Turkey
Turkey launches “World report on disability”
WHO and the World Bank took part in the launch in Turkey of the World Report on Disability. Photo: WHO
The “World report on disability”, by WHO and the World Bank, was launched on 9 February 2012 in Turkey, at an event organized jointly by the authors and the Ministry of Family and Social Policy of Turkey. Opening remarks by Fatma Şahin, Minister of Family and Social Policy, underlined the high priority Turkey gives to addressing the rights of people with disabilities.
Following the launch, a workshop was held on improving the measurement of disability and ensuring an enabling environment, taking account of lessons learned in Brazil, Italy and South Africa.
The “World report on disability” was also launched in Slovakia on 21 February 2012.
Key findings of the report
The report reveals that about 15% of the world's population lives with some form of disability, 2–4% of whom experience significant difficulties in functioning. The global prevalence of disability is higher than previous WHO estimates of around 10%, which date from the 1970s. The global estimate for disability is rising owing to population ageing and the rapid spread of chronic diseases, as well as improvements in the methodologies used to measure disability.