Category Archives for Millenium Development Goals

Practical ways to open the doors wider for our disabled

A team of experts is drafting a National Action Plan on disability based on the first World Disability Report.

Smriti Daniel reports

The Indian government wanted its disabled citizens to vote. Faced with mounting social pressure, leading parties were debating disability issues in their stump speeches, vying for votes. Here was a departure from business as usual – the Disability Act, passed in 1995, guaranteed equal opportunities to disabled people but little had come of it. Tom Shakespeare: In Colombo for the launch of the report

Now, in the run up to the 2009 elections, an order passed by the Supreme Court finally forced the Election Commission to contact the State Governments and Union Territories with a list of requirements.

Ramps would be installed in polling stations, braille numbers would be placed alongside ballot buttons on Electronic Voting Machines, separate queues would be set up for disabled people at polling stations and not least, electoral staff would be trained to interact with disabled voters. Indian citizens – even if they were in a wheelchair – could cast a vote.

This success story has Dr. Padmani Mendis, an independent disability issues expert, asking one question – “If India could do it, why can’t Sri Lanka?” Dr. Mendis who is currently consulting for the World Health Organisation (WHO) is one of the key figures on the team drafting a National Action Plan on disability and part of her mandate has been to find practical ways of implementing the recommendations put forward by the first World Disability Report.

Though it has had less ambitious predecessors, the report produced by WHO and the World Bank is unique in its comprehensive approach to addressing the issues concerning the ‘world’s largest minority.’ It took the contributions of 370 writers, a price tag of over a million dollars and a four year gestation period to produce it.

“The World Report on Disability is the first of its kind, providing global guidance on implementing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and giving an extensive picture of the situation of people with disabilities, their needs and unmet needs, and the barriers they face to participate fully in their societies,” Dr Firdosi Rustom Mehta, Country Representative, World Health Organisation, told the Sunday Times in an email, adding that any national plan would be in line with national policy as well as the World Report on Disability.

That it is an issue of national importance is undisputed – not least because the numbers say so. “One of the headlines was that there were a billion disabled people in the world,” says Tom Shakespeare, who contributed to the report and was a member of the Editorial Committee. Tom, who was in Sri Lanka to launch the publication, explains that the numbers are rooted in an analysis of the World Health Survey (2002–2004). By these figures, around 15% of any country’s population could be considered disabled. Whether it’s a diabetic with an amputated leg, a child with juvenile arthritis or a soldier with PTSD, we’re also learning that disability takes many forms. “It’s higher than people thought,” he said. Now, it’s becoming clear that the 15% will only increase as an aging population begin to experience more disabling illnesses.

Accepting that the disabled may constitute a larger percentage of the population has added to the momentum driving a new approach to managing it. Tom hopes to see the numbers have a profound impact on policy makers: “Look, it makes sense to have an accessibility standard and to enforce it because that will benefit 15% of your population; to have non-discrimination policy in the work place because that will benefit 15% of your population. It’s not a small figure. It’s a significant figure.” Dr. Mendis agrees: “We in Sri Lanka have a tradition of segregated services and we’ve done well with them,” she says, pointing out that for instance, the island has had schools for the blind since the early 1900s. “We have had these segregated services and we have showed our concern for disabled people through that.”

Now mainstreaming people with disabilities is the new goal– luckily in Sri Lanka some of the infrastructure is already in place. Dr. Mendis uses the example of vocational training centres – while only a few have been dedicated to disabled people, a much larger network already serves the able-bodied. “Now we know the way to go is that we have a huge network of vocational training centres for our youth, our public. We have to open those to disabled people as well,” says Dr. Mendis. This mainstreaming needs to spread to every level of policy making.

“Everybody is still talking about the millennium goals – and whether it’s reducing child mortality or ensuring every child goes into primary school, there’s a need to include disabled people,” says Tom. “You can’t achieve a lot of these goals without disabled people.” Even when it comes to preparing for disasters, authorities need to be sensitised to plan for the needs of disabled people. This would include not just how to evacuate them but attention to details such as toilets for the disabled in shelters and ensuring that disabled aren’t overlooked when food is distributed.

Many of these goals can only be achieved by enlisting the community – but attitudes will need to be changed first. “Social attitudes are the biggest barrier,” says Dr. Mendis, citing superstitions that declare it unlucky to see a disabled person as soon as you step out of the house or to include a disabled person in a wedding party. “These are social attitudes out in society that stigmatize, but within the family it’s completely different,” she says, explaining that families often end up stifling their disabled members in an attempt to protect them and may even ill treat them out of ignorance. However, she believes that even this trend is changing. “Parents are beginning to realise that for the disabled child, education is essential.”

