Resources search

Unheard children. Championing deaf children’s rights to family, community, education and independence in developing countries

DEAF CHILDREN WORLDWIDE
November 2020

Expand view

This report highlights the specific barriers facing deaf children and young people and demonstrates a number of smallscale approaches and initiatives that have succeeded in breaking down some of these barriers.

Topics are:

  • Language and communication. Early diagnosis and support (example from Bangladesh). Effective and affordable hearing technology. Communication choices. What is sign language? Tanzanian Sign Language – the need for more interpreters
  • Families. Early diagnosis and support. Upskilling parents and primary caregivers. Power to the parents (example from Uganda). Catalyst for change (example from India). 
  • Communities. Deaf role models (example from Bangladesh). Challenging the public and professionals. Educating the police force (example from India). Sharing knowledge across organisations
  • Education. Intensive communication. Extra help in the classroom (example from Kenya). Making secondary education accessible. Developing sign language skills. Inclusive further and higher education
  • Independence. Listening to deaf young people. Involving deaf young people in research. Support to make informed choices. Challenging perceptions in the workplace (example from Kenya)

 

 

CitizEMPOWER: The importance of supporting inclusive citizen-generated data initiatives

LEONARD CHESHIRE
October 2020

Expand view

These recommendations provide guidance on how to ensure more inclusive and effective implementation of Citizen Generated Data (CGD) initiatives and partnerships that engage communities effectively, and especially young people, persons with disabilities and civil rights defenders.

 

The recommendations focus on:

Inclusive Partnerships and Effective Collaboration including a "Spotlight from Uganda: Using WG questions in the national census"

Data Access and Disaggregation including a "Spotlight from Madagascar: Youth generated data and accountability"

Resourcing and Funding including a "Spotlight from International Non Government Organisations: Using Washington Group Questions (WGQ) in humanitarian and development settings"

Disability Inclusion Helpdesk Report : What works in mental health services and community interventions to support people with mental health conditions and psychosocial disabilities: a rapid evidence review

MILLS, China
AHLENBÄCK, Veronica
HAEGEMAN, Emma
September 2019

Expand view

Summaries on the findings from the following queries:

What works to develop quality services and community interventions to support people with mental health conditions and psychosocial disabilities and wellbeing for all, across the lifecycle?

What are examples of effective interventions in this area?

Disability : making CLTS fully inclusive

WILBUR, Jane
JONES, Hazel
2014

Expand view

This issue of Frontiers of CTLS (Community led total sanitation) focuses on “people with disabilities and particular needs for access to sanitation. There are many forms of disability, including mobility impairments, sensory impairments (affecting sight or hearing), chronic illness, impairments caused by older age or mental health issues.  People affected tend not to be present at triggering, to lack voice in the community, to have their needs overlooked, and may even be hidden by their families. This issue outlines the reality of the experiences of disabled people, the varied nature of their needs and how they can be met. It includes practical recommendations for people engaged in CLTS to make the different phases and processes of CLTS more inclusive”

Frontiers of CLTS : innovations and insights, Issue 03

A video and presentation is also available

Developing intervention strategies to improve community health worker motivation and performance

FRANK, Tine
KALLANDER, Karin
2012

Expand view

"This 28-page learning paper describes Malaria Consortium’s experience with Integrated Community Case Management (ICCM) in malaria prevention and treatment in Mozambique and Uganda. ICCM is an approach where community-based health workers are trained to identify, treat, and refer complex cases malaria (and other diseases) in children"
The Learning Series Papers

Breaking the silence : violence against children with disabilities in Africa

AFRICAN CHILD POLICY FORUM (ACPD)
2010

Expand view

This report highlights violence against children with disabilities in five study African countries: Cameroon, Ethiopia, Senegal, Uganda and Zambia. The report notes that there is widespread apathy and negligence at state, local and community levels, and highlights a lack of financial and medical aid, inadequate and inaccessible state facilities and systems, and insufficient community understanding. The study report documents the negative effect this has on children with disabilities and makes a number of recommendations to help improve the situation

Integrating multiple gender strategies to improve HIV and AIDS interventions : a compendium of programs in Africa

INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR RESEARCH ON WOMEN
May 2009

Expand view

This report looks at how four specific gender strategies are being used in HIV and AIDS intervention programmes, how they are working, and how people are learning from and sharing their experiences toward strengthening programmes and expanding successes. A number of programmes in 11 African countries, as well as multi-country programmes are examined. The four gender strategies are: - Reducing gender-based violence; - Increasing women‘s legal protection; - Addressing male norms and behaviours, and - Strategies to increase women‘s income and productive resources.

