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Rapid access to essential assistive technology for internally displaced people in Ukraine (‎AT10)‎: lessons learned report

WHO Regional Office for Europe
January 2024

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The “Rapid access to essential assistive technology for internally displaced people in Ukraine (AT10)” project was a WHO initiative, in partnership with the Ukrainian Ministry of Health, that took place in Ukraine starting in 2022, with funding from ATscale and the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund.

Its aim was to establish rapid service delivery mechanisms to provide 10 products that assist mobility and self-care to support the population with existing or new assistive technology needs. A novel aspect of this project was that the provision of assistive technology was integrated in the emergency response. Service providers were trained to provide the 10 products using the WHO Training in Assistive Products programme.

As of 31 March 2023, in the first phase of the project, 2458 assistive products had been provided by 10 health facilities in five oblasts [regions] in eastern Ukraine, meeting the assistive technology needs of 1485 people affected by the war. Through a process that was well coordinated, timely, acceptable to service users and sensitive to the challenges of the local context, the AT10 project met the assistive technology needs of the population and facilitated rehabilitation, community participation and ultimately community development.

This report describes the lessons learned from this project and outlines recommended actions for future provision of assistive technology as part of the health emergency response.

How Koalaa is aiming to create sustainable access to prosthetics globally

MARSHALL, Niall (Koalaa)
September 2023

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A short talk given in the Disability Innovation Summit: Inclusive Interactions conference organised by the GDI hub on 13 Sept 2023.

 

The start up, development and potential progress of a technology company manufacturing upper limb prosthetics is outlined. Pilot projects were set up and that in Sierra Leone is briefly described. It began with developing a network, listening to users comments, redeveloping the product and representing it to users. The challenges of the next step into larger scale manufactuing and supply, following positive outcomes from pilot projects round the world, are outlined. 

What works

AUSTIN, Vicki
McKINNON, Anne
BELL, Diane
September 2023

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Presented at the Disability Innovation Summit: Inclusive Interactions conference organised by the GDI hub on 13 Sept 2023.

 

Outcomes of the first 5 years of the AT2030 project are summarised including: 15 AT country capacity surveys; 11 new assistive technologies; 31 AT ventures brought to sustainability and 70 journal papers. Funding thus far and for the future is also discussed.

Work to supply hearing aids to those with hearing loss in the global south, particularly in South Africa is outlined. Areas highlighted include: work with suppliers; work to ignite innovation and provide products at scale; work with UNICEF and the procurement catalogue; work with HEARX to provide screening and aid fine tuning via a phone app to enable community health AT service.

Questions from the audience highlight issues surrounding acquiring AT in the emergency/humanitarian setting  

Beyond Barriers: Journeying from Exclusion to Inclusion with R2D2 and NCAHT-IITM

SRINIVASAN, Sujatha
September 2023

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Presented at the Disability Innovation Summit: Inclusive Interactions conference organised by the GDI hub on 13 Sept 2023.

 

Challenges in the development and bringing to market of functional, affordable, high quality AT devices are outlined. The development of the manual standing wheelchair and the lessons learnt in taking it from prototype to market (using the GRID model) are introduced. The challenges of affordability and of awareness of AT including by professionals is highlighted. The work of the National Centre for Assistive Health Technologies (NCAHT at AIIMS, New Delhi) including experience zones of architectural barriers where people can try wheelchars on different surfaces and realise that disability is imposed by the environment is briefly described. Wheelchair skills training and community outings are part of the centre. Other topics mentioned include: the need to normalise disability; the need for collaborations; funders; scalability; fragmented markets and the need to access global markets 

Catalyzing action for millions more people to access assistive technology in LMICs

BIJLEVELD, Pascal
September 2023

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Presented at the Disability Innovation Summit: Inclusive Interactions conference organised by the GDI hub on 13 Sept 2023

 

ATscale has a goal of reaching 500 million more people, mostly in low and middle income countries, with AT by 2030.

This short talk focusses on major fundamential issues found in the first 2 years of operations:

  • Awareness - lack of awareness of AT even amongst health professionals
  • Fragmentation - AT is not a sector and is fragmented in types of AT (vision, hearing, mobility etc), in ministries involved (social welfare, health, education etc), in civil society and in the private sector
  • Expertise - implementation is a challenge. AT needs to be built as a discipline

Listen Include Respect: International Guidelines for Inclusive Participation

Inclusion International
June 2022

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The Listen Include Respect guidelines help organisations understand what they need to do to make sure people with intellectual disabilities are included in their work.