While over 90% of children in Sir Lanka go to school, the figures for disabled children are much lower says Tom: “People with physical disabilities – 77%. People with intellectual disability about 50%.” However, inclusive education isn’t a pipe dream for a developing country after nations like Laos and Vietnam have done well, once more begging the question – ‘why not in Sri Lanka?’ “It’s possible to do it,” Tom asserts. “It’s accessible schools, trained teachers and the right attitudes; a lot of it is about attitudes.”

The report also celebrates the times that countries have got some things right – whether it’s Uganda that has enshrined disability rights in its constitution and has people with disabilities represented at every level of the political process or Delhi metro in India’s capital which incorporated features of universal design (also known as barrier free features) in the planning stage at little extra cost. Nigeria has focused on providing microfinance, so that persons with disabilities can develop their own businesses. “If a person has the wheelchair they need, they can be productive, they can get a job. They can contribute to the economy. There may be a short term cost, but there’s a long term gain, says Tom, but he adds, “No country has got it completely right.”

Today, people with disabilities are 50% more likely to slip below the poverty line as their health costs often outstrip their incomes; disabled people are far more likely to be victims of violence, to be denied healthcare, education and even the chance to have a family of their own. Tom who authored ‘The Sexual Politics of Disability’ says that while Article 23 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities talks about the right to a family life, social prejudice can leave disabled people terribly isolated. “But in fact, most disabled people can have sex, can have children, can have normal family lives. It is prejudice, as in other areas, which prevents people.”

Going forward, the National Action Plan on Disability which was prepared in collaboration with disabled people and the representatives of ministries of social services and health, will look at ways to implement the report’s recommendations. “What the world report has done really is to reaffirm and to show us the importance of bringing disabled people into the mainstream in terms of human rights,” says Dr. Mendis, hoping that by the end of this process Sri Lanka will have an “overarching policy on disability” in place.

Main message in World Disability Report

2012 saw the launch of the first World Disability Report in Sri Lanka. Successive chapters in the World Report document data, health, rehabilitation, assistance and support; enabling environments; education and employment. For each area the report highlights a range of good practice examples which governments and civil society can emulate, to help establish an inclusive and enabling society in which people with disabilities can flourish.

According to Dr Mehta, the main message in the World Disability Report is the need for disabling barriers to be broken down. In addition, the report highlights:

  • One billion people with disabilities in the world have the right to participate fully in their societies.
  • People with disabilities can live independently in their communities
  • All children have the right to education
  • People with disabilities have the right to decent work
  • The development and enforcement of legislation on accessibility is required
  • Better access to free and affordable health care needs to be provided
  • Rehabilitation promotes the participation of people with disabilities in their societies

The Sunday Times

Differently abled and their social integration

K. Wijayaratnam

Differently abled or disability is defined as limitation of a person’s ability to carry out the activities of daily living, to the extent that he or she may need help in doing so. The American Disabilities Act of 1990 defines disability, as ‘physical or a mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of life abilities’.

Such impairment may include physical, sensory and cognitive or intellectual impairment. Mental disorders, such as psychiatric or psychosocial disability or various types of diseases such as TB, HIV, stroke, spinal cord injuries, Arthritis, Alzheimer may be also considered as disabilities.

A disability may occur during a person’s lifetime or exist from birth. The WHO define it as a “restriction or lack (resulting from an impairment) of ability to perform an activity in the manner or within the range of considered normal for a human being” – a functional limitation or activity restriction by an impairment.

Impairment would mean “any loss or abnormality caused of psychological, physiological or anatomical structure or function such as loss of limb, organ or other body structure, as well as defects or loss of a mental function. The definition of ‘disabled person’ according to the Declaration on the Rights of the Disabled Persons proclaimed by the United Nations Assembly on December 9, 1975 is: “any person unable to ensure by himself, wholly or partially, the necessities of a normal individual and/or social life, as a result of deficiency, either congenital or not, in his or her physical or mental capabilities.”

