Disability is often regarded as both a reason and a result of poverty. About 80% of the world's population of people with disabilities lives in low-income countries and experience social and economic disadvantages.

Relatively limited access to education and information adds to the prevalent social stigma and increases the scope of marginalization.

According to the statistics collated by the Registrar-General of India, based on the 2001 census, nearly 2.13% of the country's population i.e. 21.9 million people in the country are disabled. According to very conservative estimates, 6 per cent of India's population has one disability or the other. This means that there are over 6 crore people in India with disabilities.[1]

Poverty limits contact to well-being and rehabilitation services. Developmental initiatives, especially in a country like ours ignore the need of people with disabilities. The UN convention on the rights of persons with disabilities emphasizes the importance of mainstreaming disability issues for sustainable development. Attention to health and its social determinants are essential to promote and protect the health of people with disabilities and for greater fulfillment of human rights.

A country's growth is largely reflected in the development of its marginalized segments and for India, a segment of society as large as our disabled population cannot be excluded from the social and economic mainstream.

CAF has been working for the last ten years on the cause of disability in India. We work closely with NGOs working within the space by providing for services, training, care, rehabilitation, equal opportunities and equal rights for physically and mentally disabled people