Inclusion Matters: Access and Empowerment for People of All Abilities

The World Bank and World Health Organization (WHO) estimate that the one billion people living with disabilities worldwide face many barriers to inclusion in many key aspects of society.

As a result, people with disabilities do not enjoy access to society on an equal basis with others, which includes areas of transportation, employment, and education as well as social and political participation. The right to participate in public life is essential to create stable democracies, active citizenship and reduce inequalities in society.

“It is only by looking at the reality of persons with disabilities across all stages and experiences of life that we are able to fully understand the roots of exclusion and the role of accessible cities in correcting it,” said Daniela Bas, Director of UN DESA’s Division for Social Policy and Development (DSPD) in her opening remarks at the Forum on Disability Inclusion and Accessible Urban Development held in Nairobi, Kenya on 28 October.

By ensuring disability-inclusion in policy and practices and proactively promoting accessibility in urban and rural development, enabling conditions and equal opportunities for people with disabilities can be created so that they could participate fully in society and development and enjoy their basic human rights.

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Source & Copyright: UNDESA