Children with disabilities
UNICEF works to ensure the inclusion of children with disabilities in the Europe and Central Asia region and has done so for more than 30 years. We advocate for policies that uphold their rights and for an end to stigma and discrimination.
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Children with disabilities in Europe and Central Asia
Our goal: An inclusive region, where children with disabilities live in communities where they are supported, where their rights are realized and defended, and where they can reach their full potential.
Data from the region
Children with disabilities account for around 6 per cent of all children in the Europe and Central Asia region and often face discrimination that excludes them from their full participation in their rights.
A lack of early identification of children with disabilities and developmental delays hinders timely diagnosis and referrals.
Children with disabilities are up to 30 times more likely to be in formal residential care in the region than children without disabilities, and account for 38 per cent of those growing up in such care.
Around 260,000 children with disabilities are being educated in specialized schools in the region, rather than mainstream education.
Girls, older children and adolescents with disabilities, and those with intellectual disabilities, are at particular risk of exclusion, violence and discrimination.
There has been some progress towards the inclusion of children with disabilities in the Europe and Central Asia region in recent years. Yet many children still face discrimination and are excluded from the decisions that concern them, and from the communities around them.
A medical approach to disability still prevails in the region, which plays a role in discrimination and stigma – shaping how services are provided and how disability is perceived. This often hinders efforts to adapt children’s environments so they can be included – and take part – in society.
Health issues among young children are not always identified by service providers or parents early enough to prevent long-term impairments, and there is a lack of specialist services to meet their needs. Stigma deters families from seeking help. A lack of help can stop a child reaching their full potential and make it more likely that they will be institutionalized.
Children with disabilities are more likely to miss out on quality education. In the absence of mainstream schools that are tailored to meet their needs, some are placed in specialized schools or boarding schools where they are isolated from their families and communities. The region also faces a lack of assistive technology for children – such as hearing aids, wheelchairs and alternative augmentative communication (technology to help children communicate).
Children with disabilities face higher risks of violence and abuse, often linked to their isolation, either in residential institutions or in their own homes, and there is a lack of referral and support services for survivors. They face barriers to access justice and may struggle to claim their rights in the absence of specialist support. And while they are at greater risk during emergencies, they are often overlooked in humanitarian action.
Key policies
1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child
- Article 2: All rights apply to all children in every country without discrimination of any kind, irrespective of the child's disability.
2006 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Article 7
- Take all necessary measures to ensure that children with disabilities enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms on an equal basis with other children.
- The best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.
- Ensure that children with disabilities can express their views freely on all matters affecting them.
2015 Sustainable Development Goals
- SDG 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries
- Target 10.2: Social, economic and political inclusion for all, irrespective of disability.
2021 European Child Guarantee: aims to increase access to core social services for children at risk of poverty and social exclusion, with a special focus on children with disabilities.
2021 European Union Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030: aims to improve the lives of people with disabilities in the EU and beyond, with an emphasis on addressing the needs of children and young people with disabilities.
What is UNICEF doing?
Recognizing that every child with disabilities is unique, UNICEF focuses on tailored approaches to ensure that every child and adolescent with disabilities in the Europe and Central Asia region is protected, learning, thriving, included and connected.
Protected: every child should live in a safe and nurturing family environment. We advocate for and support efforts to end institutionalization of children and keep families together. We prioritize family-based care and strengthen the capacities of social workers so they can support families caring for children with disabilities. The impact can be seen in Moldova, where institutions that once housed children with disabilities have been closed.
Learning: every child should learn with their peers. We have supported inclusive education reforms in the region since the 1990s and have seen an increase in mainstream schooling for children with disabilities. Today, we promote long-term reforms to embed inclusive education across all education systems, at every level and in every school.
Thriving: every child should have access to health care. We support outreach services for families with young children – including home-visiting services – to identify developmental delays and disabilities. And we support access to inclusive primary health care services for every child with disabilities, from immunization to specialist referrals.
Including: every child should have an adequate standard of living. We work to build strong social protection systems that reach all families in need and reinforce links between social protection and other services, including early childhood development, education and health.
Connecting: every child should be heard. We support the participation of children and adolescents with disabilities in policy development and in our own programming, and generate evidence informed by their perspectives. In Belarus, Bulgaria, Kosovo1, Serbia, and Tajikistan, for example, young people with disabilities are members of UNICEF’s Youth Advisory Boards.
1. References to Kosovo are understood to be in the context of the United Nations Security Council resolution 1244 (1999).