments are 27% more likely to drop out of upper-secondary school, 41% more likely to feel discriminated against, and 51% more likely to be dissatisfied than their counterparts without disabilities, according to the statement.

According to PMNCH Executive Director Helga Fogstad, systemic barriers, along with a failure to prioritise data collecting on the position of women and girls with disabilities, have maintained their “invisibility” inside societies.

They face multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, which excludes them from various aspects of life, jeopardises their health and well-being, and increases their likelihood of experiencing socioeconomic inequities, such as a higher rate of poverty, a lower level of education, and an increased rate of unemployment, according to Fogstad.

According to Andrea Pregel, co-chair of the International Disability and Development Consortium’s (IDDC) Inclusive Health Group, disability inclusion is everyone’s duty, not simply the task of a few specialised agencies.