The impact of disability on the lives of children; cross-sectional data including 8,900 children with disabilities and 898,834 children without disabilities across 30 countries.

BACKGROUND: Children with disabilities are widely believed to be less likely to attend school or access health care, and more vulnerable to poverty. There is currently little large-scale or internationally comparable evidence to support these claims. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of disability on the lives of children sponsored by Plan International across 30 countries. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey including 907,734 children aged 0-17 participating in the Plan International Sponsorship Programme across 30 countries in 2012. Parents/guardians were interviewed using standardised questionnaires including information on: age, sex, health, education, poverty, and water and sanitation facilities. Disability was assessed through a single question and information was collected on type of impairment. The dataset included 8,900 children with reported disabilities across 30 countries. The prevalence of disability ranged from 0.4%-3.0% and was higher in boys than girls in 22 of the 30 countries assessed - generally in the range of 1.3-1.4 fold higher. Children with disabilities were much less likely to attend formal education in comparison to children without disabilities in each of the 30 countries, with age-sex adjusted odds ratios exceeding 10 for nearly half of the countries. This relationship varied by impairment type. Among those attending school, children with disabilities were at a lower level of schooling for their age compared to children without disabilities. Children with disabilities were more likely to report experiencing a serious illness in the last 12 months, except in Niger. There was no clear relationship between disability and poverty. CONCLUSIONS: Children with disabilities are at risk of not fulfilling their educational potential and are more vulnerable to serious illness. This exclusion is likely to have a long-term deleterious impact on their lives unless services are adapted to promote their inclusion

Perspectives of children with disabilities and their guardians on factors affecting inclusion in education in rural Nepal: <i>“I feel sad that I can’t go to school</i>”

Globally, children with disabilities are significantly less likely to attend school compared to their peers without disabilities and, even if they do attend, have poorer educational outcomes. In order to understand why these inequalities persist, this study explores the barriers and enablers to accessing education. We focus on the perspectives of guardians and children with disabilities–voices that have thus far been underrepresented–complemented by perspectives from local and national level stakeholders. Data was collected in three rural districts in Nepal, using semi-structured interviews; data was analysed thematically. Overall, the research found that challenges to inclusion are complex, involving a mixture of individual, family, school, community and policy level factors. Notable barriers were attitudes towards education for children with disabilities, the low capacity of schools to provide an inclusive education, as well as the interplay of additional ‘push factors’ such as poor health and poverty

Collecting data on violence against children and young people: need for a universal standard.

Preventing and responding to violence against children is an aim of the new Sustainable Development Goals. Numerous agencies are now collecting data from children about violence, including academics, non-governmental organisations, government agencies, consultants and others. Data are necessary to ensure appropriate prevention and response, but there is a real risk of harm to children if ethical standards are not adhered to. There are additional complexities in settings where child protection systems are not well developed. We propose specific suggestions for good practice, based on our past experience and policies, and call for all agencies to adhere to high ethical standards

Age and sex-adjusted odds ratio (95% Confidence Interval) for the association between disability and school level among Plan’s sponsored children aged 5 years and above attending formal education: Comparator children in secondary education or above.

<p>Age and sex-adjusted odds ratio (95% Confidence Interval) for the association between disability and school level among Plan’s sponsored children aged 5 years and above attending formal education: Comparator children in secondary education or above.</p

Age and sex-adjusted odds ratio (95% Confidence Interval) for the association between disability and formal education attendance among Plan’s sponsored children aged 5 years and above: comparator children without disabilities.

1<p>OR: Age and sex-adjusted odds ratio in comparison to children without disabilities.</p>2<p>CI: Confidence interval.</p><p>Age and sex-adjusted odds ratio (95% Confidence Interval) for the association between disability and formal education attendance among Plan’s sponsored children aged 5 years and above: comparator children without disabilities.</p

Association between disability and serious illness in the last 12 months among Plan’s sponsored children.

1<p>OR: odds ratio.</p>2<p>CI: Confidence interval.</p><p>Association between disability and serious illness in the last 12 months among Plan’s sponsored children.</p

Socio-demographic characteristics of children in the Plan Sponsorship programme.

1<p>SD: standard deviation.</p><p>Socio-demographic characteristics of children in the Plan Sponsorship programme.</p

Prevalence of disabilities among Plan’s sponsored children, by country and sex.

1<p>CI: Confidence interval.</p>2<p>OR: Odds ratio.</p><p>Prevalence of disabilities among Plan’s sponsored children, by country and sex.</p