Resources search

Disability inclusion in climate change programming in the Middle East

KETT, Maria
MEANEY-DAVIS, Jessie
January 2021

Expand view

This document provides guidance on how to incorporate disability inclusion within climate change programming in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs), Syria, Turkey and Yemen. It is intended to inform the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s (FCDO) climate change programming in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. 

Disability inclusion annual report 2020

UNITED NATIONS RELIEF AND WORKS AGENCY (UNRWA)
December 2020

Expand view

The number of Palestine refugees registered by UNRWA recently grew to 5.7 million (from 5.5 million in 2019) in all its five field of operations in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Gaza and the West Bank. Among them are Palestine refugees with disabilities, who have long-term impairments, which in interactions with attitudinal, institutional, and environmental barriers prevent their full and effective participation on an equal basis with others in society. Persons with disabilities constitute an estimated 15 per cent of the global population1, and may constitute a higher percentage in humanitarian contexts, such as Syria, the West Bank and Gaza, in particular, which are UNRWA fields of operations.

 

The main actions undertaken in 2020 discussed in the report are:

  • targeted and disability-specific services for persons with disabilities
  • disability inclusion through programmes
  • inter-agency coordination
  • international protection advocacy

The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Amid COVID-19

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

Expand view

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

Inclusion of persons with disabilities in humanitarian action. Case studies collection 2019. 39 examples of field practices, and learnings from 20 countries, for all phases of humanitarian response

PALMER, Tom
et al
December 2019

Expand view

Published at the same time as the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Guidelines on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action, this report aims to support their uptake and promote learning by example. This report presents 39 short case studies on inclusive practices for persons with disabilities in humanitarian action and disaster risk reduction (DRR). It is designed for humanitarian stakeholders with limited experience of working with and for persons with disabilities, as well as for organizations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) planning to engage in humanitarian action and DRR. The report draws lessons from field practices, but does not provide technical guidance. The IASC Guidelines are the reference document to seek in-depth theoretical and technical information

 

The case studies focus on:

  • Inclusive disaster risk reduction and preparedness
  • Collecting and using disability disaggregated data for assessments and programming.
  • Participation of persons with disabilities and their representative organizations in humanitarian response and recovery
  • Removing barriers to access humanitarian assistance and protection.
  • Influencing coordination mechanisms and resource mobilization to be inclusive

 

The evidence presented in this report was identified in 2017-2018 through a desk review of publicly available reports and internal documents on projects implemented by CBM, HI and IDA members, as well as their partners and affiliate members. Field visits to Lebanon, Jordan, Kenya, Nepal, and the Philippines conducted in 2018 also informed the case-study collection and documentation

Disability inclusion annual report 2019

UNITED NATIONS RELIEF AND WORKS AGENCY FOR PALESTINE REFUGEES IN THE NEAR EAST
December 2019

Expand view

United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) adopts a twin-track approach to ensure the full inclusion of Palestine refugees with disabilities. This entails ‘disability mainstreaming’, whereby all UNRWA programmes and services are universally designed to ensure that they are usable by and/or reach beneficiaries with disabilities, coupled with the provision of ‘targeted/tailored interventions’. During 2019, UNRWA implemented the following activities to address the specific needs of Palestine refugees with disabilities:

  • Direct Specialized Services for Persons with Disabilities
  • Disability Inclusion through Programmes
  • International Cooperation

Missing millions: How older people with disabilities are excluded from humanitarian response

SHEPPARD, Phillip
POLACK, Sarah
McGIVERN, Madeleine
July 2018

Expand view

The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of older people with disabilities across a range of humanitarian settings, considering:

  • whether older people with disabilities have additional needs and challenges accessing humanitarian assistance and protection
  • what factors facilitate or limit access by older people with disabilities to humanitarian assistance and protection
  • to what extent is humanitarian response inclusive of older people with disabilities

A systematic literature review of published studies was conducted. Key online humanitarian guidelines were explored to review how far they explicitly address older people with disabilities. Data from six population-based disability surveys comparing the living situation of older people with and without disabilities were analysed. These included databases from two crises-affected populations in Haiti (post-earthquake) and Palestine. Data from four non-humanitarian settings was also reviewed to explore more broadly the situation for older people with disabilities – India, Guatemala, Cameroon and Nepal. Interviews were held with older people with disabilities, members of their families and local key informants in two conflict-affected populations in Ndutu and Mtendeli refugee camps in Western Tanzania, and Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Eastern Ukraine to find out about their experiences. Staff of five international agencies working in humanitarian response were also interviewed. 

 

Findings highlight particular issues facing older people with disabilities in humanitarian crises: more risk escaping from danger;  barriers to accessing social protection and work; barriers to accessing health and rehabilitation services; barriers to accessing food and other essentials; unsuitable housing and poor living conditions;  insecurity and discrimination; threats to dignity and independence; social isolation and loneliness; risks to mental health; and missing from humanitarian response.

