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Persons with disabilities and their representative organisations in Iraq

March 2021

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Iraq has one of the largest populations of persons with disabilities in the world. Despite this, there has been little consultation among persons with disabilities and their representative groups by government and humanitarian and development agencies. Persons with disabilities and their representative organisations in Iraq: Barriers, challenges and priorities aims to improve the understanding of the barriers experienced by persons with disabilities, including the key challenges and priorities of their rep­resentative organizations, in order to inform humanitarian and development programming. The report is based on interviews conducted with 81 representatives of 53 Organiza­tions of persons with disabilities across 18 governorates in Iraq.

Persons with disabilities and their representative organisations in Iraq

INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION FOR MIGRATION (IOM) IRAQ
March 2021

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Iraq has one of the largest populations of persons with disabilities in the world. Despite this, there has been little consultation among persons with disabilities and their representative groups by government and humanitarian and development agencies. Persons with disabilities and their representative organisations in Iraq: Barriers, challenges and priorities aims to improve the understanding of the barriers experienced by persons with disabilities, including the key challenges and priorities of their rep­resentative organizations, in order to inform humanitarian and development programming. The report is based on interviews conducted with 81 representatives of 53 Organiza­tions of persons with disabilities across 18 governorates in Iraq.

Looking under the veil: Challenges faced by people with disabilities in cross-border entrepreneurship

MATSAURE, Keresencia
CHINDIMBA, Agness
ZIMANO, Felistas R
RUFFIN, Fayth
September 2020

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Background: Cross-border entrepreneurship is one source of livelihood that is transforming people’s lives, especially those with limited resources and educational qualifications and those in need of supplementary earnings to complement meagre formal earnings. However, despite strides made to make this avenue worthwhile, this Zimbabwean study shows that hidden hindrances still persist from procedural and structural barriers from road entry point management systems. To people with disabilities (PWDs), the impact of these hidden barriers is severe to the extent of obstructing their optimum progression into cross-border entrepreneurship.

 

Objectives: This article sought to interrogate some veiled challenges in border management systems affecting PWDs’ quest to venture into cross-border entrepreneurship. This angle has, to this end, been timidly addressed as most organisations and legislation have concentrated on making things work for the majority of the populace.

 

Method: Qualitative phenomenological method in which researchers’ lived experiences, review of literature, ideas and opinions is complemented by secondary survey data from a road entry point management system study in the Zimbabwean setting.

 

Results: Cross-border entrepreneurship has potential to transform people’s lives: 1) road and border management systems’ procedural and structural complications present hidden challenges impeding PWDs’ entry and optimum participation in cross border entrepreneurship, 2) people with disabilities are not automatically dependents; in fact, most have dependents looking up to the, 30 social construction of disability persists and must be curbed and 4) there is a need to institute a ‘stakeholders triad approach’.

 

Conclusion: The existing road entry points’ management systems are not informed by considerations from PWDs, hence the existence of hidden challenges. Cross-border entrepreneurship can open significant livelihood avenues to PWDs. A stakeholders ‘triad-approach’, proposed herein, can solve some of the policy discrepancies as it recommends utilising inputs from PWDs, research and policy-makers.

 

African Journal of Disability, Vol 9, 2020 

Disability Inclusive Development - Bangladesh Situational Analysis

THOMPSON, Stephen
June 2020

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This situational analysis (SITAN) addresses the question: “what is the current situation for persons with disabilities in Bangladesh?”. It has been prepared for the Disability Inclusive Development programme (which works on access to education, jobs, healthcare, and reduced stigma and discrimination for persons with disabilities in Bangladesh, Jordan, Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, and Tanzania), to better understand the current context, including COVID-19, and available evidence in Bangladesh. It will be helpful for anyone interested in disability inclusion in Bangladesh, especially in relation to stigma, employment, education, health, and humanitarian issues.

Disability Inclusive Development - Nigeria Situational Analysis

THOMPSON, Stephen
June 2020

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This situational analysis (SITAN) addresses the question: “what is the current situation for persons with disabilities in Nigeria?”. It has been prepared for the Disability Inclusive Development programme (which works on access to education, jobs, healthcare, and reduced stigma and discrimination for persons with disabilities in Bangladesh, Jordan, Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, and Tanzania), to better understand the current context, including COVID-19, and available evidence in Nigeria. It will be helpful for anyone interested in disability inclusion in Nigeria, especially in relation to stigma, employment, education, health, and humanitarian issues.

Persons with disabilities in a just transition to a low-carbon economy

HASAN, Maria
November 2019

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Implementing a just transition to a low-carbon economy that aims to leave no one behind will require a context-specific and locally determined mix of legal standards, social protection, skills development and attitudinal transformation that create an enabling environment for green jobs to perpetuate and decent work opportunities for persons with disabilities to proliferate. If done right, a just transition towards environmentally sustainable economies and societies for all can contribute to the goals of achieving social justice, decent work, social inclusion and the eradication of poverty. At this unique time that climate action is accelerating and the transition to green economies has started to take form, a just transition - that is inherently disability-inclusive - represents a unique opportunity to shape a future that works for all.

