putin-ukraine-poroshenko-meeting2.si.jpg (Photo : Reuters)
Before an audience that included high-ranking officials, China broached the subject of disability and aging in the agenda at the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) held in Milan, Italy, on Oct. 18, Saturday.
An estimated 1 billion people in the world have disabilities, accounting for 15 percent of the total population, according to a joint report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank. Out of the billion, 65 percent are living in ASEM countries.
To discuss advocacies and action plans regarding disability among ASEM members, the China Disabled Persons' Federation (DCPF) partnered with the WHO and other organizations to host the Meeting of Group of Friends on Disability Issues.
WHO Technical Officer Chapal Khasnabis congratulated CDPF for initiating the meeting, saying that discussing about disability and the aging population in China and Europe "is a great and timely initiative."
Khasnabis said that disability or functional decline due to aging is forecast to affect 25 percent of the world's population. With this known, he stressed that the issue of such large population must be considered when discussing "mainstream development, social-economic and trade issues."
A large percentage of people with disabilities are in need of advanced technology, Khasnabis added, and this need will open "huge market of opportunities" in the future.
According to CDPF Vice President Jia Yong, the countries' representatives, including experts and scholars, decided to hold a first senior-official conference on disability in the framework of ASEM next year in Beijing. The meeting will be sponsored by China and Germany.
