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This rapid labour market assessment was undertaken in the intervention areas of Dhaka, Gazipur, Tangail, Chattogram and Khulna. The objectives were to analyse current scenario of the labour market, identify job opportunities for persons with disabilities, skills requirement for those jobs, risks and barriers of getting those jobs, etc. This report explains the facts and findings of the assessment and provides recommendations to make Inclusion Works more effective in their interventions. The assessment consists of two parts – secondary literature review and qualitative study.

The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the UK government or members of the Inclusion Works consortium.

This labour market assessment (LMA) was important to ensure the Inclusion Works programme interventions are strategic and provide the most optimal way to address unemployment challenges facing persons with disabilities. This LMA was designed to answer key questions associated with perspectives on: policy; coordination systems; employer; training and recruitment service providers; and job seekers. To address the questions, the assessment attempted to identify; the growing sectors and job opportunities in Lagos, Abuja and Jigawa States, the demand and supply of skills for enabling persons with disabilities to compete for current and future job opportunities, and understanding barriers for employers and persons with disabilities with regards to disability inclusive formal employment while focusing on both current and future opportunities in formal and informal sectors.

The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the UK government or members of the Inclusion Works consortium.

Background: Former historically disadvantaged social groups such as women, black people and those with disabilities are expected to participate in the skilled labour force that South Africa has pledged to produce for the 21st century. However, in the South African context, research widely neglects access of those into professional degrees in higher learning. There is a need for such an exploration because people with disabilities have been found to be excluded from professional employment.

Objectives: Using decolonial theory, this empirical study sought to explore obstacles confronted by students with disabilities at entry in a specific institution of higher learning in South Africa. The aim was to unveil the invisible obstacles and their causes for an effective intervention.

Method: A qualitative research design was adopted and in-depth interviews were conducted to collect data from the participants. This particular dimension of research method was chosen to enable dialogue and development of partnership, which is important for collecting rich data.

Results: While policies of inclusion still enabled access of all students into professional degrees, there were however inequitable practices, alienation and inequality that excluded students with disabilities at entry. Obstacles seen at surface level were not the real ones; the real ones were the deep-seated issues of coloniality.

Conclusion: If the underlying causes of obstacles at entry are not visible to students with disabilities themselves and the responsible stakeholders, students might continue to be oppressed on entry into the professional degrees and in higher learning generally. Obstacles can only be dismantled when there is an awareness about their deep-seated causes.

African Journal of Disability, Vol 8, 2019

The 2030 and Counting pilot project sought to give youth with disabilities a seat at the table on the SDGs – providing them with the tools and confidence they need to become their own agents of change. This report provides an overview of the project, together with learnings and recommendations for the future.

In its pilot year, 2030 and Counting brought together young women and men with disabilities and DPOs from Kenya, the Philippines and Zambia to report on and advocate for their rights through the framework of the SDGs

The project had three consecutive phases: Training, Story gathering (data collection) and Influencing. 

In total, 332 reports were collected between June and September 2018. The highest number of reports were submitted under the theme of Education (44%), followed by Work (33%), and Health (14%). The category of Other, which almost entirely focused on discrimination in daily life, accounted for 8%. 80% of reporters had smartphones, offering the potential to increase the use of this feature in future.
 

This report covers the objectives, process, findings and recommendations of final evaluation on APCD Project for ASEAN Hometown Improvement through Disability‐Inclusive Communities Model. The project reached to the end of implementation in its second year and required a final evaluation to assess its achievements and non-achievements in against of its desired objectives from this project. The final evaluation has assessed the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability of the project. This report provides analysis of its findings from literature review and field visits during the evaluation and provides country-specific as well as overall recommendations for further implementation of this kind project in future. 

Purpose: The study aimed to determine the impact of communication disorders on discrimination against people who are deaf in the workplace, as well as to find the differences in study participants’ opinions.

