Crippled Healthcare

This is a topic that I have not thought much about until recently. However, the fact that it took me until now to consider in depth those with a disability shows me how marginalized this population is.

According to a WHO survey, about 15% of the world's population have very significant disabilities in functioning. Does this play any role in global health?

Yes. "Half of disabled people cannot afford health care, compared to a third of non-disabled people." Also, when they do get access to health care, the providers' skill is often not adequate to meet their needs. They cannot afford healthcare because it is harder for a disabled person to find work and are less likely to have the same level of education as compared to someone who is not disabled.

Disabled people are vulnerable to poverty and live in poor conditions--insufficient food, poor housing, lack of safe water access, etc... Along with poor living conditions, most are unable to receive rehabilitation treatment or assistive devices they need. For example, data from four South African countries showed that only 26-55% receive rehabilitation treatment and only 17-37% received needed assistive devices.

Not all hope is lost, because there are things that each country's government can do:
    -promote access to services
    -invest in specific programs for those with disabilities
    -adopt a national strategy
    -increase public awareness and understanding
    -provide adequate funding
    -involve those with disabilities to implement policies/programs

There are also ways that individual communities can get involved as well. CBR is community-based rehabilitation that combines the efforts of disabled people, their friends/families, and other service workers that can pool their resources together. The WHO has a program guideline countries can utilize to put the project underway.

A way to help cut costs, in a place where private health insurance is the most prevalent, perhaps the companies could consider options for reducing or removing out-of-pocket payments for people with disabilities who do not have other means of financing health care services. Or perhaps ensure that people with disabilities are covered and consider measures to make the premiums affordable. 
 
In the fight to provide an increase in global health, do you think that there will be a way to ensure that health will also be provided for those with disabilities?

Sources:
http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/disability/en/
http://www.who.int/disabilities/publications/cbr/en/