A handbook for network support agents and other community workers supporting HIV prevention, care, support and treatment

March 2009

Expand view

This manual is intended to help network support agents and other community workers be more effective in disseminating standardised information about HIV and AIDS. It "...emphasises the importance of the acquisition of knowledge, skills and the right attitude needed to identify the psychosocial needs of people of people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS and address these needs by giving information, counselling and appropriate referrals. Knowledge of counselling and psychosocial care, is combined as much as possible with prevention activities such as adopting HIV basic care positive prevention and adherence to treatment"

Best practices in the socio-economic rehabilitation of persons affected by leprosy and other marginalised people in their communities: findings from nine evaluations in Bangladesh, India and Africa

VELEEMA, Johan P
2008

Expand view

This paper presents an overview of findings from the formal evaluation of 9 socio-economic rehabilitation programmes (SER), in 4 countries in Africa, in Bangladesh and in India from 2002-2005. Bringing together the recommendations resulted in a description of best practices in the implementation of socio-economic rehabilitation programmes, derived from actual experiences in different contexts.

All the 9 programmes focused on supporting individual leprosy-affected beneficiaries or their families. Four projects also supported other marginalised clients. The usual interventions were micro-credit, housing and sponsoring of education for the children.

The recommendations touched upon each of the five steps in individual rehabilitation: Selection of clients, needs assessment, choosing an intervention, monitoring / follow--up of clients during rehabilitation, and separation at the end of the rehabilitation process. The evaluators also suggested ways in which participation of the client in their own rehabilitation might be boosted, made recommendations for the organisational structure of programmes, on maximising community involvement and emphasised the importance of information systems and of investing in the programme staff. A number of recommendations were specific to the types of interventions implemented i.e, housing, education or micro-credit.

Evidence of the impact of SER on the quality of life of clients is limited, but suggests increased self-esteem and increased respect/status in the family and community.

 

Asia Pacific Disability Rehabilitation Journal, vol.19, no.1, 2008

Move together now! Community and youth mobilisation for HIV prevention among young people in Uganda

MINISTRY OF GENDER, LABOUR AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
2008

Expand view

This guide covers basic ideas on community mobilisation, youth participation and participatory tools with examples from Africa. It aims to equip users with competencies to develop the capacity of communities and young people to work together to address sexual and reproductive health (including HIV) needs of young people in Uganda. It provides tools and processes for mobilising young people and communities at various stages and planning activities for HIV prevention

Community-based worker systems : guidelines for practitioners

MBULLU, Patrick
et al
September 2007

Expand view

These guidelines aim to assist practitioners and implementing partners to run Community Based Worker systems (CBW) more effectively, maximising impacts to clients of the service, empowering communities, empowering the CBWs themselves, and assisting governments to ensure that services are provided at scale to enhance livelihoods

Joining hands: integrating gender and HIV/AIDS: report of an ACORD project using Stepping Stones in Angola, Tanzania and Uganda

