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Children with disabilities in the Middle East and North Africa: A statistical overview of their well-being

UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN'S FUND (UNICEF)
October 2022

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An estimated 21 million children with disabilities live in the Middle East and North Africa. Each of them – like every child in the world – has the right to be nurtured and supported through responsive care and education, to receive adequate nutrition and social protection, and to enjoy play and leisure time. Too often, however, such rights are denied. The reasons vary. They include stigma, lack of accessible services, institutionalization and physical barriers, but the consequences are sadly consistent. When marginalized from society, the chances for these children to survive and thrive are diminished, along with their prospects for a bright future.

Monitoring the inclusion of children with disabilities in development efforts has long been held back by the lack of reliable and comprehensive data. Recent years, however, have seen renewed efforts to fill these data gaps. The development of new data collection tools has resulted in a substantial increase in the availability and quality of data on children with disabilities, fostering new analyses and contributing to increased knowledge generation.

This report is a testament to these efforts. It includes internationally comparable data from four countries in the Middle East and North Africa and covers 18 indicators of child well-being – from nutrition, health and education to protection from violence, exploitation and discrimination. It also presents global and regional estimates of children with disabilities drawn from more than 1,000 data sources, including 95 from countries in the Middle East and North Africa.

The report’s objective is to promote the use of these data to make children with disabilities in the region more visible, bringing about a fuller understanding of their life experiences. It offers evidence crucial to decision-making to fulfill obligations, both moral and legal, to give every child an equal chance in life.

The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Amid COVID-19

UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS
Ministry of Social Development
Independent Commission for Human Rights
June 2020

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This document make specific recommendations on support and protection to be provided to persons with disabilities during the COVID-19 response, and to ensure that appropriate measures are in place to maintain their active participation as well as to avoid discrimination at all levels against them

Geneva Academy briefing on Disability and armed conflict 2019

PRIDDY, Alice
April 2019

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This publication brings attention to the devastating impact conflict has on persons with disabilities and, crucially, highlights that many of the key international humanitarian law (IHL) provisions that serve to minimize the impact of armed conflict – such as the proportionality assessment and advanced effective warnings – are not being applied in a disability inclusive manner, resulting in persons with disabilities being killed, seriously injured or left behind as families flee armed attacks.

 

Research methods included a combination of: desk research; structured interviews with persons with disabilities and their representative organizations, NGOs and humanitarian personnel; and field workshops through which feedback was sought on discrete issues. 

 

The project focused on the situation of persons with disabilities in five states experiencing different levels of armed conflict or its aftermath (the DRC, Colombia, Palestine, Ukraine and Vietnam). These states were selected because they are all States Parties to the CRPD, and they represent a diverse range of regions and cultures, differing types of conflicts (including the involvement of ANSAs), different stages of conflict or post-conflict situations, differing levels of economic development and varying levels of international assistance

Women and girls with disabilities. Needs of survivors of gender based violence and services offered to them

BURGHAL, Waseem
March 2019

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This study on GBV among women and girls with disabilities was conducted by UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) with the support of Denmark in the context of the GBV Sub-Cluster Strategy 2018-2020. It was based on a needs analysis and mapping of services offered to women and girls with disabilities aged 15 and older who are survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, particularly in view of the poor protection, care and social services available to women survivors of violence. Its objective was to map the available services; analyze major gaps and challenges related to service delivery; identify roles and responsibilities of stakeholders and service providers, including stakeholder coordination, legislation and policies, capacity, prevention and response services, the referral process and accountability; as well as to make recommendations and propose interventions to address the weaknesses in the protection system for women and girls with disabilities in Palestine.

