Report
Highlights
Nearly 108 million children with disabilities live in Asia and the Pacific—almost half of the global total—yet too many are left behind. A new UNICEF report reveals deep inequalities in access to education, healthcare, nutrition, and protection for children with disabilities across the region.
The report, Children with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific, presents the first comprehensive regional overview of these disparities. It shows that children with disabilities are significantly less likely to attend school, receive adequate nutrition, or be protected from violence. Many face exclusion from the earliest years of life. The reasons vary: They include stigma, lack of data, accessible services, information, communication and physical barriers. But the consequences are sadly consistent. When marginalized from society, the chances for children with disabilities to survive and thrive are diminished, along with their prospects for a bright future.
The report draws on data from 14 countries that used the UNICEF/Washington Group Child Functioning Module - a tool that focuses on children’s functional difficulties in daily life, rather than relying solely on medical diagnoses. This approach helps overcome stigma and underreporting, offering a more accurate picture of the proportion of children with disabilities and helps identify disparities in development outcomes and access to rights for children with disabilities and their peers.
This report aims to promote the use of data to make children with disabilities in the region more visible, enabling a fuller understanding of their life experiences. It offers evidence that it is crucial for decision-making to ensure every child has an equal chance in life.
This report is hosted at UNICEF Data.