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SOUTH SUDAN. Protection Analysis Update. Protection risks facing persons with disabilities and older persons

GLOBAL PROTECTION CLUSTER, UNHCR
October 2023

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This South Sudan Protection Analysis Update places a thematic focus on protection risks facing persons with disabilities and older persons.

The most recent census reported that 5% of the population in South Sudan, or approximately 424,000 people, were living with a disability. However, the current number is likely to be much higher, possibly reaching 1.2 million people, or 16% of the population, according to the global estimate. Data in South Sudan also suggests a rapid increase in the number of older persons each year, mounting to 5.1% of total population with this percentage expected to continue to steadily increase.

People with disabilities and older people in South Sudan are often excluded and face multiple challenges in accessing essential services and protection. Decades of civil war have increased the number of older people and persons with disabilities who are being left behind as they are unable to flee due to chronic health conditions and mobility impairments. People who have managed to flee the violence are often faced with barriers accessing protection and health services. Therefore, older people with and without disabilities in South Sudan face higher risks and greater challenges in getting the necessary humanitarian assistance.

The impact of corruption on the rights of persons with disabilities

ATLAS ALLIANCE
September 2023

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Corruption and discrimination go hand in hand. In 2021, Transparency International and the Equal Rights Trust published a report highlighting how corruption and discrimination reinforce each other, leaving marginalized groups with little room to access public services, exercise their human rights, and live their lives with dignity. In this seminar organized by Norad, CMI/U4 and the Atlas Alliance collectively, researchers and DPO representatives discuss research findings and the situation as lived experience for persons with disabilities.

Persons with disabilities and climate change in Nepal: Humanitarian impacts and pathways for inclusive climate action

Jennifer M'Vouama, Humanity & Inclusion (HI)
Mosharraf Hossain, Team Leader, Global Inclusion Consulting Ltd
Sukharanjan Sutter, IRG Development Services Limited
Mahesh Ghimire, local consultant, Nepal
August 2023

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Climate change is affecting every region on Earth and already causing irreversible impacts. While it is a global phenomenon, its negative impacts are felt more intensely by poorer countries and poor communities heavily reliant on natural resources and lacking coping and adaptive capacities to deal with a changing climate. Within those poor communities and countries, persons with disabilities are often amongst the most marginalized people. They experience attitudinal, physical and communication barriers that undermine their access to services and opportunities supporting their well-being and resilience. For this reason, they tend to be disproportionately vulnerable to climate impacts, including more frequent and intense disasters, as those exacerbate pre-existing vulnerabilities. Yet, while it is acknowledged that climate change will exacerbate inequity should we fail to ensure inclusive and participatory decision-making processes in climate governance, disability inclusion in climate action largely remains marginally addressed. Persons with disabilities have been historically left out of climate responses at various levels, from local and national country plans to global negotiations occurring at the UN Conferences of the Parties1 (COP).


Nepal is experiencing an increasing number of climate-related disasters, with a global study ranking it as the fourth worst hit country in the world by weather-related loss events in 20172. Urban floods, landslides, extreme heat, storms, drought, and wildfires are very common climate disasters affecting communities across the country, especially rural populations and their natural resource-dependent livelihoods. Nepal’s vulnerability to climate change lies in its varied topography marked by steep terrain and remoteness, its diverse geo-climatic system and social vulnerability, exacerbated by challenges to deliver effective and comprehensive disaster risk reduction and management strategies. To address this serious threat to economic development and prosperity, Nepal has put in place a rich overarching climate change policy framework early on, encompassing dedicated policies and plans, as well as sectoral planning processes integrating climate resilience. Nepal has also established various leadership, coordination, and stakeholder engagement mechanisms to guide climate change policymaking, articulate implementation across the government’s three-tier federal structure, and ensure dialogue with key stakeholders including civil society actors.