HADJIPATERAS, Angela
et al
July 2007

Expand view

This is the report of a two-year project to reduce the vulnerability of women and girls in Africa to HIV and AIDS, using Stepping Stones - a gender-focused participatory process that involves working closely with peer groups. The project's other objectives were to: build the capacity of local structures to respond; promote community responses through effective partnerships and advocacy actions; and find out whether Stepping Stones could be used effectively in unconventional settings with a range of population groups such as the nomadic Mucubai tribe in Southern Angola, internally displaced people living in camps in Northern Uganda, and the 21st Battalion of the Angolan armed forces. Key findings include: improvements in the level of knowledge and understanding of HIV/AIDS and increased communication around sexual issues and between couples and within communities, across all three countries, as well as an increased sense of community responsibility for HIV and AIDS. In addition there was patchy evidence of stigma reduction and some reduction in risky cultural and sexual practices. Although increased respect for women, including self respect and a reduction in gender violence was also noted, female subordination in decision making and control over resources remains. Stepping Stones was on the whole considered to be adaptable for use in a wide range of contexts although more thought was needed to develop effective strategies to combat obstacles when using this process in some circumstances

Another way to learn : case studies

UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION
2007

Expand view

These case studies come from an initiative that supports non-formal education projects in Africa, South Asia, the Caribbean and Latin America. The long-term goal of these projects is to develop sustainable livelihoods for low-income, low-literate populations by addressing vulnerability to HIV and AIDS and drug misuse, a lack of education and social exclusion. Central to all of these projects are the creative and innovative methods used to communicate in a meaningful way, engage people and encourage their participation. The projects all focus on capacity building, empowerment, and creating learning opportunities. A DVD has been produced to accompany this publication

Programming experiences in early childhood development

UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN'S FUND (UNICEF)
November 2006

Expand view

This document presents examples and case studies from 21 countries. They demonstrate the benefit of cross-sectoral programming to support early childhood development, some building on early child care or education programme

RBM communications assessment : challenges and opportunities in Ghana, Mali, Senegal, Tanzania and Uganda

SHUFFELL, Sara
2004

Expand view

This report is from an assessment carried out between October 2002 and April 2003 in Ghana, Mali, Senegal, Tanzania and Uganda. It was part of a Roll Back Malaria Communications Assessment as an initial stage in the process to develop effective and inclusive national malaria communication strategies in RBM participating countries across Africa. It notes the challenges that are raised in the context of development communications in Africa: the absence of basic malaria communications strategies, poor visibility of National Malaria Control Programmes, and lack of regional coordination and information sharing to name a few. There are, however, many opportunities to develop better malaria communications listed in the report

Mobilising the community : a PILLARS guide

CARTER, Isabel
2003

Expand view

This guide looks at an example of community mobilisation that is based on using outside facilitators and workshops. However, recognising that resources to employ external facilitators and run such workshops may not be available, it takes the basis of the mobilisation process and shares it in a way that will help a well-organised and motivated group to use the process without outside help. It looks at participatory methodologies that can be used to focus on key community issues, how to gather information, presenting information and planning the action. It will be helpful to small groups or NGOs seeking to bring changes that benefit local people

Understanding community responses to the situation of children affected by AIDS : lessons for external agencies. Draft paper prepared for the UNRISD project HIV/AIDS and Development

FOSTER, Geoff
March 2002

Expand view

This is a key report that documents community responses and coping mechanisms towards the HIV/AIDS pandemic in relation to children affected by AIDS (CABA) and orphans and vulnerable children (OVC). Fostering families are under enormous strain and local initiatives at the community level have been little studied or documented, and few organisations have sought to encourage their development. The paper analyses some of these initiatives and encourages external agencies to support them through building the capacity of local responses rather than imposing external solutions

Children with hydrocephalus and spina bifida in East Africa : can family and community resources improve the odds?

MILES, M
2002

Expand view

Hydrocephalus and spina bifida are life threatening conditions that often result in severe dsabilities. Risks are much reduced by immediate surgery and careful managment, but neither has been available for most of the sub-Saharan African population. This paper traces the growth of solutions and some socio-cultural resources that historically have supported family and community care for children with severe disabilities, mainly in Tanzania, and nearby countries. Some community-based rehabilitation (CBR) work with children with spina bifida and hydrocephalus is described, and challenges to the CBR approach are noted from the increased survival of people with disabilities requiring complex care. More appropriate information, recognition of indigenous knowledge, enlistment of community resources and financial assistance are needed to enhance the lives of East Africans with hydrocephalus, spina bifida and other severely disabling conditions

Pages

E-bulletin