Resources search

Inclusive Design and Accessibility in Medellín, Colombia. AT2030 Inclusive Infrastructure Case Studies

PATRICK, M
MULDOWNEY, A
ARRUBA PALACIO, M
AGUIRRE, M
McKINNON, I
August 2023

Expand view

Prepared by the Global Disability Innovation Hub and partners for the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Medellín, Colombia is the sixth and final case study city under the Global Disability Innovation Hub (GDI Hub) led and UK Aid funded AT2030 Inclusive Infrastructure sub-programme. Colombia’s second largest city, Medellín is well-known for its progress in urban development in the last 20 years, moving forward from its violent history. Medellín has been designated a district of innovation and is known for innovative urban projects such as its cable cars and electric escalators that connect higher altitude, low-income communities on the peripheries of the city. This case study explores the current state of accessibility and inclusion in the city for persons with disabilities and helps understand whether such urban innovations are inclusive for all the city’s residents.

Medellín is home to nearly 80,000 persons with disabilities and Colombia does have strong legal frameworks in place to support persons with disabilities. However, this case study found that the numerous laws and regulations are not always well implemented and there is also a need to consider more diverse disabilities in city planning and design.

The research took place in 3 phases between December 2022 and May 2023, combining both virtual and face to face approaches. Phase 1 focused on understanding the current state of accessibility through desk-based research and interviews. Phase 2 captured the lived experience of persons with disabilities through interviews, photo diaries and co-design activities. Phase 3 then synthesised the findings, running multiple in-person workshops to validate and create actions towards the creation of more inclusive environments. Thematic analysis was applied to understand the research data, identifying key themes across three different stakeholder groups of People, Policy, and Practice.

The themes identified span across daily life for persons with disabilities including, poverty, transport, housing, healthcare, public spaces and recreational activities. Quotes from participants are interwoven throughout the report and strengthen the concluding actions. The report recognises what has worked in Medellin as well as areas for improvement.

Inclusive practices in disaster risk management. Experiences of social actors and government entities in Latin America

HUMANITY & INCLUSION (HI)
December 2020

Expand view

Twelve inclusive practices are presented that explore the application of the inclusive approach to disaster risk management. Collecting and sharing inclusive practices is one axis of the project, “Inclusive Disaster Risk Management: An innovative approach towards inclusion of most vulnerable groups”, which aims to disseminate inclusive disaster risk management in Latin American countries in order to increase protection and resilience in high-risk groups. The project accompanies and strengthens regional, national, and local actors from the following countries: Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Paraguay, and Peru.

 

This regional initiative for inclusive disaster risk management is led by Humanity & Inclusion (HI), in partnership with Save the Children International Peru (SCI) and Cooperazione Internazionale Paraguay (COOPI). 

Expanding the evidence on community-based rehabilitation for people with amputation: Longitudinal analysis of three cohorts in Guatemala

NABER, Jonathan
November 2020

Expand view

The aim of this study was to expand the evidence base regarding the effectiveness of CBR services on improving the multifaceted mobility of people with amputation in Guatemala. This aim was accomplished through two specific objectives:

 

1. Compare the longitudinal changes in the multifaceted mobility of participants in three consecutive cohorts of the ROMP CBR Program in Guatemala.

2. Share new practices for providing CBR to people with amputation, developed in the second and third cohorts of the program.

Crimes against humanity: Decades of violence and abuse in Mexican institutions for children and adults with disabilities

AHERN, Laurie
BRIZUELA, Lisbet
MILLAN, Ivonne
RODRIGUEZ, Priscila
ROSENTHAL, Eric
October 2020

Expand view

In this report, Disability Rights International (DRI) has thoroughly documented and detailed human rights violations against people with disabilities - a culmination of the 20 years of work that DRI has carried out in Mexico. DRI’s investigations cover a wide range of institutions including orphanages, psychiatric hospitals, institutions for people with disabilities and for homeless people, among others. The documentation of such a large number of institutions provides an overview of a scale of violations of the rights of persons with disabilities in Mexico  

“Better to Make Yourself Invisible” Family violence against people with disabilities in Mexico

RIOS-ESPINOSA, Carlos
June 2020

Expand view

People with disabilities in Mexico can face severe abuse and neglect by their families with little protection or support from the government. This report documents how the lack of policies to support independent living can increase the risk of family violence and abuse for people with disabilities. It also documents the barriers people with disabilities face in accessing protection from abuse and justice on an equal basis with others, and documents serious concerns regarding implementation of procedural accommodations to ensure that people with disabilities can participate fully and equally in the justice system.