General

The World Health Organization estimates that about 650 million (about 10 per cent of the world population) around the world are differently abled people and of this it estimates, 80 per cent live in developing countries. In a number of countries, people with disabilities are entitled to a range of benefits, such as, attendance and mobility allowances, free medical facilities, concessions in parking and on public transport. Many countries have enacted ‘Equal opportunities legislation’ to ensure that people with disabilities are not discriminated against, in the workplace.  According to the Sri Lankan National Census 2002, the number of people disadvantaged due to disability stands at 1,629,000. This may not be a correct figure now, as the ‘civil war’ that ravaged the country, during the last few years had affected many mentally and physically. Number of people, both civilians and fighters, on both sides have been affected physically and psychologically. Many have lost their limbs due to artillery fire and due to bombardment from the air and many have become mentally deranged having witnessed the loss of their kith and kin.

Many of the disadvantaged are hidden from society – they shy away because a large section of the society shuns them. Social exclusion of persons with disabilities lies at the core of the problem often defining the path the people take and treated, to how they are perceived and treated. When people are stymied at every turn by social stigma it is difficult for those to survive in society. Anxiety and hopelessness can cripple them more than their physical and mental limitations and dwindling options. Insulting terminology such as nondiya (lame fellow), pissa (mad fellow) used by people, who are fortunate not to be affected by disabilities, add to their suffering. Depression can set in and the spectre of hunger, makes their lives miserable. Most of them live in deplorable conditions owing to physical and civil barriers, which prevent their integration and full participation in the community. As a result they are segregated and deprived of virtually of their rights and lead a wretched and marginal life.

Social stigma

The treatment meted out to the disabled persons, defines the inner characteristics of a society and highlights the cultural values that sustain it. Surely with the great traditions of Buddhism and Hinduism, the major religions of the country, Sri Lankans should be able to play a more vital role in alleviating the sufferings of the disabled?

Social acceptance of these people will do much to pave the way for such persons to interact in society with great confidence to face their problems. Attitudes and traditions have to change for the ‘differently abled’ people to be accepted by society.  Disability related information campaigns and created awareness are important steps towards this end. Today the debate has moved beyond a concern about perceived cost of maintaining dependent people with disabilities, to an effort of finding effective ways to ensure, that people with disabilities can participate in and contribute to society in all spheres of life.

Human rights

People with disability are also human beings and have the same fundamental rights as other citizens of the country (Article 3 of the UN Declaration) to enjoy the right to a decent life, as normal as possible. They have the same civil and political rights and are entitled to the measures designed to become self reliant as possible.

They have the right according to their capabilities to secure and retain employment or to engage in a useful, productive and remunerative occupation and to join trade unions to promote their interests.  According to the UN Declaration the disabled are entitled to have their special needs taken into consideration at all stages of economic and social planning. They have a right to live with their families or with their foster parents and participate in all social, creative or recreational activities. They shall according to the Declaration be protected from ‘exploitation, of all regulations and all treatment of a discriminatory, abusive or degrading nature’.

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCPRD) adopted by the assembly in December 2006, and which came into effect in May 2008, draws a lot of attention to the inclusion of people with disabilities in international development cooperation. Article 32 of the Convention stipulates that international development cooperation must include people with disabilities and be accessible to them. In the process, cooperation between the various actors in the civil society and persons with disabilities is decisive. Some donors – including, Australia, Germany and Great Britain – have made disability and development a focal point of their development cooperation.  The Australian government recently (Aus AID) presented its strategy for inclusive development. The guidelines in these papers include:

  • Human rights orientation,
  • Active involvement of persons with disabilities and their organizations,
  • Net working based on co-operation and
  • Respect for the needs and potential of the disabled as a heterogeneous group.

The guidelines provide for a twin track approach, which combines advocacy on one hand with specific programmes or the empowerment of persons with disabilities as well as initiatives to include these in other development programmes Article 24 of the Convention emphasizes the right of all children to education within an inclusive system. It is estimated that only three per cent of the children with special needs have access to education worldwide, most of them in special as opposed to inclusive facilities. World vision argues that inclusion of children with special needs is crucial if millennium development goals are to be reached. Article 28 speaks of social protection which would mean protection of the following:

  • Access to and social transfers,
  • The option of receiving micro loans,
  • Social protection programmes such as health coverage,
  • The right to social services such as benefits.

Economists estimate that the exclusion of persons with disabilities and their family members from productive labour results in economic losses equal to about seven per cent of the GDP worldwide (World Bank 2008). Disability and development have become a core issue for the World Bank in the sector of social security. Article 27 of the Convention relates to empowerment of the disabled persons and to the requirement of local support structures. Access to capital is one of the most important requirements. Article 12 of the Convention relates to this issue.

