The Global Report on Disability jointly produced by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank in 2011 focused attention on one of the larger yet less spoken about issues in development - people with disabilities.
With over one billion or 15% of the global population, people with a disability are one of the world's largest minority groups and yet they are also one of the most excluded and impoverished.
According to the report, even in developed countries disabled children are three times more like to be denied healthcare than other people. Children with disabilities are less likely to start or stay in school than other children. Most common and powerful barriers include stigma, discrimination, inaccessible transport, unprepared classrooms and teachers. In developing countries the picture is even worse. Despite a robust disability rights movement and a shift towards inclusion, disabled people remain second-class citizens.