Endorsed in 2011, Nepal’s Framework on Local Adaptation Plans for Action (LAPA) is a particularly praised initiative, promoting a bottom-up, inclusive, and flexible approach for integrating climate adaptation and resilience aspects into local planning. This pioneering, community driven process, places the adaptation needs and opportunities of most vulnerable and highly vulnerable groups at the heart of the approach. Gender considerations factoring intersecting factors of marginalization such as age and ethnicity have been given priority in these processes, to address women’s increasing economic insecurity and workload due to climate change. But inclusion of women with disabilities, or persons with disabilities in general in local adaptation planning has not been strongly evidenced to date.


According to Nepal Census 2022, 2.2% of the Nepali Population have some form of disability, mainly a physical disability. However, other sources estimate this figure to be much higher. Nepal ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in 2008 and passed the Disability Rights Act in 2017, establishing constitutional directives to support persons with disabilities and making it illegal to discriminate based on disability. Yet, perception of persons with disability in Nepal remains generally negative, due to persistent and deep-rooted Hindu religious beliefs associating disability with sinning in a previous life. Women and girls with disability face greater marginalization and discrimination and tend to be hidden away by families. Nepal’s caste system also plays a role in shaping the vulnerability of persons with disabilities. Thus, widespread stigma compounded by the intersectionality of certain factors, combined with structural inaccessibility, create significant barriers to have equal access to resources and participate in decision-making. This tends to translate into poor socio-economic status, poor health outcomes, and no or low education levels, especially among women and girls. Persons with disabilities in Nepal can register under social welfare to access several disability-targeted benefit packages, including a Disability Grant. However, the process tends to be paved with barriers, leading to high exclusion rates.
It is in this context that HI sought to better understand the unique challenges and opportunities for persons with disabilities in the face of climate change in Nepal. This report is intended to inform how persons with disabilities understand and perceive climate change, what is their experience of dealing with climate extremes, what is the impact on their health, livelihoods and support system, and their actual level of inclusion in climate adaptation planning. To capture those perspectives, HI surveyed 388 persons with disabilities across Nepal’s 7 provinces, consulted 20 key informants from the disability movement, government institutions, and the aid sector, and conducted 8 targeted focus group discussions to hear from women, youth, and persons representing diverse disability types. This report is a contribution to the growing evidence base documenting the disproportionate impacts of climate change on persons with disabilities and calling for disability-inclusive climate action at all levels of governance.

Strengthening rehabilitation in health emergency preparedness, readiness, response and resilience: policy brief

Pete Skelton
et al
July 2023

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Strengthening rehabilitation in health emergency preparedness, response, and resilience: policy brief outlines the evidence for rehabilitation in emergencies and the need for greater preparedness of rehabilitation services. It shows how existing guidelines support the integration of rehabilitation in emergencies and sets out the steps that decision-makers can take to better integrate rehabilitation into health emergency preparedness and response.

Case studies are provided from Japan, Nepal, Phillipines, Australian and Sweden

Mainstreaming Disability Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction (DIDDR) in Community Based Inclusive Development: A Situation Analysis

GRECH, Shaun
July 2023

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Two publications, developed with the University of Cape Town, aim to provide development practitioners and organisations with the tools they need to ensure that a disability inclusive approach to disaster risk reduction can be integrated into all community development programmes.

A situation analysis reviews the situation and outlines the extent to which DIDRR is infused within CBID. The study points out the barriers in place and highlights the opportunities available to facilitate the process of mainstreaming DIDRR, which means building DIDRR into the core of community development programmes as opposed to these disciplines operating in separate spheres. This mainstreaming will not only ensure greater preparedness for disasters, but also protection of the gains made in community development programmes.

A major outcome of this study is a new set of guidelines for practice on the mainstreaming of DIDRR in community development: Mainstreaming DIDRR in CBID – Guidance for Planning and Practice

Mainstreaming Disability Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction (DIDRR) in Community Development: Guidance for Planning and Practice.