Sri Lanka lags behind in the rehabilitation and in the integration of the disadvantaged persons. The government should lay down strong national policies and take active interest in the welfare of the disadvantaged. It should ratify the UN Convention on the ‘Rights of the Persons with Disabilities’ which had been ratified already by more than 88 countries. There exists in Sri Lanka a strong stigma against those disadvantaged by disability. The government should take active steps to change these attitudes and to remove the stigma by educating the public, by awareness campaigns throughout the island. Disability related information campaigns and awareness rising are very necessary to change attitudes.

Awareness campaigns

Persons with disabilities in Sri Lanka are entitled to special grants from the government for projects, to start small-scale businesses, but very few of the disadvantaged are aware that such schemes exist. Awareness campaigns therefore should not only to educate the discriminatory and insulting attitudes of the general public but also educate the disadvantaged on the social welfare measures available to them. The two major religions can also play important role in creating a more congenial atmosphere to the disadvantaged, by reminding the people of the teachings of the Buddha and of the great Hindu philosophers that disable people are also human beings and should be treated like normal people.

Another important step that should be taken is to make public transport or the disabled less cumbersome by providing the disabled, easy access to those vehicles. The provision of reserved seats is just not enough as most of the disabled – the blind and the disabled find getting in and getting out of public transport very difficult. The disabled also find access to public buildings difficult. Regulations on the accessibility of public and private buildings were tabled in Parliament in 2007, but its progress had been slow and to date there is no mechanism to facilitate the enforcement of these regulations. Lack of resources and shortage of physical and rehabilitation services, absence of coordination between Colombo and the provinces are some of the other problems confronting the social integration of the disabled in our country.

Self-employment

To improve the quality of life of the differently able people and their families, there should be projects focusing on their physical rehabilitation and their social integration. Good practices for the economic inclusion of people with disabilities in developing countries, speaks of use of micro credit and start of financing, to promote the independence and entrepreneurship of persons with disabilities. Often self-employment is the only way for the affected to earn their livelihoods. Access to capital is therefore is very crucial (Article 12 of the Convention).

There is some reluctance in our country both by public and private institutions, to give loans to people with disabilities. The government should ensure that equal opportunities to micro credit are given to the disabled. Free financing and subsidized loans should be only an initial step and be reserved for people in extreme poverty.  Women and girls face tremendous disadvantages. Article 6 of the Convention, speaks of multiple discriminations of women and girls. Gender based vocational training programmes leads women with disabilities, exposed to poor labour conditions, lower paying jobs, and lack of opportunities for advancement.

The ILO’s Wedge team (Women Entrepreneur Development and Gender Equality) focuses on women with disabilities (ILO count us in – 2008) and should be of assistance. Finally the private sector which is said to be the ‘engine of growth’ together with the government should open their doors for the disabled, with suitable employment and help to erase the prejudice that the disabled are unwanted and should be left to suffer because of their ‘karma’.

The writer is a Member Institute of Personnel Management

Daily News

Manmohan promises disabled-friendly laws

FIGHTING FOR THEIR RIGHTS: Physically challenged persons, under the banner of the National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled and led by CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat, march on Parliament Street in New Delhi on Tuesday to press their demands. Photo: V. Sudhersan

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday said the government was in favour of amending the laws, if need be, to make them more disabled-friendly. He gave this assurance to a delegation of the differently-abled persons who met him in Parliament. The delegation was led by CPI (M) MP Brinda Karat.  “The Prime Minister was extremely sympathetic towards the demands of the disabled persons and said their demands were genuine,” Ms. Karat said. Dr. Singh assured the delegation of changing the laws to make them disabled-friendly, if necessary. The Prime Minister interacted with the members of the delegations and enquired about their problems. Talking to The Hindu, Ms. Karat said this was the first time that a delegation of differently-abled persons had visited Parliament House. “It was pointed out to the Parliament staff that there was only one gate (Gate no 9) in Parliament House for the physically disabled people and this was far away from the main entrance,” Ms. Karat said. The delegation also met the Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Mukul Wasnik who told them that the government was finalising a new law for the disabled that would replace the existing law.

Earlier, a large number of people with different forms of disabilities marched to Parliament House to demand a better deal. Marching under the banner, ‘National Platform for the Rights of Disabled Persons,’ the people highlighted the plight of the economically and socially disadvantaged among the disabled, the poor, and the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes. “The basic issue is that of the approach of the government and we must request you to consider our demands not as an act of charity but as fulfilment of entitlements and rights as equal citizens of India. India is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the persons with Disabilities which enjoins the government to ensure minimum rights and livelihood to disabled citizens,” the marchers said in a memorandum submitted to the Prime Minister. The demands include a comprehensive social security system for all persons with disabilities and their families including the Antyodaya cards, free health care for disabled persons, amendments to the Right to Education Act to make provision for disabled teachers and professional and identification of jobs for the disabled immediately with annual special recruitment drives each year.

