Disability is thus not just a health problem. It is a complex phenomenon, reflecting the interaction between features of a person’s body and features of the society in which he or she lives. Overcoming the difficulties faced by people with disabilities requires interventions to remove environmental and social barriers.

For example, if you use a wheelchair and cannot get into a building it is because of the steps. If the building had a flat entrance or a ramp you would be able to get inside just as easily as anyone else would. Therefore, the steps have caused you to have this limitation rather than the fact you use a wheelchair.