Disability

Too often, individuals with disability have not been included in HIV prevention and AIDS outreach efforts because it is assumed that they are not sexually active and at little or no risk for HIV infection. However, studies, such as Global Survey on Disability, show that Individuals with disability have equal or greater exposure to all known risk factors for HIV infection.

Equal HIV infection
Homosexuality and bisexuality appear to occur at the same rate among individuals with disability as among the non-disabled. Individuals with disability are as likely as non-disabled people to use drugs and alcohol (Factsheet; Disability and HIV/AIDS; UNICEF 1999). Men and women with disabilities are even more likely to be victims of violence or rape, although they are less likely to be able to obtain police intervention, legal protection or prophylactic care

Disability and poverty, a vicious circle
Conditions of poverty such as poor nutrition and lack of access to health services or safe living and working conditions create disabilities that can occur from birth to old age. After the onset of a disability, barriers to health and rehabilitation services, education, employment, and other aspects of economic and social life can trap people in a cycle of poverty

600 million people worldwide!
One person in ten—as many as 600 million people worldwide—live with a physical, sensory (deafness, blindness), intellectual, or mental health impairment significant enough to make a difference in their daily lives (UN 1993). Eighty percent of these live in the developing world (Helander 1999). Disability also significantly impacts the lives of disabled people’s family members and communities.

How can your organisation make a difference?
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