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The Out-of-School Children Initiative (OOSCI) aims to support countries in their study and analysis of out-of-school children and children who are at risk of dropping out by using innovative statistical methods to develop comprehensive profiles of excluded children, linking these profiles to the barriers that lead to exclusion, and identifying, promoting and implementing sound policies that address exclusion often from a multi-sectoral perspective. The manual aims to provide concise and powerful tools for achieving this goal. 

OOSCI studies are intended to stimulate policy changes and enable governments to target their strategies for reaching out-of-school children. By using a systematic approach to identifying out-of-school children and analysing the associated issues, the studies can guide education sector reforms that will help bring all children into school.

Objective: To systematically review evidence on the prevalence and risk of disabilities among children and adults living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa.

Methods: Articles were identified from 1980 to June 2013 through searching seven electronic databases. Epidemiological studies conducted in sub-Saharan Africa that explored the association between HIV status and general disability or specific impairments, with or without an HIVuninfected comparison group, were eligible for inclusion.

Results: Of 12 867 records initially identified, 61 papers were deemed eligible for inclusion. The prevalence of disability was high across age groups, impairment types and study locations. Furthermore, 73% of studies using an HIV- comparator found significantly lower levels of functioning in people living with HIV (PLHIV). By disability type, the results were as follows: (i) for studies measuring physical impairments (n = 14), median prevalence of limitations in mobility and motor function among PLHIV was 25.0% (95% CI: 21.8–28.2%). Five of eight comparator studies found significantly reduced functioning among PLHIV; for arthritis, two of three studies which used an HIV- comparison group found significantly increased prevalence among PLHIV; (ii) for sensory impairment studies (n = 17), median prevalence of visual impairment was 11.2% (95%CI: 9.5– 13.1%) and hearing impairment was 24.1% (95%CI: 19.2–29.0%) in PLHIV. Significantly increased prevalence among PLHIV was found in one of four (vision) and three of three studies (hearing) with comparators; (iii) for cognitive impairment in adults (n = 30), median prevalence for dementia was 25.3% (95% CI: 22.0–28.6%) and 40.9% (95% CI: 37.7–44.1%) for general cognitive impairment. Across all types of cognitive impairment, twelve of fourteen studies found a significant detrimental effect of HIV infection; (iv) for developmental delay in children with HIV (n = 20), median prevalence of motor delay was 67.7% (95% CI: 62.2–73.2%). All nine studies that included a comparator found a significant difference between PLHIV and controls; for cognitive development and global delay, a significant detrimental effect of HIV was found in five of six and one of two studies, respectively. In the nine cohort studies comparing vertically infected and uninfected children, eight showed a significant gap in development over time in children with HIV. Finally, fifteen of thirty-one (48%) studies found a statistically significant dose–response relationship between indicators of disease progression (CD4 or WHO stage) and disability.

Conclusions: HIV is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa and the evidence suggests that it is linked to disabilities, affecting a range of body structures and functions. More research is needed to better understand the implications of HIV-related disability for individuals, their families as well as those working in the fields of disability and HIV so that appropriate interventions can be developed.

This report contains WHO’s annual compilation of health-related data for its 194 Member States, and includes a summary of the progress made towards achieving the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and associated targets

The purpose of the Global Strategy and Action Plan on Ageing and Health 2016-2020 is “to define the goals, strategies, and activities that WHO (its Member States and secretariat) will pursue on ageing and health, and to clearly lay these out as a global framework for public health action relevant to low-, middle-, and high-income settings ”

This note concerns monitoring and evaluation of disability and inclusion in light of the sustainable development goals. The note identifies steps which can be taken by individual countries and the international community as a whole to address the gaps in data disaggregation and collection concerning people with disabilities. The note concludes with a discussion of possible ways forward for better monitoring and evaluation for disability inclusion in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

As we move from the era of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) it is important to consider how development agendas are set, the progress that has been made over the past 15 years, and how current debates are shaping global development efforts for the next 15.

This book was, produced as part of a University College London-London International Development Centre research collaboration entitled, Thinking Beyond Sectors for Sustainable Development. The aim of the book is to provide a concise introduction to the debates in a number of vital development sectors, review progress made in each sector, and to consider how looking beyond sectors might open new opportunities for inclusive, sustainable development.

Each chapter in this book was produced collaboratively by academics from a wide number of disciplines. As such, it represents a truly interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral effort, of the kind that will be necessary for successful development and implementation of future international development goals.

This report presents a summary of the findings of a study that developed and tested a best-practice population-based survey methodology to estimate the prevalence of disability in children and adults in India, and compared the extent to which people with and without disabilities access key mainstream services and opportunities including health, education and livelihoods in Telengana State, India

This report presents a summary of the findings of a study that developed and tested a best-practice population-based survey methodology to estimate the prevalence of disability in children and adults in Cameroon, and compared the extent to which people with and without disabilities access key mainstream services and opportunities including health, education and livelihoods in north west Cameroon

This research summary report presents of methodological recommendations for measuring disability in a comprehensive and comparable way