TANZANIA – The U.N.'s leader said Wednesday the world's 1 billion people living with disabilities are among the hardest hit by the coronavirus and called for them to have equal access to prevention and treatment of COVID-19.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the pandemic is revealing the extent to which people are marginalized and is intensifying the inequalities that people with disabilities already face, such as poverty and higher rates of violence, neglect and abuse.
His video message was released alongside a U.N. report that said people with disabilities are estimated to be 15% of the world’s population and 46% of the world's people who are older than 60.