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Are persons with disabilities included in the effort to leave no-one behind? Mapping disability data in development in Asia and the Pacific

CBM GLOBAL’S INCLUSION ADVISORY GROUP
February 2022

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In the Asia Pacific region, UNFPA and partners work together to implement the Incheon Strategy to “Make the Right Real” for Persons with Disabilities. The Incheon Strategy is the region’s first set of disability-specific development goals to track progress towards the fulfilment of rights of persons with disabilities.

In the region, it is estimated that there are over 650 million persons with disabilities. However, without accurate, timely and disaggregated data, countries are unable to develop effective policies and programmes, monitor the wellbeing of persons with disabilities and evaluate the equity and impact of development efforts. This endangers country commitments to ‘leave no one behind’ and undermines their obligations to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

This groundbreaking report demonstrates the importance of ensuring data is inclusive and provides recommendations for immediate action in order to improve the collection, analysis and reporting of disability data

Disability at a Glance 2019: Investing in accessibility in Asia and the Pacific — Strategic approaches to achieving disability-inclusive sustainable development

TATA, Srinivas
et al
December 2019

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This report lays out foundational concepts and terminologies related to disability and accessibility, and outlines the tools and approaches for successful investment in accessibility. Furthermore, it identifies drivers and added values of investment, and analyses the status of disability-inclusive development and accessibility investment across Asia and the Pacific. Finally, it provides recommendations to governments across key areas of focus to ensure that societies are built to be sustainable and inclusive.

Case studies from Australia, the Republic of Korea and India are presented.

Challenges in global Indigenous–Disability comparative research, or, why nation-state political histories matter

SOLDATIC, Karen
MELBOE, Line
KERMIT, Patrick
SOMERS, Kelly
2018

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Globally, Indigenous people, also known as First Peoples, have the poorest health outcomes of all population groups, resulting in significantly higher rates of chronic disease, ill-health, and disability. Recent research strongly suggests that Australian First Peoples and the Sami peoples of the Nordic region are positioned at opposite ends of the disability–health spectrum. Australia’s First Peoples, now experience the highest rates of disability in the nation’s recorded history, despite the significant government investment over recent decades in national Indigenous policy. Yet, Nordic Indigenous populations appear to have similar health outcomes and living conditions as the rest of the population in the region. In this paper, we compare some of the global assumptions of the two leading countries of the United Nations Human Development Index– Norway (ranked first) and Australia (ranked second)– and examine the ways in which such rankings act to hide the disparities of life trajectories and outcomes for Indigenous persons living with disability compared to the rest of the population in each country. The findings of the comparative analysis illustrate core areas for consideration when undertaking in-depth comparative research with First Nation’s peoples. This includes issues surrounding the differentiated political significance of national population data systems for local Indigenous peoples in their struggles for recognition, and the nuanced processes of population data categorisation that are developed as a result of First Nation’s localised struggles for recognition, respect and rights under processes of European colonisation.

 

Disability and the Global South, 2018, Vol.5, No. 2

Entering the SDG era: What do Fijians prioritise as indicators of disability-inclusive education?

SPRUNT, Beth
DEPPELER, Joanne
RAVULO, Kitione
TINAIVUNIVALU, Savaira
SHARMA, Umesh
2017

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Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 is to ‘Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all’ and the targets and indicators for SDG 4 emphasise the importance of measuring outcomes for children with disabilities (United Nations, 2015b). This paper reports on findings from qualitative research investigating Fijian stakeholders’ priorities for measuring success of efforts within a contextually and culturally meaningful process of disabilityinclusive education; that is, achievement of SDG 4 for children with disabilities. The priorities are presented in light of the specific challenges in Fiji to fulfilling this goal. The research presented in this paper is one part of a much larger mixed method study funded by the Australian aid program that aimed to develop and test indicators for the education of children with disabilities in the Pacific (Sharma et al., 2016). Fijian researchers with lived experience of disability undertook key informant interviews and focus group discussions with 28 participants. The findings include the need for or role of: an implementation plan and resourcing to ensure the national inclusive education policy is activated; improved awareness and attitudes; competent, confident and compassionate teachers; disability-specific services and assistive technology; accessible buildings and transport; and the important role of special schools. Inclusive education reform requires that Fiji incorporates and builds on existing strengths in special and inclusive education to ensure that systems and people are prepared and resourced for inclusion. The paper concludes that targets within SDG 4 are compatible with priorities within Fiji, however additional indicators are required to measure locally-prioritized changes related to barriers which need to be addressed if Fiji is to make progress towards the higher-order targets of SDG 4.

