The link between disability, poverty and the millennium development goals

Abstract

Although there is a world-wide trend towards the inclusion of individuals with disabilities into the society, the unpleasant attitudes of society as well as the unfavourable government policies have systematically precluded the disabled from having equal access to education, employment opportunities, health facilities and recreational activities. However, this negative trend is observed in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which did not specifically treat the issues of persons with disabilities. Persons with disabilities are therefore predisposed and subjected to abject poverty while they become a burden to immediate family members and look forward to aids from charity. In order to achieve the objectives of the Millennium Development Goals,
persons with disabilities need to be considered for empowerment so as to reduce their total dependency on the non-disabled members of the community. Therefore, this paper discusses the relationship between disability, poverty and the Millennium Development Goals and strategies to help meet the economic needs of persons with disabilities before 2015.