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Children with disabilities

Some 93 million children ─ or 1 in 20 of those aged 14 or younger ─ live with a moderate or severe disability of some kind. Most societies are inaccessible for children with disabilities. Prejudices, negative attitudes, traditions and inadequate knowledge and poor resourcing present obstacles for children with disabilities in accessing their rights.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN CRC) is the foundation for Save the Children work. UN CRC states that children with disability have the same rights as other children. This means that they have the right to grow up in an environment that supports their development, that they have the right to express their opinions, to be heard and that they are entitled to education. The rights of children with disabilities are reinforced in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). States which have signed these conventions are responsible for promoting and fulfilling the rights of all children including children with disabilities.

Article 2 of the UN CRC, which is one of four fundamental principles, prescribes that no one should be discriminated against on the grounds of race, color, sex or disability. However, discrimination and exclusion are common for the majority of people with disability, particularly children. They are often an invisible group in important policies and plans. National policies and plans on education seldom have enough focus on children with disability and their inclusion. Another challenge is that children with disability are often considered as victims and that they lack the capacity to influence their own situation. 

Save the Children advocates for the realization of the rights of children with disability and to ensure that they have the same opportunities, receive proper support and education and that they are empowered to influence their own situation.

Documents (298)

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  1. Disability-inclusive Child Safeguarding Guidelines

    These guidelines have been developed to respond to an existing gap in child safeguarding practices, which often fail to recognize the specific requirements and adaptations needed to ensure the safety of children with disabilities. The guidelines build on

    Publication year: 2021 Publisher(s): Able Child Africa | Save the Children Author(s): Watters, Lauren | Orsander, Martina

  2. Disability-inclusive Child Safeguarding Toolkit

    This toolkit provides helpful solutions for organisations and practitioners working across development and humanitarian sectors on how to plan for disability-inclusive child safeguarding programmes. Each tool provided shows how to include children with di

    Publication year: 2021 Publisher(s): Able Child Africa | Save the Children International

  3. The Impact of Covid-19 on Women and Girls with Disabilities: A global assessment and case studies on sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender-based violence, and related rights

    These resources aims to provide guidance and information on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on women and girls with disabilities, to ensure that organizations and governments involved in the COVID-19 pandemic response have policies and practices incl

    Publication year: 2021 Publisher(s): UNFPA, United Nations Population Fund | UN Wom ...

  4. Situational Analysis on the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Social Protection in Nigeria

    With support from Save the Children International Nigeria through its partnership with the Inclusive Friends Association (IFA), this situational analysis was commissioned to highlight Nigeria's socio-economic context and the inclusion of persons with disa

    Publication year: 2021 Publisher(s): Save the Children International | IFA, Inclusive Friends Association | ...

  5. A Billion Reasons to Include: On inclusion of persons with disabilities in the work on Agenda 2030

    Through the 2030 Agenda, the countries of the world have promised to bring about a sustainable future and eradicate extreme poverty for all. The slogan "Leave No One Behind" must permeate the work on the Agenda and its global goals. Many of the successes

    Publication year: 2021 Publisher(s): MyRight - Empowering People with Disabilities

  6. Local Government and Community Engagement to Promote Inclusive Education (Success of HOPE Project, Bangladesh)

    A holistic approach towards the Promotion of Inclusive Education project (HOPE project) is working to promote inclusive education through the engagement of local government and community with the approach of Child Friendly Local Governance (CFLG). Child-F

    Publication year: 2021 Publisher(s): Save the Children Bangladesh | Save the Children International Author(s): Julfiker, Faridul Md.

  7. Preparing Youth with Disabilities in Indonesia to Start Their Careers & Making Workplaces More Inclusive

    The Indonesia Skills to Succeed program provides employability skills training and job linkage support to youth with disabilities so they are able to obtain work. The program also organizes working groups with employers to advocate for changes that make w

    Publication year: 2021 Publisher(s): Save the Children Indonesia | Save the Children International Author(s): Caminiti, Monica

  8. The Hidden Impact of Covid-19 on Children: A Global Research Series

    “The Hidden Impact of COVID-19 on children- A global research series” by Save the Children is the largest and most comprehensive study on the impact of COVID-19 on children. Some 13.5 thousand children and 31.5 thousand caregivers from 46 countries shared

    Publication year: 2020 Publisher(s): Save the Children International Author(s): Burgess, Melissa | Sulaiman, Munshi | Arlini, Silvia Mila | Qaiser, Muhammad Hassan ...

  9. 10 Things You Should Know about COVID-19 and Persons with Disabilities

    Prepared by Save the Children's Disability Inclusion Working Group, this brief shares 10 things you should know about COVID-19 and persons with disabilities.  In several countries and at a global level, persons with disabilities have spoken out that gover

    Publication year: 2020 Publisher(s): Save the Children International Author(s): Orsander, Martina

  10. A Rapid Assessment of the Status of Children With Disabilities in Somalia

    Reports show that persons with disabilities in Somalia struggle to be recognized, gain access to resources, and feel valued in their community. Through the lack of explicit inclusion, they are often denied access to water, food, sanitation and accommodati

    Publication year: 2020 Publisher(s): Ministry of Women and Human Rights Development (MoWHRD) of the Federal Republic of Somalia | ... Author(s): Waithira Mbugua, Jane

  11. Every Child Has the Right to Education: Promoting Inclusive Education for Every Last Child in Mongolia Awareness Campaign

    Save the Children Japan, Mongolia office has been implementing a three-years Inclusive Education project, ‘Promoting Inclusive Education for Every Last Child in Mongolia’, which started from March 2018 and will continue till March 2021. Target areas of th

    Publication year: 2020 Publisher(s): Save the Children Mongolia | Save the Children Japan

  12. Tip Sheets for Disability Inclusion During COVID-19

    These tip sheets provide recommendations for disability inclusion during COVID-19 across a range of thematic areas and topics.

    Publication year: 2020 Publisher(s): Save the Children Author(s): Orsander, Martina

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