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Disability inclusion in climate change programming in the Middle East

KETT, Maria
MEANEY-DAVIS, Jessie
January 2021

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This document provides guidance on how to incorporate disability inclusion within climate change programming in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs), Syria, Turkey and Yemen. It is intended to inform the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s (FCDO) climate change programming in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. 

Disability inclusion annual report 2020

UNITED NATIONS RELIEF AND WORKS AGENCY (UNRWA)
December 2020

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The number of Palestine refugees registered by UNRWA recently grew to 5.7 million (from 5.5 million in 2019) in all its five field of operations in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Gaza and the West Bank. Among them are Palestine refugees with disabilities, who have long-term impairments, which in interactions with attitudinal, institutional, and environmental barriers prevent their full and effective participation on an equal basis with others in society. Persons with disabilities constitute an estimated 15 per cent of the global population1, and may constitute a higher percentage in humanitarian contexts, such as Syria, the West Bank and Gaza, in particular, which are UNRWA fields of operations.

 

The main actions undertaken in 2020 discussed in the report are:

  • targeted and disability-specific services for persons with disabilities
  • disability inclusion through programmes
  • inter-agency coordination
  • international protection advocacy

Disability Inclusive Development - Jordan 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 Jordan?”. 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 Jordan. It will be helpful for anyone interested in disability inclusion in Jordan, especially in relation to stigma, employment, education, health, and humanitarian issues.

COVID-19 in humanitarian contexts: no excuses to leave persons with disabilities behind! Evidence from HI's operations in humanitarian settings

HUMANITY & INCLUSION (HI)
June 2020

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This collection and review of evidence aims to illustrate how the COVID-19 crisis triggers disproportionate risks and barriers for men, women, boys and girls with disabilities living in humanitarian settings. It highlights recommendations for humanitarian actors, to enhance inclusive action, aligned with existing guidance and learnings on disability inclusion. It is based on evidence, including testimonies, collected by HI programs in 19 countries of intervention. Special efforts were made to reflect the voices of persons with different types of disabilities, genders and ages, residing in different geographical areas and living circumstances, including refugee and internally displaced persons’ settlements and host communities.

 

Evidence has been collected through primary data collection among HI teams and partners, working in countries impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in April/May 2020. Data was extracted from assessments conducted by HI and partners in Bangladesh, Egypt, Haïti, Indonesia, Philippines, Jordan, Lebanon, Somaliland and Togo. Testimonies from affected communities, staff and partners were collected in Kenya, Myanmar, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Somaliland, South Sudan, Rwanda, Thailand, Uganda and Yemen.

 

Disability inclusion annual report 2019

UNITED NATIONS RELIEF AND WORKS AGENCY FOR PALESTINE REFUGEES IN THE NEAR EAST
December 2019

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United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) adopts a twin-track approach to ensure the full inclusion of Palestine refugees with disabilities. This entails ‘disability mainstreaming’, whereby all UNRWA programmes and services are universally designed to ensure that they are usable by and/or reach beneficiaries with disabilities, coupled with the provision of ‘targeted/tailored interventions’. During 2019, UNRWA implemented the following activities to address the specific needs of Palestine refugees with disabilities:

  • Direct Specialized Services for Persons with Disabilities
  • Disability Inclusion through Programmes
  • International Cooperation

Disability stigma in the Disability Inclusive Development (DID) programme countries: an overview of the evidence

ROHWERDER, Brigitte
September 2019

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This literature review outlines factors contributing to disability stigma in low- and middle-income countries. Overviews of disability stigma in the six Disability Inclusive Development (DID) programme countries – Bangladesh, Jordan, Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, and Tanzania – are presented next. The review then looks at the literature on interventions to reduce disability stigma. Interventions aimed at addressing disability stigma in developing countries have been aimed at the intrapersonal and familial level; the interpersonal level; and the structural level.

Realising children's right to social protection in Middle East and North Africa. A compendium of UNICEF's contribution's

ARCHIBALD, Edward
January 2019

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This Compendium documents the broad range of UNICEF’s social protection interventions in MENA from 2014-2017. 
 

