Litia Cava 
[Source: UNICEF East Asia & Pacific/ Facebook]
A new UNICEF report shows that nearly 108 million children with disabilities in Asia and the Pacific are missing out on important services.
This is almost half of the world’s 240 million children with disabilities.
Many of these children do not receive early education, proper nutrition or protection from violence.
June Kunugi [Source: Unicef.org]
UNICEF Regional Director for East Asia and the Pacific June Kunugi shared that basic services like schooling and healthcare remained out of reach for many children with disabilities in the region.
She explains that when services are designed to include all children from the start, the entire system becomes stronger and better for everyone.
In Fiji, only one in four children with disabilities can complete simple math tasks while nearly half of children without disabilities can do so.
This highlights the urgent need to make education more inclusive.
UNICEF urges governments to collect better data on children with disabilities, provide accessible services, protect them from violence and support their families.
Ending stigma and exclusion is also vital and requires the help of communities, leaders and the media.
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