 

Based on research in 2018 and 2019, this report documents violence committed by family members against people with disabilities in four Mexican states: Oaxaca, Jalisco, Nuevo León, and Mexico City.  Interviews were carried out with 24 women and 14 men with disabilities. 

 

Global education monitoring report, 2020, Latin America and the Caribbean: inclusion and education: all means all

GLOBAL EDUCATION MONITORING REPORT TEAM
LABORATORY OF EDUCATION RESEARCH AND INNOVATION FOR LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN (SUMMA)
UNESCO OFFICE SANTIAGO AND REGIONAL BUREAU FOR EDUCATION IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN (OREALC/UNESCO)
2020

Expand view

This regional report on inclusion and education in Latin America and the Caribbean offers a deep dive into the core challenges and key solutions for greater inclusion, in a region characterized for having the largest and most challenging socio-economic inequalities in the world.

In the framework of this report, 29 in-depth case studies from the region covering 8 dimensions of exclusion were prepared. The Report covers access to education of Venezuelan migrants in Colombia and Haitians in Dominican Republic; remoteness in Suriname and Brazil; disability in Nicaragua; girls in Peru and boys in Jamaica; sexual orientation in Mexico and Chile; and youth incarceration in Uruguay. It also explores how the Covid-19 pandemic has further exposed and deepened the disparities that already existed in education.

Chapter 2 analyses the role of legal tools in supporting the development of inclusive education. Chapter 3 addresses governance and finance. Chapter 4 discusses the politically complicated issue of how curricula and learning materials are adapted to the principles of inclusive education. Chapter 5 looks at ways teachers can support the case for inclusion, considers their needs, and examines how well governments help them prepare to meet the inclusion challenge.  Chapter 6 examines school-level factors. Chapter 7 examines communities’ crucial role in achieving inclusive education. After these chapters addressing the main inclusion challenges, Chapter 8 looks at them all through the lens of COVID-19. 

Que nadie se quede atras! Primer informe nacional sobre la implementacion de los objetivos de desarrollo sostenible desde la perspectiva de la convencion sobre los derechos de las personas con despicacidad

ASOCIACION CIVIL SIN FINES DE LUCRO COMISION DE DAMAS INVIDENTES DEL PERU (CODIP)
CAMPOS SANCHEZ, Elizabeth Francisca
March 2019

Expand view

Research included a national survey (120 people), semi structured interviews, data gathering and regional workshops. Regional workshops were held in Cuzco and Arequipa in the south of the country; Chiclayo in the north, Cañete por Lima provinces; a workshop in Lima only with people with Down syndrome and another with deafblind people.

SDG 4,5,8,13,16 are particularly discussed and conclusions drawn

2018 Annual Disability Statistics Compendium

THE REHABILITATION RESEARCH AND TRAINING CENTER ON DISABILITY AND DEMOGRAPHICS (StatsRRTC)
January 2019

Expand view

The Annual Disability Statistics Compendium and its complement, the Annual Disability Statistics Supplement, are summaries of statistics about people with disabilities and about the government programs which serve them. The Compendium, available both in hard copy and online (at https://www.disabilitycompendium.org) presents key overall statistics on topics including the prevalence of disability, employment among persons with disabilities, rates of participation in disability income and social insurance programs, as well as other statistics. The Annual Disability Statistics Supplement, only available online (also at https://www.disabilitycompendium.org), presents tables with over 150 additional categorizations of data for each section highlighted in the Compendium. The 2018 Annual Disability Compendium and Supplement were reviewed and updated for accessibility this year. 

 

A companion Annual Report is available, providing graphic representations of key findings. The Annual Report highlights trend data related to specific tables in the Compendium and Supplement

“They Stay until They Die” A lifetime of isolation and neglect in institutions for people with disabilities in Brazil

RIOS-ESPINOSA, Carlos
et al
May 2018

Expand view

This report documents a range of abuses against children and adults with disabilities in residential institutions in Brazil. The research is based on direct observations during visits to 19 institutions (known in Brazil as shelters and care homes), including 8 for children, as well as 5 inclusive residences for people with disabilities. In addition, Human Rights Watch researchers interviewed 171 people, including children with disabilities and their families, adults with disabilities in institutions, disability rights advocates, representatives of non–governmental organizations, including disabled persons organizations, staff in institutions, and government officials.

 

Research was carried out between November 2016 and March 2018 in the states of São Paulo (including São Paulo and Campinas), Rio de Janeiro (including Rio de Janeiro, Duque de Caxias, Niteroi and Nova Friburgo), Bahia (Salvador) and Distrito Federal (including Brasilia and Ceilândia).