​They were written by Inclusion International and Down Syndrome International.

Over 1,500 people with intellectual disabilities and their families from almost 100 countries helped write them.

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) tells us that all people with disabilities have the right to “meaningful participation.”

“Meaningful participation” is what happens when people with intellectual disabilities get everything they need to be fully included, participate equally, and feel valued.

These guidelines will help organisations to make this happen.

Accessible Sanitation in the Workplace – Important Considerations for Disability-Inclusive Employment in Nigeria and Bangladesh

Stephen Thompson
Rasak Adekoya
Utpal Mallick
Omojo Adaji
Abdur Rakib
Mark Carew
January 2022

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This paper explores the relationship between accessible sanitation and disability-inclusive employment in Bangladesh and Nigeria. Both countries have sanitation and hygiene challenges as well as disability-inclusive employment challenges, but the existing evidence on the intersection of these issues that is focused on Nigeria and Bangladesh is extremely limited. Building on the literature where this complex issue is addressed, this paper presents the findings of a qualitative pilot study undertaken in Nigeria and Bangladesh. It focuses on the need for toilets at work that are easy for people with disabilities to use in poor countries. These are sometimes called accessible toilets. Accessible sanitation is not regarded as a challenge that must be addressed by people with disabilities themselves, but as a challenge that must be addressed by many people working together – including governments, employers, and the community.

Intersectionality Resource Guide and Toolkit. An intersectional approach to leave no one behind

UN WOMEN
UN PRPD
2022

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The Resource Guide and Toolkit has been developed to help both organizations and individual practitioners and experts to address intersectionality in policies and in programmes. It may be used by individuals or teams to assess their own knowledge, attitudes, and practice, at a programme level as a supplement to existing design, adaptation, and assessment processes or at policy level to better understand and address the different and intersecting effects of policy on marginalised persons.

This Resource Guide and Toolkit emerged from an identified need to use an intersectional approach that included people with disabilities in all their diversity in the development, implementation and evaluation of policies, programmes, advocacy and inter-governmental processes. However, the authors and collaborators realised that an effective intersectionality resource needed to go beyond a focus on specific intersecting identities, such as disability and gender, as this would still exclude those who are most marginalised

Study on the evolution of the Children and Armed Conflict mandate 1996-2021

GAMBA, Virginia
January 2022

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This is the first study that comprehensively analyses the challenges, opportunities, and successes in delivering the United Nations children and armed conflict mandate since its inception in 1996. The study presents a short evolution of a unique United Nations instrument that was initially mandated by the General Assembly and subsequently enhanced through 13 Security Council resolutions. Understanding the way in which the mandate grew and how it has been implemented over the years will hopefully assist Member States and the public at large to renew their commitment to the protection of children in armed conflict and the prevention of grave violations. This study explores three time periods in the delivery of the mandate. Moreover, the study explores, among other issues, the background on the establishment of the mandate, its evolution over the past 25 years and the reflections generated by this experience, including through an analysis of the trends of grave violations against children, the modalities in monitoring and reporting and in pursuing engagement with listed and non-listed parties, the efforts made in prevention and the importance of partnerships. When possible, the study also brings to life the experiences of child survivors and child protection experts on the ground, who, after all, are the backbone of the mandate. Lastly, the study attempts to highlight some collective recommendations in the form of a way forward to illuminate the next 25 years in the pursuit of better protection of children in situations of armed conflict worldwide

Engagement with Organizations of Persons with Disabilities. Learning about meaningful engagement in public health emergencies, including COVID-19

UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN'S FUND (UNICEF)
December 2021

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This report was produced under a United Nations Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD) project to support countries in designing and implementing disability-inclusive response and recovery planning for COVID-19. Throughout this project, UNICEF documented examples of good practice and learnings from partnerships with organizations of people with disabilities (OPDs) in public health emergencies, including COVID-19. The objectives of this initiative were to gain a better understanding of the factors that facilitate effective partnerships between humanitarian actors and local, regional, and national OPDs, and the challenges to be addressed.

This report presents the findings from a ‘deep dive’ undertaken by UNICEF East Asia and the Pacific Regional Office to consider the experiences in Cambodia, Indonesia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines and the Pacific. The target audience for this report includes OPDs and humanitarian actors at global, regional, and country levels.

Uganda's disability data landscape and the economic inclusion of persons with disabilities

Development Initiatives
November 2021

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This report looks at the landscape of data on disability in Uganda – summarising what data on persons with disabilities is available, who produces and uses it, and how – as well as what this means for the economic inclusion of persons with disabilities.

