People living with disabilities are more vulnerable and prone to poverty. They are confronted with it in every aspect of life and find the possibilities to escape poverty to be scarce. After all, disability comes with a cost:

•  People with disabilities need to provide for the immediate expenses of the treatment, their rehabilitation and the purchase of aids;
• People with disabilities face important difficulties in finding a job. Hence, the financial burden often becomes the responsibility of other family members;
• Next to the immediate expenses, the family and/or caretaker are confronted with the secondary consequences of disability: the expenses linked to the continuous care of a family member with disability. They often spend a part of their own income to cover these costs;
• Since people with disabilities living in the South are not protected by health care and social protection mechanisms, they rely on their family members to take care of them. Being primary caretakers, these family members are deprived of an income;
• Children of people with disabilities are often the designated caretakers. They miss out on education and opportunities to develop.