GRECH, Shaun
July 2023

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Two new publications, developed with the University of Cape Town, aim to provide development practitioners and organisations with the tools they need to ensure that a disability inclusive approach to disaster risk reduction can be integrated into all community development programmes. A situation analysis reviews the situation and outlines the extent to which DIDRR is infused within CBID. 

A major outcome of this study is a new set of guidelines for practice on the mainstreaming of DIDRR in community development: Mainstreaming DIDRR in CBID – Guidance for Planning and Practice. In twenty action points, the guide provides pointers for practitioners on how community-based initiatives can become more informed about disasters and start mainstreaming DIDRR. It aims to stimulate reflection at multiple stages, from project planning to implementation and monitoring, to ensure DIDRR becomes an integral part of community-based programmes, in an effective, sensitive and responsive way.

The guidelines are available to download either as one document or as 20 separate action points.

 

 

 

Prevention against emerging infectious diseases: An Opportunity for Inclusive Health. Understanding the behavioural and social drivers (BeSD) of COVID-19 vaccination among persons with disabilities in Internally Displaced camps in Somalia/Somaliland

ZIVERI, Davide
ABDULLAHI, Hawaa
July 2023

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In close collaboration with the World Health Organization, Humanity & Inclusion adapted and piloted WHO’s behavioural and social drivers (BeSD) of vaccination tools to understand and analyze the perception of COVID-19 vaccines as well as the barriers and drivers of immunization among persons with disabilities in a humanitarian setting in Somalia/Somaliland. This study was funded by the Universal Health Coverage and Life Course (UHL) division of the Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals (IVB) department of the World Health Organization, Geneva. Humanity & Inclusion also carried out a Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) project, contributing to the inquiry phase described in this report, to foster the right to health as well as access to COVID-19 vaccination in Somalia/Somaliland, funded by the Center for Disaster Philanthropy.

 

RS I FP I 44

Who is disabled? On whether the functional definition of disability targets the same individuals as the subjective definition

Judith Baart
Willem Elbers
Alice Schippers
May 2023

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With the increased attention to disability as a vulnerability criterion in the Sustainable Development Goals, international organizations and NGOs within the international development sector have started to pay explicit attention to persons with disabilities, including the collection of data on persons with disabilities. The Washington Group Short Set of Questions, which focuses on functional limitations, has been gaining popularity as an assessment tool for disability. This set of questions reflects a categorization of disability that does not necessarily correspond with subjective disability assessments, such as the yes/no question (“do you have a disability?”) which many development actors have used in their assessment tools when they collect disability data This study compares the subjective and the functional limitations assessment tools for disability to answer the question: do they identify the same individuals as persons with disabilities? Based on a survey carried out amongst persons with disabilities in Cambodia, we included both the Washington Group Short Set and a subjective question asking respondents to self-identify their disability type. We find that, although all respondents self-identified as disabled, not all respondents would be considered disabled according to the Washington Group Short Set of questions. In addition, there is little overlap between specific disability types according to a subjective classification method and the domains of functioning measured through the Washington Group methodology. Our findings affirm that categorization as abled or disabled depends on the tool used. This is important, as the assessment approach chosen by those collecting disability data can shape the design choices of policies and programs, and determine who benefits.

Inclusive Education Resources and Toolkit – Tools

CRESPI, Sylvia
LOSERT, Lynn
NEWMAN, Lorenzo
PELOSI, Alice
PONTOGOLIO, Silvia
September 2022

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Set of tools developed by Learn More consultancy firm within the Inclusive Education Resources and Toolkit. Available in 4 languages (Arabic, English, French, Spanish) the tools include:

 

