Disabled and elderly people in the First, Second and Third Worlds

While disabilities occur in all societies, their causes and effects differ in the First (developed), Second (communist) and Third (developing) 'worlds'. Of the 500 million persons with disabilities, about 80% live in the Third World, and United Nations projections suggest that the proportion soon will be 90%. Two values, integration and normalization, may guide development of national policies in all three worlds. In addition, two design principles, accessibility and adaptability, may prove useful. It may also be that information-age technology will assist in disability prevention and rehabilitation, as well as in employment of individuals with disabilities. First World economics facilitate application of technology to meet special needs, Second World economies impede that, and Third World economies often cannot support it. The challenge for policy makers is to find ways of bringing together integration, normalization, accessibility and adaptability so as to help nations to fashion cost-effective solutions to their disability-related problems.