Most disabled people in L. America don't get appropriate help

May 16 2006

Only 2 percent of some 85 million disabled people in Latin America have received medical help appropriate to their needs, said a report published on Friday.

The report, issued by the Pan-American Health Organization (OPS), said that the key causes for disability in Latin America are armed conflicts, accidents, drug abuse and societal violence.

Disability is also caused by ageing, malnutrition, childhood neglect, and marginalization of groups like indigenous people, extreme poverty and natural disasters, it added.

The report's authors, Alicia Amate and Armando Vasquez, said many disabling conditions would have been avoided if patients had received appropriate and timely treatment.

Doctors in the region also lack proper training in caring for people suffering disabilities.

For more information, please refer to http://www.paho.org/