240 million children living with disabilities denied basic rights –UNICEF

The United Nations Children’s Fund on Thursday revealed that 240 million children living with disabilities all around the world are being denied basic rights.

By this figure, one in 10 children worldwide suffers from denial of basic human rights.

UNICEF stated this in a report on Thursday titled, ‘Fact Shee: The world’s nearly 240 million children living with disabilities are being denied basic rights – UNICEF’, which was released ahead of International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

In the report, UNICEF Global Lead on Disability, Rosangela Berman-Bieler, said, “Like every child in the world, children with disabilities have the right to be nurtured through responsive care, supported in education, and provided with adequate nutrition and social protection, including in humanitarian situations. But all too often, such rights are denied.

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“We can and must do more to ensure the nearly quarter of a billion children with disabilities worldwide are able to realise their rights.

“We must provide children with disabilities with equal opportunities by ensuring community support and services are inclusive and accessible, stigma and discrimination are eradicated, and that they are protected from violence, abuse and neglect.

“There is a story behind every statistic – a child with hopes, fears, potential and ambitions.”

The latest data also showed that children with disabilities are 24 per cent less likely to receive early stimulation and responsive care, and 42 per cent less likely to have foundational reading and numeracy skills.

As a result, UNICEF called on governments to ensure that children with disabilities are provided with equal opportunities.

The agency maintained that all services should be inclusive and accessible to children living with disabilities.

Such services include birth registration, early childhood development, education, health, nutrition, immunisations, water and sanitation, and other social services.