A record number of Russians with disabilities have registered to receive wheelchairs and lower limb prostheses. The publication “Vestka” writes about this after analyzing last year’s data from the Federal Social Insurance Fund.
By the end of 2023, more than 446,000 Russians were registered who needed wheelchairs, chairs and prosthetic legs. This is the maximum for the entire period of maintaining statistics – since 2012. At the same time, “Verstka” notes that until 2022 the number of applications for these rehabilitation means grew annually by no more than 7%, then in 2023 it increased by almost 42% – that’s more than 137 thousand people.
The number of applications for wheelchairs increased from 211 thousand to 292.4 thousand, for chairs with sanitary equipment – from 66.5 thousand to 101.6 thousand, and for those who need lower limb prostheses – from 51.4 thousand to 72.3 thousand people.
In addition, the publication writes, over the year the number of registered people who require special clothing adapted to the needs of the disabled has increased significantly.
Earlier, regarding the Social Insurance Fund, it was reported that in 2023, a record number of men with disabilities was registered in Russia over the past eight years – without specifying specific causes of disability. Also in 2023, one of the largest indicators was recorded in the category of men with disabilities aged 18 to 30 years – 290 thousand people.
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