Global Multidimensional Poverty for Children with Disabilities: A 40 countries study

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 16% of the world's population lives with a disability, with a significant number living in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Persons with disabilities face higher levels of social and economic exclusion, limiting their participation and reducing their opportunities. Despite the urgent need for comprehensive data, there is a lack of studies assessing the levels of multidimensional poverty of households with children with disabilities across a wide range of countries. Therefore, this study aims to disaggregate and analyse the global Multidimensional Poverty Index (global MPI) for households with at least one child with a disability in 40 countries of the world. We used data from the sixth round of the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) conducted in 40 countries, which include a child functioning questionnaire (2-4 and 5-17 years), we calculated the global MPI and disaggregated the results by disability status of at least one child in the household. In addition, we computed an intrahousehold analysis, identifying if the child with disability was the one (or not) creating deprivations in the nutrition and school attendance indicators, and in which percentage of households, children with disabilities were the one left behind. 

The study covers countries with 0.97 billion people in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The results reveal that 31.68% of people living with a child with disabilities are multidimensionally poor. Of the 40 countries, 22 show significant differences in poverty incidence between households with and without a child with a disability. In addition, households with a child with a disability in these countries show higher levels of deprivation in terms of nutrition and school attendance. Variations in indicators of living standards also depend on the level of development of the country. In addition, children with disabilities are the ones creating in most cases deprivations in nutrition and school attendance, therefore, important intrahousehold inequalities are observed. This study, the first of its kind, highlights that children with disabilities are disproportionately poorer in many countries around the world and underlines their exclusion from development progress.

Please note that this is an in-person event at Queen Elizabeth House.