The Compendium includes 20 case studies detailing UNICEF’s contributions in the MENA region across the following five Action Areas

 

  • Evidence and Advocacy (Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Yemen, Morocco)
  • Policies, coordinating and financing (Djibouti, Morocco)
  • Cash transfer programming and systems strengthening (Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia)
  • Cash plus interventions and social work (Iraq, State of Palestine (highlights children with disabilities), Yemen)
  • Social protection in fragile and humanitarian contexts/settings (Yemen, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria). The Syrian programme was "Reaching children with complex disabilities through cash transfers and case management"

 

 

 

The current situation of persons with disabilities in Jordan

THOMPSON, Steven
August 2018

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This K4D helpdesk research report seeks to explore the current (2018) situation of persons with disabilities (PWD) in Jordan. It presents recent data on the state of PWD in Jordan, such as data on access to basic services for PWD. It also considers the political, social, cultural, and economic context for PWD in Jordan. Finally, it explores laws and policies relevant to the rights of PWD in Jordan. It considers the situation for Syrian refugees with disabilities with regards to the above themes. Where possible, the report presents data disaggregated by age and gender

Removing barriers - The path towards inclusive access. Disability assessment among Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon. Jordan report

ASAI, Yahoko
et al
July 2018

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Humanity & Inclusion (HI) and iMMAP conducted a study concerning with the lack of disability data in the Syria crisis context,  which aimed to:

  • Provide statistically reliable prevalence of disability as well as disability disaggregated data indicators on access to services.
  • Increase understanding of the situation of Syrian refugees with disabilities and their households, compared to their peers without disabilities, in relation to the access to services including education, and key barriers experienced in accessing these services.
  • Recommend inclusive actions to be prioritized by humanitarian actors.

The study conducted a literature review, quantitative data collection as well as qualitative data collection. Quantitative data was collected from 6,381 persons of randomly sampled 1,159 households in Azraq and Zaatari camps and Irbid between October 2017 and January 2018. Twenty-five Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and 3 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were also conducted between November 2017 and January 2018 to elicit deeper insights on the educational situation of children with and without disabilities

Adolescents with disabilities: Enhancing resilience and delivering inclusive development

JONES, Nicola
PRESLER-MARSHALL, Elizabeth
STAVROPOLULOU, Maria
July 2018

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This report takes stock of evidence from LMICs, drawing on findings from a thematic evidence review combined with emerging findings from the Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence (GAGE) survey and qualitative research baseline studies in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Jordan and Palestine. These interviews involved more than 6,000 adolescents and their caregivers – including approximately 600 girls and boys with physical, visual, hearing or intellectual impairments, alongside service providers and policy actors. The report draws attention to the multiple and intersecting capabilities that need to be supported in order for adolescents with disabilities in LMICs to reach their full potential. It goes beyond a focus on their access to education and health services, and also considers their rights to psychosocial wellbeing, protection from violence, mobility and opportunities to participate within their communities, as well the skills, assets and support they need to become economically independent once they transition into adulthood. 

Psychosocial disabilities in the Middle East. K4D Helpdesk Report.

BOLTON, Laura
May 2018

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This desk based review reports on the then current best estimates of psychosocial disability in the following countries in the Middle East and North Africa: Lebanon, Jordan, Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs), Iraq, Syria and Yemen. Factors influencing prevalence of psychosocial disability in each of these countries, and whether conflict was an important factor were considered. Prevalent forms of psychosocial disability and how might they differ by country were reviewed. How prevalence and form of psychosocial disability differ across the following demographic characteristics: gender, age, religion, ethnic group was addressed. The state of provision, both state and non-state, for those with psychosocial disabilities in these countries, and variation of eligibility and access to provision/services across demographics (e.g. age, gender, religion or ethnic group) were also considered.

An Evaluative Study of Services Provided in Community-Based Rehabilitation Centres in Jordan

Darawsheh, Wesam B
2018

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Purpose: This research study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of the services provided by CBR programmes in Jordan.

 

Method: This was a mixed-methods investigation. A survey was carried out with 47 participants (stakeholders and volunteers) from four CBR centres in Jordan. It comprised 18 questions that collected both qualitative and quantitative data with both closed- and open-ended questions. The quantitative data was analysed using SPSS Version 22.0. Qualitative data was analysed through thematic content analysis and open coding to identify emergent themes.

 

Results:  40.4% of the participants evaluated the effectiveness of CBR services as low. This mainly stemmed from the lack of efforts to increase the local community’s knowledge about CBR, disability and the role of CBR programmes towards people with disabilities.

 

Conclusions: A proposal was offered concerning the priorities of CBR programmes in Jordan. Efforts need to be directed at promoting livelihood and empowerment components in order to actualise the principles of CBR, mainly by promoting multispectral collaboration as a way of operation.

 

Implications: This study was inclusive of all types of disability.  Barriers to the effectiveness of services may stem from accessibility issues to the families of persons with disabilities (hard to reach) or from CBR services themselves (hard to access). The culturally specific evaluative tool in this study was of “good” specificity and sensitivity, this evaluative instrument can be transferrable to measure the impact of CBR programmes in other settings. 