Identifying children who are out of school or have dropped out
Making an Inclusive, Learner-friendly Classroom
Social and Emotional Learning in the Classroom
Accessible School WASH Checklist
Tip sheet: WASH for Children with Disabilities
Teachers Communities of Practice
Teacher Interview Guide: Personal Professional Development
A Lesson Plan Template
Universal Design for Learning
Organization and Management of School-community Liaison Committees
Elements of an Inclusive School Policy
Supporting Children’s Speech and Cognitive Development from Birth to Seven Years Old
Sparking grassroots coalition building
Disabled Peoples’ Organization (DPO) collaboration strategies
Stakeholder alignment workshop template

 

Published by Save the Children Italy, Save the Children Sweden

Assistive Technology in two humanitarian contexts: Bangladesh and Jordan

KETT, Maria
June 2022

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Despite increased focus on the need for assistive technology (AT), along with estimates of need and gaps in provision in humanitarian contexts, very little is actually known about how people who need AT are managing in these contexts. To address this need, this study explored four main questions: 

What do we currently know about the need for AT in humanitarian contexts?
How is this need currently met?
What gaps are there in the evidence about these needs?
What mechanisms are needed to ensure provision of AT in humanitarian contexts? 

It explored these questions through individual interviews with AT users and their families, as well as people working in the sector, in two humanitarian response contexts: Bangladesh and Jordan. In Bangladesh, we partnered with CBM Global and their local partner, the Centre for Disability in Development, and in Jordan, all those interviewed were beneficiaries of HelpAge International.

The questions focused on the areas identified as gaps in the initial literature review, and used qualitative methodologies to probe and gain further insight into gaps across the entire AT ecosystem.

Supporting young children with disabilities in humanitarian settings

BEILER, ROSALENGA BERMAN
ZUIDEMA, SUZANNE
BECKERLEGGE, FIONA
RODRIGUEZ GARCIA, DEBORAH MARIE
June 2022

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The rapid growth that occurs in the first years of life provides an opportunity to influence and improve developmental outcomes that may impact the entire course of an individual's life. Addressing the developmental needs of children with disabilities during this critical period is essential if they are to survive, flourish, learn, and be empowered (WHO, n.d.). 

Recognizing the importance of addressing all children's unique needs and acknowledging the influence of social stigma and misconceptions about disability that may lead to underdeveloped potential and social exclusion, we seek to advocate for and support the inclusion of young children with disabilities in Early Childhood Development in Emergencies programming. 

The webinar was moderated by Rosangela Berman Bieler, UNICEF’s Global Advisor on Disability, and included presentations on foundational concepts for disabilities-inclusive programming, and alternatives to address young children with disabilities needs in a resourceful, creative manner. 

Disability inclusive employment in urban Malawi: A multi-perspective interview study

REMNANT, Jennifer
WANGGREN, Lena
HUQUE, Sarah
SANG, Katherine
KACHALI, Limbani
RICHARDS, James
June 2022

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The paper presents interview data from Malawian government representatives, trade unionists, employers and people with disabilities from the country's largest cities Lilongwe and Blantyre. Findings relate to the gap between the discourse of employers and government officials and that of workers with disabilities. Firstly, we find a policy-based assumption of a formalised workforce that is not representative of the predominantly informal disabled workforce. Secondly, the disruptive, intermittent and oftenreactive nature of non-governmental organisation (NGO ) interventions can limit long-term inclusivity agendas and undermine the work of disabled activists in Malawi. Lastly, we present findings on the stigmatised nature of disability in these urban centres. We find that stigma is economic: Urban workers with disabilities are discriminated against locally by employers, landlords and banks on assumptions they will not produce or earn enough to meet productivity demands, rent or repayment costs.

