Today - International Day for the Rights of the Disabled

UFA, 5 May 2015. /Bashinform News Agency, Gulfiya Akulova/. On May 5, the international community marks the International Day for the rights of the disabled. Its history dates back to 1992, when simultaneously in 17 European countries people with disabilities spent a day of struggle for respect for equal rights and against discrimination of people with physical, mental or sensory disabilities.

The purpose of anniversary is to draw public attention to the problems of protection of the rights of people with disabilities. According to the World Health Organization, more than a billion people around the world have some form of disability. Moreover, disability rates are rising, due to the aging of population and the growing number of chronic diseases.

In Russia, people with disabilities are one of the most poorly protected categories of the population. According to the latest official statistics, the number of disabled people in the country is close to 13 million. On the International Day for the rights of the disabled in many cities of Russia "Disabled - Equal Members of Society" campaigns and other charitable and educational activities, special conferences and meetings are held.