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This report is based on the results of a global consultation carried out in 2015 as a contribution to the World Humanitarian Summit and is intended to better identify the changes needed for a disability inclusive humanitarian response. A total of 769 responses were collected through 3 online surveys targeting persons with disabilities, disabled people's organisations (DPOs) and humanitarian actors. The results demonstrate that while most humanitarian actors pledge to target vulnerable persons in crisis time, few of them are putting in place specific mechanisms and procedures to effectively reach to, and taking into account, persons with disabilities in their programmes. Addressing these challenges is a human right imperative and has also to do with an effective implementation of principled humanitarian aid. This ambition requires changes in policies and practices within the humanitarian community as a whole

Through a series of focus group discussions conducted in northern and central Vietnam, this study gives voice to the lived economic experience of families with disabilities and how
they manage the economic challenges associated with disability. The dynamic of low and unstable income combined with on-going health care and other disability-related costs
gives rise to a range of coping mechanisms (borrowing, reducing and foregoing expenditures, drawing upon savings and substituting labour) that helps to maintain living standards
in the short-run yet threatens the longer-term welfare of both the individual with disability and their household. Current social protection programs were reported as not accessible to
all and while addressing some immediate economic costs of disability, do not successfully meet current needs nor accommodate wider barriers to availing benefits.

This issue of the Design for All Institute of India’s monthly newsletter higlights universal design process in Thailand. A range of topics are discussed, such as, universal design, related research, accessibility in places of worship and classrooms, and individual perspectives on accessibility from a wheelchair-user and a person with a visual impairment

Vol 10, No 6

This is the second Technical Report in a three part series, 'Promoting the Inclusion of People with Disabilities in Disaster Management in Indonesia'. This Technical Report details the Capacity Building component of the Promoting the Inclusion of People with Disabilities in Disaster Management in Indonesia project. This project was funded by the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Australian Development and Research Awards Scheme 2013-2015. This award scheme promotes research and development programs through collaboration between researchers in Australia and elsewhere and INGOs and NGOs in country

Relevant to capacity building, two aims of the Promoting the Inclusion of People with Disabilities in Disaster Management in Indonesia project were:

1. To increase the understanding of people with disabilities of Disaster Risk Reduction and their capacity to engage with Disaster Risk Reduction policy; and,

2. To understand and subsequently inform the knowledge base of village volunteers (Kaders subsequently referred to as cadres) and DRR administrators about DiDRR at local and national levels in Indonesia

The exploratory quantitative study sought to develop an understanding about the relationships among disability, gender and employment in Northern Ghana. A total of 110 individuals with disabilities (20–60 years) from various disability groups participated in the study. The results indicate that many persons with disabilities are unemployed, the majority being women. Discrimination is cited as the greatest barrier to the employment of persons with disabilities, particularly women. The majority of persons with disabilities, typically women, live in poverty; given that some are unemployed and those who are employed worked mostly in marginal, seasonal and menial jobs. Persons with disabilities also experience several challenges on the job, including negative perceptions about their capabilities, discrimination and exclusion, irrespective of the employment sector and disability type. Educational interventions such as workshops, documenting and showcasing success stories of persons with disabilities could be helpful to reduce negative perceptions about their capabilities as well as discrimination against them. Government intervention to support persons with disabilities with start-up capital and funding for formal education is also recommended as these two elements were identified respectively as barriers to self-employment and employment in the public/private sectors. Government interventions to create educational opportunities for persons with disabilities are essential given that lower educational attainment affect their employment.

While humanitarian organizations are increasingly recognizing women and girls with disabilities in policies and guidelines, there are still significant gaps in operationalizing this. Their needs and capacities are often under-represented in gender, protection and disability forums. Furthermore, organizations of women with disabilities, which can play a critical role in bridging the development/humanitarian divide, are not meaningfully included in humanitarian coordination and decision-making.

This report documents findings and recommendations from a participatory action research project on disability inclusion in GBV programming in humanitarian settings, conducted with communities affected by crisis and conflict.

This toolkit was created with the input and participation of persons with disabilities, as well as GBV practitioners,
over the course of the project. It is intended to support GBV staff to build disability inclusion into their work, and
to strengthen the capacity of GBV practitioners to use a survivor-centered approach when providing services to
survivors with disabilities. The tools are designed to complement existing guidelines, protocols and tools for GBV
prevention and response, and should not be used in isolation from these. GBV practitioners are encouraged to
adapt the tools to their individual programs and contexts, and to integrate pieces into standard GBV tools and
resources.

Purpose: To report the development of user-defined, multidimensional, psychometrically sound Quality of Life questionnaires – Impact of Hearing Loss on Children – IHL-C 69 and Brief IHL-C for children with hearing loss, in two languages -Tamil and English.

Methods: 421 problem statements from previous qualitative studies were reduced to a 220-item questionnaire with 7 domains (educational implications, social integration, psycho-social well-being, speech, language and communication, family relationships, leisure time activities and general functioning). After field testing, the domain of leisure time activities was dropped, resulting in a 103-item self-administered questionnaire with 6 domains. This 103-item questionnaire was translated from Tamil to English, and self-administered by children with hearing loss (11-18 years of age) in Special schools (n=100) and Integrated schools (n=100), as well as by normal controls in Integrated schools (n=200). Standard methods were used for item reduction and to evaluate psychometric properties.

Results: Psychometric item reduction produced the 69-item IHL-C69 (long version) and 48- item Brief IHL-C (brief version) questionnaires. Psychometric evaluation showed that all the domains of both the questionnaires had good acceptability, high internal consistency (alpha >0.80; intrinsic validity >0.80) and test-retest reliability (0.86).The questionnaires significantly distinguished between the children with hearing loss and the normal controls. The domains of both the questionnaires showed moderate evidence of convergent validity, and discriminant validity derived through hypotheses testing showed mixed results. The translation validity was also determined.

Conclusion: The IHL-C 69 and Brief IHL-C are reliable and valid user-defined, multidimensional questionnaires, available for the first time in both Tamil and English languagesin Tamil Nadu, India. Designed to analyse the impact of hearing loss and to determine the quality of life of children with hearing loss, the questionnaires could be used to prioritise the goals for rehabilitation intervention for these children.

This research paper focuses upon the situation faced by disabled asylum seekers and refugees with disabilities in the immigration detention centres of Australia, both onshore and offshore facilities. It presents the results of the current system of detention of refugees and highlights if  the current system discriminates against disabled refugees, and is biased against their needs and human rights

Collection of data about disability in a census or survey context is influenced by the cultural context, particularly the beliefs and practices within the communities where the data are collected. Attitudes toward individuals with disability will influence what questions are asked, how such questions are framed, and how individuals in the community will respond to these questions. This article examines how culturally defined concepts of disability influence the development of questions on the topic, as well as helps determine who asks the questions and who answers the questions. These issues in turn influence how much data are collected and how accurate the data are. It also examines how ethnic diversity and poverty contribute to these questions. Recommendations for attention to these issues are made by census and survey.