The prevalence of disability in Europe and Eurasia

People with disabilities face restriction of movement, have fewer opportunities to participate in civic life or lead full, productive, independent lives. The purpose of this paper is to raise awareness of the situation of people with disabilities in the transitional countries of Europe and Eurasia, and present information on the prevalence of disability there.

The authors notice that the medical model for disability remains the most common model in the region. Yet, individual perceptions regarding disability represent a more nuanced mixture of the medical, social, and bio-psychosocial models.

The document demonstrates these findings:

• people with disabilities in the E&E region experience many similarities as a result of their countries’ shared Soviet past, including economic hardship and political instability
• people with disabilities in the countries of the E&E region experience extreme poverty, isolation, and multiple forms of discrimination
• the disability pension and social welfare programs for people with disabilities in Europe and Eurasia constitute extremely heavy costs
• the rehabilitation model has led to greater stigma and social division among people with disabilities in many places
• the countries of the region, particularly those that have joined the EU, have modeled disability definitions for new disability rights legislation and their respective strategies on the bio-psychosocial model
• still, despite new definitions, working definitions based on the older medical and functional limitation models are still utilised in legislative frameworks and in the implementation of policies
  

The paper concludes that institutionalisation remains a challenge in the region, and priority areas for programming include labour and employment, education and training, and community and social integration.