 

Journal of International Development, Volume 34, Issue 5

https://doi.org/10.1002/jid.3678

"We bear it and accept our fate” Perceptions of healthcare access from people with disabilities in Cox’s Bazar

PANELLA, Amanda
June 2022

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In November and December 2021, Ground Truth Solutions (GTS) and the International Organisation for Migration’s (IOM) Needs and Population Monitoring unit (NPM) conducted qualitative interviews with persons with mobility and vision impairments from Rohingya refugee and host community populations with the aim of better informing and supporting agencies in developing disability-inclusive programmes and engagement activities. These interviews focused on access to health services, aiming to gain insight into how people with disabilities experience engaging with healthcare services – as well as perceived barriers to access. It also looked at health information needs so that the humanitarian community will be better equipped to identify gaps in programming, deliver more equitable services, and build trust with this marginalised group. To weave tangible experiences into the narrative and bring findings to life, this research took a ‘user journey’ approach to create a set of ‘personas’ derived from key informant interviews with Rohingya and Host Community people with disabilities in Cox’s Bazar, resulting in this highly illustrative report.

Explosive ordnance in Syria: impact and required action

May 2022

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Explosive ordnance (EO) puts one in two people in Syria at risk of death and injury and impedes the delivery of crucial humanitarian assistance. However, the extent of EO in Syria and its devastating impact is not sufficiently known or discussed among donors and humanitarian actors. International humanitarian mine action (HMA) actors operating in Syria for over ten years have come together to address this gap, sharing data and insight from their work on the ground. They produced a report to highlight the extent of EO contamination in Syria; its devastating impact on people, vital infrastructure and provision of humanitarian assistance; the crucial activities performed by humanitarian mine action (HMA) actors; and the action required to address this issue

Towards a disability-inclusive humanitarian response in South Sudan?

FUNKE, Carolyn
DIJKZEUL, Dennis
February 2022

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The Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Guidelines on the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action (2019) set out four ‘must do’ actions to identify and respond to the needs and rights of persons with disabilities. This study investigates how humanitarian organizations implement the four ‘must do’ actions in South Sudan. It shows that mainstream and inclusion-focused organizations actively promote their implementation to make disability inclusion an integral part of humanitarian action, investing heavily in capacity-building and awareness-raising at all levels of the response. Nevertheless, serious gaps and challenges to disability inclusion remain. 

Barriers and facilitators to providing assistive technologies to children with disabilities in Afghanistan

WHITAKKER, Golnaz
WOOD, Gavin
February 2022

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Due to the impacts of the ongoing conflict, Afghanistan’s child population is at high risk of being born with or acquiring a primary or secondary disability. According to a recent estimate, up to 17 per cent of Afghanistan’s children live with some form of disability. Assistive technologies (AT) – the systems, services and products that enhance the functioning of people with impairments – are likely to be required by a large proportion of children with disabilities in Afghanistan. Afghanistan has signed and ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which includes a commitment to provide AT equitably to all who need it. However, little action has been taken to meet this commitment, and there continues to be a vast gap between the need for AT and its provision. This work presents the landscape of AT provision, the barriers and facilitators to provision, and provides recommendations to begin to close the gap. 

Semi-structured interviews were conducted to build on the evidence in the literature, and to understand the factors affecting AT provision in Afghanistan

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.

Assistive Technology in urban low-income communities in Sierra Leone & Indonesia: Rapid Assistive Technology Assessment (rATA) survey results

CAREW, Mark
WALKER, Julian
OSSUL-VERMEHREN, Ignacia
BARTLETT DEVELOPMENT PLANNING
January 2022

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It is estimated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that 15% of the world's population has a disability and one billion people need one or more Assistive Products (AP) but as little as one in ten have access to the device they need. There is however very little data to define this need for AP in low-resource settings. 

To contribute to the knowledge gap, the findings from the surveys presented in this report give a unique insight into disability prevalence and access to AT in five urban low-income communities in Sierra Leone and Indonesia, where a total of 4,256 individuals were surveyed using the rATA tool.

The rATA tool is designed for the rapid evaluation of the need, use, supply and impact of AT, Rapid Assistive Technology Assessment (rATA) is a new survey from WHO. A version modified by the Development Planning Unit-University College London (DPUUCL) was conducted in September 2019 for the research project “AT2030 community led solutions”, as part of the AT2030 programme led by Global Disability Innovation Hub.

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