Adolescents with disabilities: Enhancing resilience and delivering inclusive development

JONES, Nicola
PRESLER-MARSHALL, Elizabeth
STAVROPOLULOU, Maria
July 2018

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This report takes stock of evidence from LMICs, drawing on findings from a thematic evidence review combined with emerging findings from the Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence (GAGE) survey and qualitative research baseline studies in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Jordan and Palestine. These interviews involved more than 6,000 adolescents and their caregivers – including approximately 600 girls and boys with physical, visual, hearing or intellectual impairments, alongside service providers and policy actors. The report draws attention to the multiple and intersecting capabilities that need to be supported in order for adolescents with disabilities in LMICs to reach their full potential. It goes beyond a focus on their access to education and health services, and also considers their rights to psychosocial wellbeing, protection from violence, mobility and opportunities to participate within their communities, as well the skills, assets and support they need to become economically independent once they transition into adulthood. 

Mainstreaming disability in the new development paradigm : evaluation of Norwegian support to promote the rights of persons with disabilities

INGDAL, Nora
NILSSON, Annika
2012

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"This report is the result of an external and independent evaluation of the Norwe¬gian Support to Promote the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in the last 11 years. The intention of the evaluation is to analyse the results of targeted and mainstreamed initiatives towards achieving the rights of persons with disabilities...The methodology included field visits in the four case countries: Malawi, Nepal, the Palestinian territory and Uganda to obtain a deeper understanding of how the rights of persons with disabilities have been promoted, and estimate the possible contributions of the Norwegian support. Afghanistan was included as a desk study"
Note: The report is available electronically and in printed version. A braille copy can be downloaded from the web. The four country reports, written in English, are available electronically. The summaries of the country studies are made available electronically, with translations to the relevant local languages Nepali, Arabic and Chewa. In addition an easy-read version in English and Norwegian of the main report is available electronically

Access to social services for persons with disabilities in the Middle East : multi-stakeholder reflections for policy reform

AXELSSON, Charlotte
BARRETT, Darryl
2009

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This report highlights the importance of ensuring access to services for persons with disabilities. It introduces mechanisms related to access to services and reflects on the roles and responsibilities of each main stakeholder, providing recommendations for regulatory mechanisms. It highlights good practices of service provision collected throughout the region from workshops, field visits and exchanges with stakeholders, providing recommendations for improving access to services for persons with disabilities. This report has been produced under the Disability Monitor Initiative Middle East. It would be useful for stakeholders and advocates interested in access to services for people with disabilities in the Middle East

The impact of closure and other mobility restrictions on Palestinian productive activities

OFFICE OF THE UNITED NATIONS SPECIAL COORDINATOR
2002

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This study looks at the consequences of movement restrictions on Palestinians, with a focus on productive activities. The findings show that closures and curfews have caused a dramatic decrease in consumption and income levels, a rise in unemployment, a significant reduction in trade volume with plammeting investment levels, and generally severe economic losses with a Palestinian budget in critical conditions. The report calls for an end to mobility restrictions, and for the release of Israeli funds and donors' financial aid

Promises promises : the reality of the Oslo peace accords. A report on the socio-economic impact of the Oslo peace accords on the Palestinian community in the West Bank and Gaza Strip

O'REILLY, Siobhan
May 1999

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The aim of this report is to examine how the lives of ordinary Palestinians have been affected by the implementation of the accords coming out of the Oslo peace process in 1993. It draws on the evidence and experience of World Vision, which has been working in the area since 1975, and also of its partners who are working to provide economic, medical, educational, psychological and spiritual assistance to Palestinians throughout the Occupied Territories. The report finds that the majority of Palestinians have experienced a serious deterioration in living standards, in terms of income, employment, ownership of property and land, and freedom of movement. The Palestinian economy has also declined with GNP per capita falling by 35%. Several key trends are identified: denial of individual rights; weakening of the collective strength of the Palestinian community; demographic engineering; continuation of the long-term strategy to control the West Bank and East Jerusalem; accelerated dehumanisation of the "other"; widening disparities and use of the language of apartheid; and "security" breeding insecurity. The report makes a number of policy recommendations in the light of the findings

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