Measuring the prevalence of violence against women with disabilities

VAUGHAN, Cathy
et al
February 2018

Expand view

This short report summarises discussions during a meeting concerning what is known about violence against women with disabilities and the evidence gaps, with a focus on Asia and the Pacific. It includes a brief overview of the current situation and suggested ways forward for researchers, the kNOwVAWdata initiative and other regional and global initiatives to measure prevalence of violence against women with disabilities, and for relevant regional and national institutions

Guatemala National Disability Study ENDIS 2016 Report

DONICIO Carlos
GRECH Shaun
Islay MACTAGGART
Jonathan NABER
Dr Ana Rafaela SALAZAR DE BARRIOS
Gonna ROTA,
Sarah POLLACK
April 2017

Expand view

The Guatemala National Disability Study (ENDIS 2016) was undertaken to address a need for up to date reliable data on disability in Guatemala.

Through a population based survey:

* To estimate the national disability prevalence among adults and children in Guatemala, and to provide regional estimates for 5 broad regions

* To disaggregate the prevalence of disability in Guatemala by age, sex, type of functional limitation and socio-economic status

* To explore the impact of disability on: poverty, quality of life, participation, health and opportunities to go to school and to work amongst children and adults respectively

Through a qualitative study:

* To explore cultural, ideological, and social interpretations and responses to disability; provide insight into the disability and poverty relationship; and examine social, political, and economic dimensions operating within this relationship.

Expanding the circle: monitoring the human rights of indigenous, first nations, aboriginal, Inuit and Métis people with disabilities in Canada

RIOUX Marcia
November 2016

Expand view

Expanding the Circle is a project undertaken by Disability Rights Promotion International (DRPI) that focuses on expanding the conversation about what access to human rights looks like for Indigenous, First Nations, Aboriginal, Inuit and Métis people with disabilitiesin Canada. DRPI has engaged indigenous peoples in many of its projects including New Zealand and Bolivia. It is important that the Canadian indigenous experience be added to this search for knowledge where the rights of people have been neglected. Indigenous, First Nations, Aboriginal, Inuit and Métis people experience disproportionately high levels of disability compared to other Canadians. Indigenous, First Nations, Aboriginal, Inuit and Métis people with disabilities historically, and at present, experience exclusion and various forms of discrimination. This discrimination may take place at the level of individual interactions, but people may also experience discrimination at a higher, systemic level, by their needs not properly being addressed in laws, policies and budgets. This project uses an intersectional point of view, to understand the experiences of people with disabilities who are also Indigenous, First Nations, Aboriginal, Inuit and Métis and considers the unique challenges and victories this population experiences in accessing rights. 

 

Expanding the Circle considers the rights outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), in conversation with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP). International human rights legislation not only focuses on specific rights, but also highlights five general human rights principles. These key principles: dignity; autonomy; participation, inclusion and accessibility; non-discrimination and equity; and respect for difference were considered in relation to areas of people’s lives: social participation; health; education, work and privacy and family life, information & communications; access to justice; and income security and support services. This report combines two aspects of this project, first-hand experience through interviews, as well as an analysis that is based on a review of laws, policies, programmes and budgets to have a larger context to understand people’s lived experiences.

Who is being left behind in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and Latin America? 3 reports from ODI

LYNCH, Alainna
BERLINER, Tom
MAROTTI, Chiara
BHAKTAL Tanvi
RODRIGUEZ TAKEUCHI Laura
et al
February 2016

Expand view

The commitment to ‘leave no one behind’ has been a key feature of all the discussions on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Here are three papers setting out the first step to implementing this agenda - the step of identifying marginalised communities. The focus is on two case study countries for each of the three regions, sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the papers identify gaps in achieving a number of outcomes relating to key SDGs targets for marginalised groups. The paper on Asia highlights people with disabilities in Bangladesh.

Community based rehabilitation (CBR) : critical perspectives from Latin America

GRECH, Shaun
2015

Expand view

“CBR Perspectives from Latin America” is a critical reflection on the multi-dimensional and changing nature of CBR, the perceived benefits, the conundrum of standardized approaches versus community driven processes, the nature of links between CBR and human rights, the resourcing of CBR and the difficulty inherent in taking a short term view in the evaluation of what is a long term process. Not so often are the experiences and perspectives from Latin America shared to a wider audience, making Dr. Grech’s work a remarkable achievement for the Region.”