 

Topics discussed include: Persons with disabilities in a world of work confronted by climate change; Understanding the future of the world of work; Existing frameworks to guide action; An inclusive transition to a low-carbon economy; Key recommendations

‘We only got Coca-Cola’: Disability and the paradox of (dis)empowerment in Southeast Nigeria

NWOKORIE, Okechukwu V.
DEVLIEGER, Patrick J.
2019

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Background: Empowerment is the generic name for support services for persons with disability in Nigeria. In it, the elites of the society play leading roles. Special events such as anniversaries, Christmas seasons, wealthy people’s birthdays, investiture of new titles and campaigns before general elections often provide occasions for empowerment programmes.

 

Objectives: This article explores discourses of empowerment of persons with disability in Southeast Nigeria. We concentrate on the relation between local elites and the disability community and how it impacts our understanding of empowerment. Conceptualising empowerment as worldmaking, and disability as something that is ambiguous, we challenge the assumption that the aim of empowerment of disabled people is to improve their (disabled people’s) quality of life.

 

Method: This article relies on research data (collected between January 2014 and January 2017) comprising 72 interviews and participant observations from 27 persons with disability, and 13 social workers and senior government officials.

 

Results: We conclude that discourses of empowerment of disabled people frame disability as loss and tend to conceal the personal stories and survival operations of disabled people.

 

Conclusion: Empowerment discourses ironically provide the platform for local power elites to ‘ride’ to fame on the backs of disabled to extend their influence in society. In the current neoliberal environment of unequal access to opportunities, disabled people must ‘play along’ as a survival strategy. Our qualitative data provide opportunities to reflect on the tensions between the ‘local and the global’, thus indicating how disability issues intersect with other wider questions.

 

 

African Journal of Disability, Vol 8, 2019

India inclusion summit 2018

March 2019

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India Inclusion Summit is a community driven initiative that aspires to build an Inclusive India by 2030. It is an annual event that began in 2012 to create awareness about disabilities and the need for Inclusion. The event brings together thought leaders and unsung heroes from the field of disability and inclusion to deliberate, discuss and drive change in our society.

 

Videos of some of the presentations are available including:

My Journey and ‘Deaf gain’ing an accessible India:  Vaibhav Kothari (18 mins), signed

You’re not just special. You’re Special Edition:  SwarnaLatha (11 mins)

Don’t let disability come in the way of things you love: Zoyeb Zia (10 mins), signed

The Adventure of Autism and quest to serve each other: Rupert Isaacson (20 mins), signed

Making a billion people read despite their disabilities: Brij Kothari (21 mins), signed

The ability needed to be whoever you want to be: Devika Malik (13 mins), signed

Everyone has something to give: Suchitra Shenoy (11 mins), signed

From being inclusive to doing acts of inclusion: Yetnebersh Niguissie (12 mins), signed

Finding your missing piece: Jerry White (18 mins), signed

Listening to the voice within that opens infinite possibilities: Rajni Bakshi (15 mins), signed

Being a mother is the most satisfying role: Suhasini Maniratnam (21 mins) signed

 

 

The inclusion of persons with disabilities in EU-funded humanitarian aid operations.DG ECHO Operational Guidance

EUROPEAN COMMISSION
January 2019

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This guidance has been developed as a tool to reach the goal that all EU-funded humanitarian partners be required to take the needs of persons with disabilities into account in their projects.


It concentrates on mainstreaming the needs of persons with disabilities across all types of humanitarian interventions, hence not dealing with targeted actions specifically. As such, this guidance is a complementary tool to existing Thematic Policies, in particular to Thematic Policy n°8 on Humanitarian Protection

 

The guidance consists of three main parts. Part II presents disability mainstreaming in programming in detail and provides a series of concrete examples and illustrations. It also provides tools to collect data and measure disability inclusion. Part III of the guidance is a short document that that can be easily used in the field for either programming or monitoring.

DFID’s strategy for disability inclusive development 2018-23

December 2018

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The UK Department for International Development (DFID)'s vision is a world where all people with disabilities, women, men, girls and boys, in all stages of their lives, are engaged, empowered and able to exercise and enjoy their rights on an equal basis with others, contributing to poverty reduction, peace and stability. A world where no-one is left behind.

Over the next five years DFID will prioritise four strategic pillars for action: (i) inclusive education, (ii) social protection, (iii) economic empowerment, and (iv) humanitarian action. To complement this focus DFID are adopting three cross-cutting areas, vital to disability inclusion, which will be consistently and systematically addressed in all of their work: (v) tackling stigma and discrimination; (vi) empowering girls and women with disabilities; and (vii) access to appropriate assistive technology.

