WHO estimates global disability prevalence at around 10%. Iran has no precise figure — Welfare Organization and university data put it between 12% and 15%. Of roughly three million registered persons with disabilities, only about a third are covered by the Welfare Organization; against global averages the real number is closer to eight million.
On the occasion of December 3rd, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities
December 3rd, coinciding with the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, presents an opportunity to inform society and officials, to increase social services and equal life opportunities for people with physical, sensory, intellectual, and cognitive disabilities. It is a chance to remove social barriers, change cultural attitudes, and raise public awareness about disability.
According to World Health Organization statistics, the global prevalence of disability is estimated to be around 10%. Although, regrettably, there is no precise statistic for the number of persons with disabilities in Iran, relying on data from the Welfare Organization and university research, the prevalence in the country is estimated at between 12% and 15%. Since disability encompasses a wide spectrum of motor and physical impairments, intellectual and psychiatric disorders, visual and hearing impairments, speech and learning disorders, behavioral and cognitive disorders, chronic epilepsy, and more, it is necessary for governmental and non-governmental organizations to support and improve service quality for the disabled community.
Even considering the published figures that point to approximately three million persons with disabilities in society, of whom only about one-third are covered by the Welfare Organization, one can estimate that, considering global averages, around eight million individuals with physical, sensory, or intellectual disabilities reside in the country. With that in mind, still a great number across the country are not under the umbrella of supportive organizations.
However, with the growth of charitable NGOs in recent years—which has been increasingly needed to raise public health and well-being—the support network for persons with disabilities in the country has been significantly expanded. Among these, improving health and quality of life for persons with disabilities has been one of the primary agendas in global and scientific circles.
On the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, around the world, relevant agencies, ministries of health, support and service agencies, municipalities, and universities hold joint meetings with representatives of governmental and legislative bodies to review and overcome the problems and obstacles in their countries. In our country, the main concern among persons with disabilities today is the opportunity to live and live equally.
The opportunity for equal benefit from urban services, public transportation, recreational, cultural, and educational centers, and more importantly, finding employment opportunities to make a living in the absence of supportive coverage. But more regrettably than all these concerns is that many rehabilitation services for persons with disabilities are not covered by insurance or medical services. Despite supportive laws in the country’s constitution, insurance organizations are unwilling to cover long-term rehabilitation services for persons with disabilities and cite economic reasons.
Yet fortunately, the scientific foundation to offer these services is present in the country. Rehabilitation fields—especially occupational therapy, speech therapy, physiotherapy, etc.—are taught at the university level in Iran, across different life stages of persons with disabilities, from birth to old age, with the goal of strengthening the individual’s independence in life.
The scope of rehabilitation services in the lives of people with disabilities spans all conditions and life stages of the person, to the point that for areas such as work, leisure, recreation, and improving the quality of life of the individual and their family, special programs exist. In recent years, "community-based rehabilitation" services have sought both a socially oriented rehabilitation approach and an increased presence of persons with disabilities in social activities, changing service access levels to strengthen participation and equal utilization of services as citizens. Rehabilitation includes specific goals to reduce the impact of disability, empower the individual to reach independence and social participation, promote self-management, and enhance quality of life.
Rehabilitation not only involves training individuals with disability but also intervenes in general societal systems to adapt and make environments accessible, arrange support for human rights, and empower them.
Supporting human rights is the duty of governments in all societies and for all citizens. Persons with disabilities must have equal rights to live as other citizens, with no exceptions. Therefore, special attention in different societies is necessary to increase social participation of the disabled in areas such as: access to healthcare and insurance coverage, empowerment and creating equal job opportunities, transportation and adaptation of public spaces, access to cultural and social activities (sports, leisure, recreation), educational facilities, housing and marriage, and ultimately full political participation in all legislative domains.
But not all the problems of persons with disabilities limiting social participation are confined to lack of access to urban and supportive facilities; the issue goes beyond governmental policy. In other words, many of these problems lie in societal attitudes of healthy people toward those with physical or intellectual disabilities.
Regrettably, in the absence of systematic media and television programs to promote culture and public knowledge about disability, many citizens in our country look at persons with disabilities with pity or even disdain. Meanwhile, in developed countries and even in some neighboring countries, opportunities for equal coexistence of persons with disabilities with others are expressed repeatedly in children’s programs, family films, and even commercial advertisements in different cultural levels. The presence of persons with disabilities in these media opportunities itself increases hope and a positive perspective among all citizens for creating suitable conditions for maximum participation of persons with disabilities in society.
In closing, preparing and equipping persons with disabilities with existing resources, opportunities, knowledge, and social skills to raise their capacity to define their future—by increasing participation and influencing their lives in society—is imperative. On the other hand, strengthening non-governmental supportive institutions to expand community-based rehabilitation services, and governmental and legislative support to make maximal use of constitutional capacities for supporting the presence and participation of persons with disabilities at multiple social levels, will help enhance quality of life and increase vitality in a large segment of citizens in our beloved country—who have the right to equal life with equal access to all social services.
Text by: Dr. Nader Alirezaloo
Master of Occupational Therapy & Rehabilitation / PhD in Cognitive Neurosciences
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
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