Method: The study sample consisted of 171 respondents from different industries in Bosnia-Herzegovina- 57 workers who were deaf, 57 workers who could hear, and 57 managers. Both quantitative and qualitative approaches were used in the survey. The opinions of the respondents were elicited through a questionnaire which consisted of 15 statements. The interviews of workers and managers focussed on the presence of discrimination against deaf workers in the workplace. Responses of respondents were converted to quantified values using analysis of discrimination group. The significance of statistical differences among the samples tested is defined at 0.01 level of significance using F-Test.

Results: Discriminant analysis tested the null hypothesis that respondents’ answers do not differ regarding discrimination against deaf workers in the workplace. However differences were found between the groups that felt deaf workers did not have equal position at work in comparison to their hearing co-workers. Participants mentioned a number of barriers in workplaces. Workers were of the opinion that there was significant discrimination in the workplace (p>0.01) between groups of participants.

Conclusion: There are statistically significant differences in the opinions of respondents regarding statements that workers who are deaf cannot hold positions equal to their co-workers who have regular hearing.

This report aims to examine the extent to which Rwanda’s activities aimed at achieving the goals and targets set out in the SDGs include and consider people with disabilities and comply with its commitments under the CRPD. 

Information for this report was obtained from two sources: the first source was the available documents including government policies, laws and reports, as well as a variety of other documents and reports from other sources. The second source of information was interviews conducted with people with disabilities from three different regions of the country, namely Musanze district, Nyagatare district, and the city of Kigali.

This report focuses on five SDGs which were selected after a series of consultations with people with disabilities and their organisations. These are:

Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere;
Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages;
Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all;
Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls;
Goal 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.

Background: Whereas most narratives of disability in sub-Saharan Africa stress barriers and exclusion, Africans with disabilities appear to show resilience and some appear to achieve success. In order to promote inclusion in development efforts, there is a need to challenge narratives of failure.

Objectives: To gather life histories of people with disabilities in three sub-Saharan African countries (Kenya, Uganda and Sierra Leone) who have achieved economic success in their lives and to analyse factors that explain how this success has been achieved.

Methods: Qualitative research study of economic success involving life history interviews with 105 participants with disabilities from both urban and rural settings recruited through disabled people’s organisations and non-governmental organisation partners, framework analysis of transcripts to chart success and success factors.

Results: Participants had faced barriers in education, employment and family life. They had largely surmounted these barriers to achieve success on an equal basis with others. They were working in private and public sectors and were self-employed farmers, shopkeepers and craftspeople.

Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that, given the right support, disabled people can achieve economic success, with the implication being that investment in education or training of disabled people can be productive and should be part of overall development efforts for economic reasons, not solely to achieve social justice goals.

African Journal of Disability, Vol 8, 2019

Purpose: To investigate the feasibility of Family Group Conference for promoting return to work by clients receiving work disability benefits from the Social Security Institute in the Netherlands.

Methods: We conducted a mixed-method pre- post-intervention feasibility study, using questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and return to work plans drafted in Family Group Conferences. A convenient sample of Labour experts, Clients, and Facilitators was followed for a period of six months. Feasibility outcomes were demand, acceptability, implementation and limited efficacy of perceived mental health and level of participation.

Results: Fourteen labour experts and sixteen facilitators enrolled in the study. Of 28 eligible clients, nine (32%) participated in a Family Group Conference. About 78% of the Family Group Conferences were implemented as planned. Participant satisfaction about Family Group Conference was good (mean score 7). Perceived mental health and level of participation improved slightly during follow-up. Most actions in the return to work plans were work related. Most frequently chosen to take action was the participating client himself, supported by significant others in his or her social network. Six months after the Family Group Conference five participating clients returned to paid or voluntary work.

Conclusions: Family Group Conference seems a feasible intervention to promote return to work by clients on work disability benefit. Involvement of the social network may have added value to support the clients in this process. An effectiveness study to further develop and test Family Group Conferences is recommended.