Disability Issues in India

Person with Disabilities often have lower education accomplishments, poorer health conditions, higher poverty rates and less economic engagement than people without disabilities. They are disabled not only by their bodies but by society as well.

Disabilities are basically an umbrella term that covers impairments, activity limitations as well as participation restrictions. Impairment is considered as a problem in body structure or function; activity limitation is a difficulty that’s encountered by a person in executing an action or task; whereas a participation restriction is basically a problem that’s experienced by a person in involvement in life situations.

Persons with disabilities are considered as one of the marginalised groups in the whole world. They have the same kind of health needs like non-disabled ones — for health screening, immunisation etc. They may even experience a narrower health margin, both because of social exclusion and poverty, and even because they can be vulnerable to the secondary conditions like urinary tract infections or pressure sores.

According to studies, PWDs often have lower education accomplishments, poorer health conditions, higher poverty rates and less economic engagement than people without disabilities. They are disabled not only by their bodies but by society as well. Thus disability isn’t only a health problem. It’s a complex phenomenon that reflects the interaction between the features of an individual’s body & characteristics of the society in which the person lives in.

1. A large number of children with disabilities (CWDs) remain out of school. Even if they do stay in school, they hardly progress beyond primary levels leading to lower employment & incomes.
2. Although the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan has made an effort to promote the inclusion of children with disabilities, the system faces a lot of challenges in identifying these children as well as responding to their needs. Budget for educating these children in regular school settings hasn’t increased commensurately since focus on inclusive education in 1970s. Coordination between Ministries of Social Justice and Empowerment and the Human Resource Development, Rehabilitation Council of India and the teacher training system should be improved. State-wise strategies on education for children with disabilities must be implemented.
3. A number of disabilities in India can be avoided and prevented including those that arise from medical issues during pre-natal, natal and post-natal conditions, injuries, accidents and malnutrition. But the health sector hasn’t yet reacted proactively to disability, particularly in rural regions.
4. Even though many persons with disabilities are capable of productive work they remain unemployed. Forget about the private sector offering employment to these people even the public sector hardly does. Despite of the fact that 3% is reserved for PWDs, only ten percent posts are identified as suitable. The quota policy even covers only three kinds of disability — hearing, visual and locomotor.

There are even many more disability issues.

Evidence suggests that PWDs face different kinds of barriers in accessing the health as well as rehabilitation services they require in several settings. Overcoming all kinds of difficulties faced by persons with disabilities needs interventions for removing environmental & attitudinal barriers. Governments, professionals, persons with disabilities and their families as well as many a NGO for persons with disabilities need to work together for overcoming the hindrances.