No justice : torture, trafficking and segregation in Mexico

RODRIGUEZ, Priscila
ROSENTHAL, Eric
GUERRERO, Humberto
July 2015

Expand view

This report presents the findings of Disability Rights International (DRI)'s two-year investigation into the treatment of children and adults with mental disabilities in Mexico City which found a pattern of egregious and widespread human rights violations. The investigation found that in Mexico City having a disability can mean a life of detention and uncovered the existence of a “blacklist” of particularly abusive institutions that the Mexico City authorities are aware of – yet they permit these facilities to operate. DRI visited five of 25 facilities on the blacklist and specifically highlight the findings from Mama Rosa and Casa Esperanza, which was so abusive that DRI filed a formal complaint to DIF and sought immediate action by DIF to protect detainees. The report outlines the overall findings and how Mexico can take steps toward reform and justice calling for immediate steps to enforce the basic human rights of people with disabilities and outlines

Note: the report is available in pdf and word versions in both English and Spanish

Abuse and denial of sexual and reproductive rights of women with psychosocial disabilities in Mexico

RODRIGUEZ, Priscila
et al
February 2015

Expand view

This report presents the situation faced by women with psycho-social conditions in Mexico based on the results of a year-long study. This research included the application of a questionnaire to fifty-one women with psychosocial disabilities who were either members of the Colectivo Chuhcan or received outpatient services at four different health clinics and psychiatric institutions in Mexico City. The main finding of this report is that the Mexican government has failed to implement policies that ensure that women with psychosocial disabilities have safe access to sexual and reproductive health services, on an equal basis with others. It is recommended this research be extended to the rest of the country to gain a clearer picture on the situation of the sexual and reproductive rights of women with disabilities at a national level

Mobile for development : transforming global healthcare through mobile technology

THEVATHASAN, Vanessa
GRADZEWICZ, Agnes
RUETZEL, Sonja
2015

Expand view

This paper outlines the need for greater connectivity & accessibility in less developed countries. Following this, the authors present the benefits of various different ‘mHealth’ solutions, presented through case studies. The report concludes by outlining some of the constraints holding back greater ‘mHealth’ innovation, including financing and sustainability issues

Disability at a glance 2015: Strengthening employment prospects for persons with disabilities in Asia and the Pacific

UN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (ESCAP), Social Development Division
2015

Expand view

This report, the fifth edition in the Disability at a Glance series, focuses on barriers to the employment of persons with disabilities in the Asia-Pacific region, and offers solutions to strengthen their employment prospects. It offers a regional overview of disability legislation, policies and practices, as well as relevant country-specific information with a particular emphasis on the employment of persons with disabilities. The information is drawn from a targeted disability survey carried out in 2015 by the ESCAP secretariat, and research undertaken by other organizations and scholars.

The publication consists mainly of two parts. In Part 1, Chapter 1 discusses key employment trends shaping the experiences of persons with disabilities in Asia and the Pacific. Chapter 2 considers the major barriers that persons with disabilities face as they seek to find decent work in the open labour market. Chapter 3 explores a number of strategies used by governments and in the private sector to promote greater access to employment for persons with disabilities. Finally, Chapter 4 lays out a series of action points governments should consider in their efforts to remove the numerous employment barriers faced by many millions of disabled people. In Part 2, country snapshots provide the latest demographic, socioeconomic and employment-specific data from 58 countries in 5 ESCAP subregions .

Equal basis 2014 : access and rights in 33 countries

BURKE, Megan
PERSI VICENTIC, Loren
December 2014

Expand view

This report presents research about efforts to meet the needs and uphold the rights of persons with disabilities in four thematic areas: health care, rehabilitation, work and employment, and accessibility and enabling environments. Research findings are drawn from the experiences of landmine and cluster munition survivors and other persons with similar needs in 33 countries experiencing armed conflict or emerging from armed conflict or political or economic transition. Findings are placed within the context of relevant articles of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the World Report on Disability

Inclusive disaster and emergency management for persons with disabilities : a review of needs, challenges, effective policies, and practices

RAJA, Deepti Samant
NARASIMHAN, Nirmita
2013

Expand view

This report provides an introduction into the needs of persons with disabilities in disasters and emergencies and reviews the challenges, effective policies and practices of inclusive disaster and emergency management.  It compiles international mandates and guidelines, strategies and practices for inclusive disaster management and gives an overview of the disaster and emergency management process and how persons with disabilities can be affected at each stage.  This report highlights the importance of information and communication technologies throughout the process and provides related case studies

Pages

E-bulletin