 

For persons with disabilities to benefit from and contribute to society and the economy there needs to be effective policies, programmes and services that support their inclusion, particularly in employment. Reliable information and data on persons with disabilities, known as ‘disability data’, is essential to planning and for decision-making. When it is of high quality, accessible and used effectively, disability data can help organisations of persons with disabilities (OPDs), civil society, government and businesses better understand and prioritise interventions that are vital for supporting persons with disabilities and ensuring their inclusion.

 

OPDs, civil society and the government have an important role to play in strengthening the landscape of disability data. Developed as part of Development Initiatives’ work on data to support disability inclusion, in consultation with Uganda’s disability rights movement, this report presents an analysis of Uganda’s landscape of disability data. It highlights important data sources, challenges and recommendations, providing a valuable evidence base to inform efforts aimed at strengthening the enabling environment for disability inclusion.

A disability inclusive response to COVID-19 - four lessons learned about including people with disabilities in humanitarian aid

MORRIS, Lisa
ELLIOTT, Chris
PIERI, Susan
September 2021

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Inclusive Futures played a crucial role in supporting some of the most marginalised people with disabilities in Bangladesh, Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, and Tanzania during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper summarises what we learned and it can be used to include people with disabilities in future programming, particularly in contexts at risk of crisis.

Labour Market Assessment: Bangladesh 2021 refresh

INCLUSIVE FUTURES
BROWN, SIMON
August 2021

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This Labour Market Assessment for Bangladesh is a refresh of the initial assessments done in 2019 for the Inclusion Works programme. The assessment adopts a Markets for Poor (M4P) approach to mapping demand for and supply of labour, supporting functions and regulatory frameworks; recognising that labour markets conditions will have evolved since 2019, especially in light of COVID-19. The perspectives of jobseekers, employers, and organisations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) are also included in this analysis. The report provides insights into market changes and recommendations to enable Inclusion Works programming to adapt and be more effective in their interventions.

Labour Market Assessment: Kenya 2021 refresh

INCLUSIVE FUTURES
BROWN, SIMON
OBOSI, Shikuku
August 2021

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This Labour Market Assessment for Kenya is a refresh of the initial assessments done in 2019 for the Inclusion Works programme. The assessment adopts a Markets for Poor (M4P) approach to mapping demand for and supply of labour, supporting functions and regulatory frameworks; recognising that labour markets conditions will have evolved since 2019, especially in light of COVID-19. The perspectives of jobseekers, employers, and organisations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) are also included in this analysis. The report provides insights into market changes and recommendations to enable Inclusion Works programming to adapt and be more effective in their interventions.

Labour Market Assessment: Nigeria 2021 refresh

INCLUSIVE FUTURES
BROWN, Simon
August 2021

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This Labour Market Assessment for Nigeria is a refresh of the initial assessments done in 2019 for the Inclusion Works programme. The assessment adopts a Markets for Poor (M4P) approach to mapping demand for and supply of labour, supporting functions and regulatory frameworks; recognising that labour markets conditions will have evolved since 2019, especially in light of COVID-19. The perspectives of jobseekers, employers, and organisations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) are also included in this analysis. The report provides insights into market changes and recommendations to enable Inclusion Works programming to adapt and be more effective in their interventions.

Labour Market Assessment: Uganda 2021 refresh

INCLUSIVE FUTURES
BROWN, SIMON
OBOSI, Shikuku
August 2021

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This Labour Market Assessment for Uganda is a refresh of the initial assessments done in 2019 for the Inclusion Works programme. The assessment adopts a Markets for Poor (M4P) approach to mapping demand for and supply of labour, supporting functions and regulatory frameworks; recognising that labour markets conditions will have evolved since 2019, especially in light of COVID-19. The perspectives of jobseekers, employers, and organisations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) are also included in this analysis. The report provides insights into market changes and recommendations to enable Inclusion Works programming to adapt and be more effective in their interventions.

UNHCR Facilitator’s Guide - Strengthening Protection of Persons

UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS (UNHCR)
July 2021

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This guide is designed to support UNHCR staff, partners and other stakeholders at field level to:

  • Recognize the protection concerns and capacities of refugees with disabilities and other persons with disabilities protected and assisted by UNHCR;
  • Apply the principles reflected in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and UNHCR Guidance on Working with Persons with Disabilities to a range of programs and sectors;
  • Design immediate and long-term strategies to mitigate protection risks and promote the inclusion of persons with disabilities in UNHCR programming.

