2. PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES Persons with disabilities have same set of rights, obligations and opportunities that other Maldivians have. The Constitution of the Maldives fully recognises the rights of persons with disabilities and treats them as full and equal citizens (Hussain 2008). To realise their rights, persons with disabilities need access to the goods, services and facilities that other Maldivians can access. Some persons with disabilities also need disability-specific support and services to help them to be as independent as possible. 2.1 Definition of disability There are varying definitions of disability and this has implications on the number of persons with disabilities and the extent and nature of support services provided. It is diff ficult to define what disability is and there are several distinct views on how the term disability should be defined. These differences of definition derive from two main approaches to thinking about disability issues. In the “medical model”, disability is largely viewed as a medical condition to be “cured”. In the “social model”, disability is viewed as resulting from social barriers to