This book builds upon critiques of development in the disability domain by investigating the necessity and implications of theorising disability from the Global South and how development policies and practices pertaining to disabled people in such contexts might be improved by engaging with their voices and agency. The author focuses on the lived experiences of disabled people in Burkina Faso, while situating these experiences, where necessary, in the wider national and regional contexts. She explores development agencies’ interventions with disabled people and the need to re-think these practices and ideologies which are often framed within western contexts. This work will appeal to policy makers, NGOs, academics, students and researchers in the fields of development and disability studies.
One of the greatest challenges facing modern global health is how to include the most marginalized and impoverished people in international efforts to promote social and economic development. In Disability and International Development disability rights are situated within the broader context of global health and the need for much greater inter-sector collaboration. Reports from a broad cross-section of low- and middle-income countries—locales as diverse as Zimbabwe, Bolivia, Kyrgyzstan, and Papua New Guinea—move beyond surface discussions of "what is working" and "what shows promise" to discuss political and governance contexts, the roles of disabled persons in research by outsiders, concurrent struggles (e.g., women’s or children’s rights), and instructive inroads made by community activists and national Disabled People’s Organizations. The results are provocative, and offer new lenses for viewing both the issues and the populations they affect. Each of the book’s chapters spotlights a topic as representative of the enormity and immediacy of challenges to inclusive global health, including: The impact of international human rights law on domestic law and local traditions. The effect of failed states on the lives of people with disabilities. Empowerment and advocacy: disability organizations and movements. HIV/AIDS interventions with disabled persons. Assistive technologies in low-income countries. Strategies for improving the lives of children with disabilities. Cross-disciplinary as well as cross-cultural, Disability and International Development will attract a wide audience of professionals in rehabilitation, social welfare and human rights; governmental and non-governmental organizations and disabled people’s organizations; researchers and practitioners. It will also be relevant to those working in health and welfare administration, health policy, international aid and development, and human rights. In addition, graduate students in disability studies, public and global health and international development should find this an important guide to the future of these fields.
Education is a fundamental human right and it is a global Sustainable Development Goal to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education for all.” Many children with disabilities in low-income countries, however, continue to be excluded from educational opportunities at great cost to themselves, their families, and the communities in which they live. Realizing the right to inclusive education for children with disabilities requires policies and practices that are tailored to and effective for unique regional and local contexts. Using new qualitative data collected in 2020 (based on a desk review and key informant interviews), this chapter explores the inclusiveness, equality, and quality of education for children with disabilities in three African countries: Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, and Niger. The study countries are at the bottom of the Human Development Index ranking of 189 countries worldwide (Ethiopia 173, Burkina Faso 182, Niger 189, data from 2020). Despite state commitments to education as a human right and legislative support for inclusive education in each country, social, economic, political, and financial factors at the family, community, and system levels contribute to the continued marginalization of children with disabilities. The insights from this multi-country analysis highlight the importance of locally informed and context-specific approaches but also point to broader lessons for the study and promotion of inclusive education in low-resource settings. These insights provide a starting point for further investigation of disability-inclusive education on the African continent and in the developing world.
This book's basic premise is that disabled people themselves know best what their needs are and that they should be involved in the planning and delivery of relief and development initiatives. The most effective support that agencies can offer is to empower them to claim their basic human rights and their civil and legal rights. The text is based on the experience of Oxfam staff working before, during and after the crisis in Kosovo; but its principles and practical training materials can be applied far more widely. Case studies from Africa and Asia arising from the work of Action and Disability and Development (ADD) show how the values of equality, empowerment and autonomy that are promoted by the social model of disability are universal in their relevance. It suggests practical materials particularly useful to trainers working in geographically isolated areas without access to sophisticated equipment. Most activities and exercises can be adapted for use in groups of people with a wide range of impairments and educational levels.
This comprehensive ground-breaking southern African-centred collection spans the breadth of disability research and practice. Reputable and emerging scholars, together with disability advocates adopt a critical and interdisciplinary stance to prove, challenge and shift commonly held social understanding of disability in traditional discourses, frontiers and practices in prominent areas such as inter/national development, disability studies, education, culture, health, religion, gender, sports, tourism, ICT, theatre, media , housing and legislation. This handbook provides a body of interdisciplinary analyses suitable for the development of disability studies in southern Africa. Through drawing upon and introducing resources from several disciplines, theoretical perspectives and personal narratives from disability activists, it reflects on disability and sustainable development in southern Africa. It also addresses a clear need to bring together interdisciplinary perspectives and narratives on disability and sustainable development in ways that do not undermine disability politics advanced by disabled people across the world. The handbook further acknowledges and builds upon the huge body of literature that understands the social, cultural, educational, psychological, economic, historical and political facets of the exclusion of disabled people. The handbook covers the following broad themes: • Disability inclusion, ICT and sustainable development • Access to education, from early childhood development up to higher education • Disability, employment, entrepreneurship and community-based rehabilitation • Religion, gender and parenthood • Tourism, sports and accessibility • Compelling narratives from disability activists on societal attitudes toward disability, media advocacy, accessible housing and social exclusion. Thus, this much-awaited handbook provides students, academics, practitioners, development partners, policy makers and activists with an authoritative framework for critical thinking and debates that inform policy and practice in incomparable ways, with the view to promoting inclusive and sustainable development.
One in every seven children is disabled. Children with disabilities are among the most likely to be marginalized, poor and vulnerable. UNICEF is committed to improving the lives of children, particularly those who face the greatest disadvantages. The report will investigate the web of barriers disabled children face: discrimination, harmful norms and the lack of accurate information. The report will analyse and provide good-practice guidance on: inclusive health and education; prevention; nutrition; protection from violence, exploitation and abuse; emergency response; institutionalization; and the role of appropriate technology and infrastructure
