More than 1 in 7 people around the world lives with a disability — that’s approximately 1 billion people.
People living with disabilities — the community’s preferred term — face stigma and discrimination that may prevent them from receiving equal access to education, employment, healthcare, and more. And people living with disabilities from low-income communities often feel this discrimination more acutely.
According to the World Health Organization, 20% of the world’s poorest people are living with some kind of disability and 80% of people who live with a disability are in developing countries. Members of this community are sometimes unemployed, unable to go to school, or lack resources that support different styles of learning.
Take Action: Call on Governments to Commit to the Charter for Change
Because the disability community tends to be under-represented in politics and other positions of power, infrastructure, resources, and communities are not always built with their unique needs in mind. And until societies are built to include people living with disabilities, equality will not be achieved.
That’s why Global Citizen is partnering with the beauty company Coty to amplify the voices of people living with disabilities and call on policymakers to stand up for disability rights.
Since 2006, the United Nations has recognized the rights of people living with disabilities and enshrined them in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. However, only 45 countries in the world have passed anti-discrimination and other disability-specific laws according to the WHO.
As Global Citizens, we refuse to allow this cycle of inequality to continue. We must ensure equal access to opportunities by amending discriminatory and exclusionary laws and promoting the universal inclusion of all people.
Read More: 5 Facts About Living with a Disability in the Developing World
This year, ahead of the Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100, Global Citizen called on governments to affirm the principles of the Charter for Change. Together with Coty, Global Citizen is giving a platform to activists with disabilities and calling on governments to promote the political and social empowerment of people living with disabilities.
A world that isn’t accessible for everyone is a world that should be unacceptable to anyone.
Join us in supporting a more equal and just world by taking action to advance the Global Goals and call for equal opportunities, better access to resources, and an end to discrimination on behalf of people living with disabilities.