Most children with disabilities in southern hemisphere don't attend school

From The Times of India:

BANGALORE, India -- Ninety per cent kids with disabilities in the southern hemisphere -- countries lying south of the equator -- do not go to school, according to the World Bank.

Children with disabilities find it hard to access education, observed Tanya Barron, international director of Leonard Cheshire Disability. At a session of the regional conference on disability in Commonwealth Asia here on Saturday, she said the situation looked bleak when it came to children's livelihood. The session was organized by the Commonwealth Foundation and Leonard Cheshire Disability.

"You are twice as likely to be poor if you are a person with disability. The scene is the same whether it is New York or Dhaka. But so little has been done about it that there needs to be an uproar," she explained.

Director of Commonwealth Foundation, Mark Collins, asked people to take a lead in strengthening the rights of people with disabilities.

"Only two countries in Asia -- India and Bangladesh -- has ratified the UN Convention on disability rights," he added. "Also, governments alone can't be expected to solve the problem."

He asked participants to persuade their governments to ratify the UN convention, which will give legitimacy to the struggle for rights. On the issue of weapons control, he said all countries should sign the international treaty that bans the use of cluster mines. These mines are usually air-dropped and they scatter over a large area. Russia, USA, China, Pakistan and India have not signed the treaty.

"They should sign it," he added.

A village rehabilitation programme for Karnataka was also launched. Around 40 representatives from the government, NGOs and people with disabilities from India, Bangladesh, Brunei, Malaysia, Maldives, Pakistan, Sri Lanka participanted. The conference will end on December 8.