The last year report of the United Nations developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank alarmed that more than one billion people worldwide experience some form of disability and called for the elimination of barriers that often force the people with disabilities to “the margins of society.”
“Disability is part of the human condition. Almost every one of us will be permanently or temporarily disabled at some point in life.” WHO Director-General Margaret Chan
“Disability results a lot from the barriers that society erects for people with disabilities, barriers such as stigma and discrimination; such as lack of access to health services and rehabilitation services or problems of access to transportation and buildings and information services.” Etienne Krug, a WHO disability specialist
“We have a moral duty to remove the barriers to participation for people with disabilities, and to invest sufficient funding and expertise to unlock their vast potential. It is my hope this century will mark a turning point for inclusion of people with disabilities in the lives of their societies.” The famed British theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, who suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
