Published 1 July 2008, doi:10.1136/bmj.a620
Cite this as: BMJ 2008;337:a620

News

Needs of disabled refugees are "routinely ignored"

Peter Moszynski

1 London

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Refugees with disabilities are among "the most underserved and neglected people in the world," says a report by the Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children, which maintains that the needs of millions of disabled people are routinely ignored.

A six month investigation by the US based research and advocacy charity was funded by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to investigate the needs of "a virtually invisible population—refugees and displaced people who suffer from physical, sensory, or mental disabilities."

The World Health Organization estimates that there are 600 million people with disabilities worldwide—between 7% and 10% of the world’s population. Based on this estimate the commission believes that between 2.5 and 3.5 million of the world’s 35 million displaced people also live with disabilities; however, among people who have fled conflict or natural disasters, the number may be even higher.

The commission sought to map existing services for . . . [Full text of this article]


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