Are We Failing Children With Disabilities? New Data Says Yes

Children with disabilities in Belize are being significantly overlooked, based on a recently published situational analysis. Data from UNICEF and the Ministry of Human Development reveal that children with disabilities face discrimination, systemic barriers, and a shortage of specialized staff in essential services. Initiatives that support children with disabilities also face a lack of funding, while the absence of a disability data system poses significant challenges. And these are only some of the findings that reveal the need for urgent strategic action to support children living with disabilities. We spoke with the Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist at UNICEF, Paulette Wade.

 

Paulette Wade, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist, UNICEF

“What we did was to look at what are some of the challenges that children with disabilities face, what are some of the barriers to services and what are some of the support that parents feel is lacking for them to be able to support their child in their development. So, this looks at that. We looked at some of the areas as it relates to data. We know there is a data gap. We know the country does not have a national register for persons with disabilities. Until today, I knew that the Belize management system will be able to capture information on persons with disabilities. We looked at the legal framework. We know that today, three hundred and sixty-five days, we now have the signing of the Disabilities Act that was signed this day last year on this same year and I must say shout out to all persons living with disability. This is your day and it is the International Day for Persons Living With Disabilities, and that is why we are launching today. As it relates to health We see there are some issues in terms of access to services, to ensure service is available.”