East Asia and Pacific Region

The Leonard Cheshire Disability East Asia and Pacific Region cover the following countries: China including Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines and Papua New Guinea. The East Asia and Pacific office is located in Bangkok, Thailand.

In these countries, people with disabilities constitute from 1% to 5% of the total population. The proportions of people with disabilities against the countries’ population translate to a wide-range of figures from 133,000 in Singapore to more than 83 million in China.

All these countries not only have laws and policies to protect the rights of people with disabilities but also national mechanisms or institutions serving as focal points for disability issues. Still, people with disabilities remain marginalized,are denied education and employment opportunities.

“Despite recent achievements, people with disabilities remain the single largest sector of the least-served and most discriminated against in almost all societies in the Asia Pacific region.” (ESCAP, 2003)

Our Programme
The East Asia and Pacific Regional Office works with Cheshire Services in eight countries, as well as local disabled peoples’ organizations, communities, civil society groups and government bodies to create an enabling environment for people with disabilities. A strong cross-cutting theme of the overall work is the promotion and protection of rights of people with disabilities and all programmes are therefore community-based and rights focused.

Leonard Cheshire Disability and its partners in the East Asia and Pacific Region will continue to participate in the review of the “Biwako Millennium Framework towards an Inclusive, Barrier-Free and Rights-Based Society for People with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific” and work towards the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities.

In response to the needs of disabled people affected by tsunami, a disability resource centre is being established in the province of Banda Aceh, Indonesia.