 

A table brings together the findings from the different components of the research to show the needs, risks, barriers and enablers for older people with disabilities identified in the research. Recommendations are provided to humanitarian donors, policy makers and practitioners

Social inclusion and mental health of children with physical disabilities in Gaza, Palestine

NASSER, Khaled
MACLACHLAN, Malcolm
MCVEIGH, Joanne
2016

Expand view

Purpose: Social inclusion of children with physical disabilities is essential for their mental health. The long-standing conflict and political instability in Palestine since 1948 has resulted in an unprecedented number of children with disabilities. This study aimed to assess social inclusion and mental health of children with physical disabilities in Palestine.

 

Method: A mixed methods research design was used. The 12-item General Health Questionnaire and a Social Inclusion Questionnaire were administered to 100 children with amputations, 12-18 years of age, in the Gaza Strip. Ten semi-structured interviews were also conducted with personnel working across civil society rehabilitation services in the area, particularly in services that focussed on the physical rehabilitation of children who had lost a limb.

 

Results: Quantitative findings indicated that 88% of children’s disabilities were caused by war-related incidents. While the sample of children showed on average relatively low levels of psychological distress, males reported feeling more socially included and having better mental health than did females. Furthermore, there was a strong positive correlation between mental health and social inclusion, and a moderate positive correlation between psychological distress and social inclusion. The qualitative data identified different factors that hinder social inclusion, mainly: political instability; under-resourced disability organisations; lack of coordinated efforts; and negative societal attitudes towards disability.

 

Conclusion: A new questionnaire for social inclusion was developed, which can now be used as a tool to assess social inclusion in similar contexts; as well as a culturally-adapted form of the General Health Questionnaire-12 to assess mental health. There is a clear need for service-providers to move beyond a medical model of care to one that embraces community-based rehabilitation and the realisation of rights, in order to promote the social inclusion and mental health of children with disabilities in Palestinian society.

Enabling education review, issue 4

ENABLING EDUCATION NETWORK
December 2015

Expand view

This newsletter contains a variety of articles about inclusive education in several countries around the world. The topics focus mostly on funding, managing and sustaining inclusive education; engaging and empowering beneficiaries in finding solutions; facilitating parental and child involvement and early childhood education

Enabling Education Review, issue 4

Disability under occupation : at the congruence between conflict, religion, & society in Palestine

RASHID, Omar
January 2015

Expand view

A dissertation on the Palestinian experience of disability under Israeli territorial occupation. The following key research questions were considered under this dissertation. "First, to locate the perceptions of disability among the disabled in the occupied territories of Palestine, in light of their religious affiliation. Second, to investigate the realities of the disabled within Palestine; and third, to enquire as to whether there had been any differences in the perceptions of disabilities and the realities of those who were injured in conflict, and those who were born with impairment" These questions were answered through a hybrid-methods system of research, with a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods being used

 

Dissertation submitted in part fulfilment of the requirements for a Masters degree at the University of Birmingham

The user has given permission for the original dissertation document to be uploaded to be reproduced and made publicly available on the Source website

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

INGDAL, Nora
NILSSON, Annika
2012

Expand view

"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

Evaluation of the CBR program in Palestine : from the perspective of persons with disabilities themselves

NILSSON, Annika
QUTTEINA, Malek
December 2005

Expand view

"This report documents an evaluation of the Community Based Rehabilitation program (CBRP) in Palestine that investigated the impact of the program from the perspective of disabled people and their families. The main objectives of the evaluation were to ascertain to what extent the CBRP has contributed to improving the quality of life of disabled people and suggest ways in which the program can more effectively meet the needs of people with disability"

Fifteen months - Intifada, closures and Palestinian economic crisis : an assessment

WORLD BANK
March 2002

Expand view

The report attempts to encourage dialogue between donors, the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israel. Although it focuses on immediate emergency issues, it recognizes the need to balance short-term measures with a continued commitment to the longer-term institutional and development agenda. The Palestinian economic recovery that began in 1998 came to an abrupt halt with the start of the Intifada in September 2000, and the subsequent imposition of tight closure, decimating the economy over the past fifteen months. The report enumerates the problems of this severe economic recession, identifying Israel ' s closure of the Palestinian territories, as the cause of its economic crisis. This decline has been driven by unemployment in the private sector, exacerbated by the bankruptcy of the PA,. However, a full collapse of the economy and government has been averted, and the situation stabilized somewhat, with a subsequent slower rate of decline. Donor funding has increased compared to 1999 commitments, with increased disbursements in 2001. Nonetheless, the situation is unstable, and economic disintegration continues. Israel, the PA, and donors need to reverse the situation towards significant recovery of the Palestinian economy, by dismantling the system of internal check points, and easing border restrictions

Bilingual education in Israel. Final report

BEKERMAN, Zvi
HORENCZYK, Gabriel
November 2001

Expand view

Prospects would appear bleak for attempts to create common educational spaces for Jewish and Arab children, educators and parents in contemporary Israel. The two Jewish Arab schools in Jerusalem and Galilee were set up by the Centre for Jewish Arab Education in Israel (also known as Hand in Hand) in 1998 and have flourished in their modest way, although post-Oslo optimism has given way to heightened tension. This report is analytical and it illuminates the opportunities and challenges of such an endeavour

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

Expand view

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

E-bulletin