12 May 2022
We are pleased to announce that Leonard Cheshire has published new quantitative disability data on the Disability Data Portal from Thailand. These national data sources from Thailand cover disability data under key development indicators drawn from the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework.
Over the past three decades, Thailand has established more data collection systems on disability, and has captured disability data on school enrollment, health coverage schemes, and employment. According to the Annual Report of the Disabled People in Thailand 2021, the disability prevalence rate in Thailand is 3.1%.
Realising the importance of disabilityinclusive data, the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEP) in Thailand has worked in collaboration with Leonard Cheshire to support Thailand’s efforts towards quality disability data disaggregation. Leonard Cheshire facilitated a workshop with the Thailand Ministry in October 2021, to review the existing disability data captured by Thailand and to identify where government departments have data disaggregated by disability.
Twenty six government representatives from the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, Ministry of Justice, and Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation participated in the workshop. Now, the first batch of disability data from Thailand is featured on the Disability Data Portal, which can be found here.
Leonard Cheshire will continue to work with the Royal Government of Thailand on disability data. With quality disability disaggregated data in place, Thailand is now able to better understand the specific situation of people with disabilities, resulting in more effective and efficient implementation of the policies that improve the quality of life for people with disabilities.