disabilities caused by war, accidents and other unnatural disasters are fewer in the Maldives than other countries. Lack of standard definitions of disability and different survey methodologies do affect the number of persons screened as having disabilities. There are more men with disabilities than women. The 2002 survey showed disability among males (4,902) is slightly higher than females (4,314) and similar pattern is shown in all atolls except Lhaviyani, (M=155; F=189) and Alif Dhaal (M=350; F=386) where reported cases of females are more than males with disabilities (MGFDSS 2002). Census 2000 data also confirmed that disability is more common among males with 1.90 percent of the male population identified as having disabilities whilst of the female population, 1.59 percent identified as having disabilities (Velezine 2001). The most common types of disabilities reported in the Maldives are visual impairment, speech impairment, and mental illnesses. In the 2002 survey, 3,062 persons (1,495 males and 1,567 females) reported having visual impairment, while 2,640 persons (1,553 males and 1,087 females) reported speech disability and 2,560 persons (1,413 males and 1,147 females) reported mental health disability (MGFDSS 2002). However, the most common form of disability identified in the Census 2000 for both sexes was mental illness with a total of 1,364 persons of whom 624 are females and 740 are males (Velezine 2001). The second highest form of disability among women (532 females) was visual impairment. Among men, the second ACTIVITIES ADDRESSING RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES highest form of disability (720 men) was related to mobility or walking. ... 26