International Day of Persons with Disabilities
International Day of Persons with Disabilities celebrates the rights, achievements and contributions of people with disabilities. On December 3, 1992, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the first International Day of Persons with Disabilities. This day has become a time for governments, international organizations and non-governmental organizations to promote awareness of disabilities around the world while celebrating the many achievements of persons with disabilities.
International Day of Persons with Disabilities is an important day to recognize the rights and needs of people with both visible and invisible disabilities. It also serves as a great opportunity for all to stand up and be counted as allies, friends and supporters of those who live with disabilities.
5 facts about disability to help raise awareness
Over 1.3 billion people - about 16% of the world’s population - live with some form of disability (1).
The number of people with disabilities is growing due to the increase in chronic health conditions and aging (1).
12.8% of adults in the United States have a cognition disability with serious difficulty concentrating, remembering or making decisions. (2).
Not all disabilities are visible. Invisible disabilities include diagnosed mental illness, learning and cognitive dysfunctions, sight or hearing impairments and chronic pain (3).
The employment rate of persons with disabilities in the United States is 21.3% (4).
At Via Benefits, our retirees are at the heart of everything we do and are offered the highest standard of care. As the aging process can bring impairments in vision, manual dexterity, hearing and memory, we ensure that our team goes through training beyond imparting knowledge about health plans to develop emotional intelligence and empathy through lessons on senior sensitivity and elder advocacy.
Sources:
(1) “Disability and health.” World Health Organization, May 15, 2023, https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/disability-and-health
(2) “Disability Impacts All of Us.” Center of Disease Control and Prevention, October 28, 2023, https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/disabilityandhealth/infographic-disability-impacts-all.html
(3) “Learning about IDA.” Invisible Disabilities Association, https://invisibledisabilities.org/about/aboutida/
(4) “Employment rate of persons with a disability in the United States from 2009 to 2022”, Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1219257/us-employment-rate-disabled-persons/