May 30, 2024

Disability Numbers Soar


Disability Numbers Soar
RussianLife files. 

In 2023, the number of Russians in need of wheelchairs or lower-limb prostheses reached a record high of 466,000 persons. In addition, the number of people applying to state facilities for physical rehabilitation has increased by 42 percent.

Over the last decade, that number of persons requesting wheelchairs or prostheses has generally hovered between 307-331,000 people, before leaping up by more than 100,00 in 2023. Before the war, the numbers increased at a rate of only 7 percent per year. 

Verstka reported last year that Russian authorities have been anticipating a sharp increase in the number of citizens with disabilities. In 2023, the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection prepared for 2.7 million citizens to be registered with disabilities. 

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