Equal basis 2014 : access and rights in 33 countries

BURKE, Megan
PERSI VICENTIC, Loren
December 2014

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This report presents research about efforts to meet the needs and uphold the rights of persons with disabilities in four thematic areas: health care, rehabilitation, work and employment, and accessibility and enabling environments. Research findings are drawn from the experiences of landmine and cluster munition survivors and other persons with similar needs in 33 countries experiencing armed conflict or emerging from armed conflict or political or economic transition. Findings are placed within the context of relevant articles of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the World Report on Disability

Voices from the ground : landmine and explosive remnants of war survivors speak out on victim assistance

HANDICAP INTERNATIONAL
September 2009

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This report surveys landmine survivors’ opinions on assistance. The survey includes questionnaires and data from 1,645 survivors in 25 affected countries. The report finds that survivors are rarely included in decisions and activities destined to benefit them and subsequently more than two-thirds think that their needs are not taken into account when their governments makes plans to assist them. This document is useful for people interested in landmine survivor's opinions about governments supporting and reintegrating landmine survivors into society

Access to social services for persons with disabilities in the Middle East : multi-stakeholder reflections for policy reform

AXELSSON, Charlotte
BARRETT, Darryl
2009

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This report highlights the importance of ensuring access to services for persons with disabilities. It introduces mechanisms related to access to services and reflects on the roles and responsibilities of each main stakeholder, providing recommendations for regulatory mechanisms. It highlights good practices of service provision collected throughout the region from workshops, field visits and exchanges with stakeholders, providing recommendations for improving access to services for persons with disabilities. This report has been produced under the Disability Monitor Initiative Middle East. It would be useful for stakeholders and advocates interested in access to services for people with disabilities in the Middle East

Disabilities among refugees and conflict-affected populations

WOMEN'S COMMISSION FOR REFUGEE WOMEN AND CHILDREN
June 2008

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"This report is the culmination of a six-month project...to address the rights and needs of displaced persons with disabilities, with a particular focus on women (including older women), children and youth. Based on field research in five refugee situations, as well as global desk research, the Women’s Commission sought to map existing services for displaced persons with disabilities, identify gaps and good practices and make recommendations on how to improve services, protection and participation for displaced persons with disabilities"

Disability and development: is the rights model of disability valid in the Arab region? An evidence-based field survey in Lebanon and Jordan

NAGATA, Kozue Kay
2008

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This paper reviews the process and outcome of constructing a "rights model of disability" which is culturally specific to Jordan and Lebanon. The objective of the empirical part was, to survey the current level of attitudes of non-disabled people towards their disabled fellows in Jordan, and to compare the attitudes of Lebanon's university students towards five different categories of disabled people (mentally disabled people, psycho-socially disabled people, physically disabled people, hearing impaired people and visually impaired people) to highlight the variations and diversity among them. It also examined the relationship between the attitudes and various demographic and social characteristics of the respondents. The set of findings was further tested and triangulated through meta-analysis of individual views expressed in the qualitative studies.

In Jordan, the attitude of 191 randomly selected non-disabled people was studied, using a Scale of Attitudes towards Disabled Persons (SADP). The participants from 4 communities of Jordan, exhibited overall negative attitudes towards disabled people. Socio-economic-demographic characteristics showed almost no difference regarding their attitudes towards disabled people.

In Lebanon, a more complex scale, composed of four sub-scales, namely a, "Baseline Survey of Student Attitudes towards People with a Disability" was used, to survey 94 university students' attitudes towards five different categories of disabled people, and a set of indices for future comparison was constructed. The results indicated the same pattern of gradations of attitude differences (found in other countries) towards persons with physical or sensory impairments (better), intellectual impairment (middle) and mental illness (worse). The main findings of this empirical field research showed particularly negative public attitudes towards people with intellectual impairment and mental illness in Lebanon.

Finally, the validity of the proposed rights model of disability and the empirical findings of this study, were further examined and co-validated through analysis of the collective views of those who took part in the questionnaire surveys and the participatory focus group discussions, which took place in Lebanon in 2005 and 2007, and in Jordan in 2005, as well as a series of intensive on-line and/or telephone interviews of a few informants comprising of disabled persons and experts. The policy implications of the findings are discussed.

 

Asia Pacific Disability Rehabilitation Journal, Vol 19, No 1

External evaluation of the community based rehabilitation program (CBR) in Jarash Camp, Amman, Jordan

YASSIR, Samar Al
November 2004

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This in an evaluation of a CBR project started in 1988 in a refugee camp. The general objective of the project is "to reach the biggest number of disabled persons in need of rehabilitation, and that an increased number of disabled persons live independently and are integrated in the society." Strategies include developing capabilities of disabled persons through the services offered by the Community Rehabilitation Centre, mobilization of local resources and awareness raising and advocacy.The evaluators found that the project urgently needs to include PWDs in the running of the project and to adopt a long-term strategy developing PWDs integration and economic autonomy. It also recommends a need for organizational change, improved monitoring and evaluation, staff motivation, and management and planning

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