DISABILITY AND NON COMMUNICABLE DISEASES

Context
An estimated 1 billion people, or 15% of the world’s population, have a disability 1, and
the increase in diabetes, cardiovascular diseases (heart disease and stroke), mental
disorders, cancer, and chronic respiratory illnesses, will have a profound affect on this
population. According to the World Report on Disability, these diseases are estimated to
account for 66.5% of all years lived with a disability in low and medium resource
countries2.