DFID have introduced a new set of standards for all DFID business units to meet. The standards require all country offices and departments to; review their leadership and culture, engage with people with disabilities, influence others, adapt programming and improve data and evidence.

The disability data portal

July 2018

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The Disability Data Portal provides a snapshot of the data globally available on people with disabilities in 40 countries. The portal also identifies where there are gaps in the current body of data. 

The portal was designed for the Global Disability Summit, held on 24 July 2018, and focusses on data relating to four thematic areas: inclusive education, stigma and discrimination, technology and innovation, and economic empowerment. 

The portal presents key development indicators relevant to the Summit themes, mostly drawn from the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), along with others relevant to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)

Young persons with disabilities: Global study on ending gender-based violence, and realising sexual and reproductive health and rights

McCLOSKEY, Megan
MEYERS, Stephen
July 2018

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This study provides an analysis on the situation of young persons with disabilities concerning discrimination and gender-based violence, including the impact on their sexual and reproductive health and rights. It also provides an assessment of legal, policy and programming developments and specific good practices in service delivery as well as best-standard prevention and protection measures. Finally, policy and programming recommendations are provided to assist in greater promotion of the rights of young persons with disabilities, with a particular emphasis on preventing and responding to gender-based violence, and realizing sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Assistive technology and people: a position paper from the first global research, innovation and education on assistive technology (GREAT) summit

DESMOND, Deirdre
et al
May 2018

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"Assistive technology (AT) is a powerful enabler of participation. The World Health Organization’s Global Collaboration on Assistive Technology (GATE) programme is actively working towards access to assistive technology for all. Developed through collaborative work as a part of the Global Research, Innovation and Education on Assistive Technology (GREAT) Summit, this position paper provides a “state of the science” view of AT users, conceptualized as “People” within the set of GATE strategic “P”s. 

Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology 
Volume 13, 2018 - Issue 5: Position Papers from the First Global Research, Innovation, and Education on Assistive Technology (GREAT) Summit

This issue has 7 papers from the GREAT summit

https://doi.org/10.1080/17483107.2018.1471169

Stigma, disability and development

BOND DISABILITY AND DEVELOPMENT (DDG)
November 2017

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This briefing considers how stigma affects people with disabilities and why challenging stigma is a critical issue for development.

 

Examples of successful efforts by UK non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to reduce and eliminate stigma are briefly outlined including: self help groups; alliances between groups (including DPOs); staff training; skills training and wider awareness raising.

Who’s on my side?

ALLIANCE FOR INCLUSIVE EDUCATION UK
Parents For Inclusion UK
March 2013

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“"This film features disabled children and young people, their siblings and family members talking about why allies are important. They also talk about the support they get, the support they want and what changes need to be made in education, health and social care services so that they can have real choice and control. It is useful for anyone interested in inclusive education"

Electoral participation of electors with disabilities : Canadian practices in a comparative context

PRINCE, Michael J
March 2012

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"This report addresses three main research questions: What barriers do people with disabilities, physical and/or mental, face when trying to vote? What reforms have countries and, in the case of Canada, provinces introduced since 2000 to reduce or eliminate barriers to voting for people with disabilities? More specifically, what services, supports and laws or standards have governments introduced to ensure better access to voting by electors with disabilities The specific focus of this report is on the right to vote, rather than on the right to freely associate as an activist or to run as a candidate and to hold elected office. Five national jurisdictions are reviewed in this report, specifically Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States and New Zealand. On Canada, attention is given to developments and practices at the federal, and provincial and territorial levels of government"

Guidelines to reduce stigma : guide 3|A roadmap to stigma reduction : an empowerment intervention

CROSS, Hugh
et al
2011

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"This guide is part of a series of four Guides to reduce stigma. The guides are for all managers, health and social workers and service staff who have to deal with stigma in leprosy and other health conditions. These Guides provide evidence-based and best-practice information from different disciplines, and recommendations for field workers on how to reduce stigma against and among affected persons and in the community...The third Guide provides recommendations on how to develop an approach for reducing stigma. Through the use of a roadmap, several steps are discussed for reducing stigma related to a particular health condition"

Guidelines to reduce stigma : guide 4|Counseling to reduce stigma

AUGUSTINE, Valsa
et al
2011

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"This guide is part of a series of four Guides to reduce stigma. The guides are for all managers, health and social workers and service staff who have to deal with stigma in leprosy and other health conditions. These Guides provide evidence-based and best-practice information from different disciplines, and recommendations for field workers on how to reduce stigma against and among affected persons and in the community...The fourth guide explains the use of counselling at a basic level in dealing with stigma. It provides an explanation on different techniques and approaches for counselling persons affected by stigma"

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