 

The four modules include:

  • Introductory module - Organizing an accessible and inclusive workshop (Module 1);
  • Promoting a rights-based approach to disability (Module 2);
  • Raising awareness about the impact of forced displacement on persons with disabilities (Module 3);
  • Learning key strategies to foster inclusion of persons with disabilities in forced displacement (Module 4). 

Disability-inclusive child safeguarding guidelines

WATTERS, Lauren
ORSANDER, Martina
May 2021

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Able Child Africa and Save the Children partnered to create the first international Disability-inclusive child safeguarding guidelines. These guidelines provide advice on how to plan for disability-inclusive child safeguarding, with practical solutions for organisations and practitioners working across development and humanitarian sectors on how to include children with disabilities in each step of the process.

For ease of reading, mini-read versions of the guidelines have also been developed. Part 1 outlines practical guidance for organisations. Part 2 outlines practical guidance for practitioners. For a full glossary and resource list, please refer to the full guidelines.

‘Because of COVID, Everything is a Mess’ How Have People with Disabilities Experienced the Pandemic in Nepal and Bangladesh?

ROHWERDER, Brigitte
THOMPSON, Stephen
SHAW, Jackie
WICKENDEN, Mary
KAYASTHA, Shubha
SIGDEL, Anita
AKTER, Fatema
BOSRI, Rabia
March 2021

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COVID-19 is deepening pre-existing inequalities. Emerging research suggests that people with disabilities across the world have experienced various rights violations and been disproportionality affected by the health, economic and social impacts of the pandemic and responses to it. The aim of this research was to better understand how people with disabilities who are often excluded from research have experienced the evolving COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh and Nepal. In order to better understand how it has affected some of the most marginalised groups of people with disabilities, this study used in-depth qualitative research to focus on people with intellectual, psychosocial, deafblindness and other multiple impairments.

 

আমরা বাংলাদেশে (20 জন লোক) এবং নেপালে (15 জন লোক) বসবাসরত 35টি ডিজেবলড লোকদেরকে কোভিড-19 প্রাদুর্ভাব চলাকালীন সময়ে তাদের জীবন সম্পর্কে জিজ্ঞাসা করেছি। তাদের মধ্যে বধিরতা, নেত্রহীনতা, বৌদ্ধিক ডিজেবিলিটি এবং মানসিক ডিজেবিলিটি’র মতন বিভিন্ন ধরণের ডিজেবিলিটি রয়েছে। তাদেরকে জিজ্ঞাসা করার প্রধান কারণ হল যে প্রায়শই তাদেরকে তাদের জীবন সম্পর্কে কিছুই জিজ্ঞাসা করা হয় না। আমরা ডিজেবলড বাচ্চাদের বাবা-মাদেরকেও তাদের অভিজ্ঞতা সম্পর্কে জিজ্ঞাসা করেছি।

 

हामीले बङ्गलादेश (20 जना मानिस) र नेपाल (15 जना मानिस) मा अपाङ्गता भएका 35 जना व्यक्तिलाई कोभिड-19 को प्रकोपको समयमा आफ्नो जीवन बारे हामीलाई बताउन अनुरोध गर्‍यौं। उहाँहरूलाई वणदृष्टिविहीन, बौद्धिक अपाङ्गता र मनोसामाजिक अपाङ्गता जस्ता विभिन्न अपाङ्गता थिए। उहाँहरूलाई प्रायः आफ्नो जीवन बारे नसोधिने भएकोले हामी उहाँहरूलाई सोध्न चाहन्थ्यौं। हामीले अपाङ्गता भएका बालबालिकाका आमाबुवाहरूलाई पनि सोध्यौं।

How targeting mechanisms can identify people with disabilities for inclusion in social protection programmes

SAMMON, Elayn
CARRARO, Ludovico
COTE, Alexandre
ZEVENBERGEN, Stacey
HOLMES, Rebecca
March 2021

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Developed by Social Protection Approaches to COVID-19: Expert Advice (SPACE) in collaboration with the UNPRPD joint program on inclusive Social Protection, the UNPRPD global initiative on COVID 19 inclusive response and recovery, and Humanity & Inclusion.

The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that countries which have disability identification mechanisms and registries already in place have been in a better position to provide fast relief and expand shock responsive support to persons with disabilities and their families. 

This guidance note includes:

  • Brief introduction to the definitions and terminology surrounding disability and the concept of inclusive social protection
  • Summary of the rationale for the inclusion of persons with disability in social protection programming
  • Examples for overcoming the challenges for outreach, identification, and registration, and needs assessment
  • Some country examples
  • Overall implications for future programming.

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