Besides setting up a separate Ministry for disability affairs, the memorandum also sought issuance of a universally valid identity card and replacing the current Persons with Disabilities Act (1995) in consonance with the provisions of the U.N. Convention and harmonising other laws, the disabled persons also wanted proper enumeration of the persons with disabilities. The organisations that participated in the march included the Paschimbanga Rajya Pratibandhi Samaiilani, the Differently Abled Persons Welfare Federation of Thiruvananthapuram, the Karnataka Rajya Angavikalara Mattu Palakara Okkota, the Jharkhand Vikalanga Morcha, the Tamil Nadu Association for the Rights of all types of Disabled and Caregivers and the Vibhinna Prathiba Vanthula Jakkula Vedika of Andhra Pradesh.

The Hindu

Mobilising campaigners for disability and development

In May 2008, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (UNCRPD) entered into force. This latest expression of the spirit embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was brought to life largely through years of campaigning by disabled people, their organisations and their allies. The UNCRPD guarantees people with disabilities the right to full participation in every aspect of society, calling on governments and civil society groups to make all of their programmes inclusive and accessible, including development projects.  Disability campaigners earned another victory in November 2009, when the UN General Assembly passed a resolution recognising the importance of including disability in all Millennium Development Goal (MDG) programmes. Before this, the MDGs had made no mention of disabilities.

This international recognition is crucial as people with disabilities are among the poorest and most marginalised in the world. While 10% of the world’s people are disabled, 20% of people living on less than a dollar a day have disabilities. In some countries, 90% of children with disabilities do not attend school and the unemployment rate for disabled people in some African nations can be over 80%. Without urgent attention to such issues, it will be impossible to meet the Millennium Development Goals.  It is now essential to build on the campaigning achievements behind the UNCRPD and the new MDG resolution. Every country must sign, ratify and implement the UNCRPD, which is still the subject of intense lobbying from disability and development stakeholders worldwide. Its rights-based agenda will also demand new approaches from campaigners and development practitioners alike to ensure that all programmes, including those designed to meet the MDGs, are based on inclusion and participation.

You are invited to explore how people with disabilities, disabled people’s organisations and other organisations can best campaign for the promises of the UNCRPD and MDGs to be realised. How can they most effectively mobilise disabled people to become local, national and international campaigners? What additional barriers to effective advocacy might disabled people face compared to non-disabled people? How can the larger development community ensure that it supports this advocacy work and changes its own policies to include disability?  Useful sites for your research include.

guardian.co.uk

The right to learn

Universal primary education by 2015: this is the second of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), agreed by every country in the world in 2000. Yet this mission will only succeed if it reaches all children, including those with disabilities.  Today more than 80% of all children in developing countries are enrolled in primary school, but up to 90% of children with disabilities in developing countries do not attend school. They then miss out on education’s lifelong benefits – better employment opportunities, greater participation in society, improved health and a clearer understanding of their rights.  This enormous gap has many causes: lack of access, inadequate facilities, the mistaken belief that disabled children cannot go to school and discrimination are all factors. While learning can take place in many settings, often the most effective way for children with disabilities to get an education is to attend their local, mainstream schools.

This approach, known as inclusive education, sees changing school cultures as a positive process. Disability is not viewed as the problem; rather it presents an evolving opportunity for change and growth that enables schools to take account of the needs of all children in their area. Without such efforts, meeting MDG 2 will be impossible.  In 2008 a second worldwide initiative was added to the MDGs – the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (UNCRPD). This human rights treaty takes a rights-based approach to disability and development and states that ‘States Parties shall ensure an inclusive education system at all levels…’  With the world now committed to every child’s right to full participation in every country’s educational system, it is vital to assess which methods of inclusive education are most effective. What are the predominant reasons that children with disabilities do not attend school? How can governments, international organisations and local school systems work together to ensure that every child is included in school? What is the best way to influence and adapt educational systems so that all children can participate?  You are invited to explore these issues and write about both the range of barriers to education that disabled children face and the best ways to tackle this worldwide problem.  Helpful sites to begin your research

guardian.co.uk