 

Disability & the Global South (DGS), 2017, Vol. 4 No. 1

ESCAP Guide on Disability Indicators for the Incheon Strategy

UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (ESCAP) SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT DIVISION
December 2014

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The Incheon Strategy to “Make the Right Real” for Persons with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific provides the Asian and Pacific region, and the world, with the first set of regionally agreed disability-inclusive development goals. The Incheon Strategy goals cover a range of development areas from poverty reduction and employment to political participation, accessibility, social protection, education, gender equality, disaster risk reduction, data collection, CRPD ratification and international cooperation.

To ensure that the 10 goals are successfully met, the Strategy identifies 27 targets as well as 62 related indicators for monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the 10 goals. These targets and indicators are essential for developing practical implementation strategies, ensuring success and identifying areas where significant challenges remain. Goal 8 of the Incheon Strategy accords particular priority to data collection, calling for improvement of the reliability and comparability of disability data across countries in the region. Member States, in target 8B, have specifically committed to establishing a baseline with reliable statistics by the midpoint of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities in 2017, as a source of tracking progress towards the achievement of the Incheon Goals.

The ESCAP Guide on Disability Indicators for the Incheon Strategy aims to guide data collection and generation by ESCAP member States through providing them with relevant methodologies and tools to construct and use the 62 indicators of the Incheon Strategy, in order to monitor the achievement of the 10 disability-inclusive development goals.

Spatial variation in the disability-poverty correlation : evidence from Vietnam

MONT, Daniel
NGUYEN, Cuong
August 2013

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"Poverty and disability are interrelated, but data that can disentangle the extent to which one causes the other is not available. However, data from Vietnam allows us to examine this interrelationship in a way not previously done. Using small area estimation techniques, we uncover three findings not yet reported in the literature. First, disability prevalence rates vary significantly within a county even at the district level. Second, the correlation between disability and poverty also varies at the district level. And most importantly, the strength of the correlation lessens based on district characteristics that can be affected by policy. Districts with better health care and infrastructure, such as roads and health services, show less of a link between disability and poverty, supporting the hypothesis that improvements in infrastructure and rehabilitation services can lessen the impact of disability on families with disabled members"
Working Paper Series, No 20

Disability at a glance 2012 : strengthening the evidence base in Asia and the Pacific

UN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (ESCAP), Social Development Division
October 2012

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This report series aims to provide a regional overview of disability policies and practices, as well as relevant country data and information. This fourth edition highlights the complexity of interpreting disability data and stresses the urgent need to work towards a greater common understanding of disability, related data and data collection practices. The report consists of an introduction, two analytical chapters and subregional and country snapshots. The progress in data collection efforts is reflected in the number of country snapshots included in the current edition (52 countries and areas). The data are drawn from national Government sources, based on bilateral communication between national disability focal points and ESCAP, as well as the 2011 ESCAP Disability Survey. This report is useful for policymakers, statisticians and representatives of organizations of, and for, persons with disabilities in Asia and the Pacific
ST/ESCAP/2642

Disability at a glance 2010 : a profile of 36 countries and areas in Asia and the Pacific

UN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (ESCAP)
2010

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This document provides disability information and statistics for 36 countries within the Asia and Pacific regions focusing upon the population of persons living with disabilities. The contextual definition of disability is outlined in each of these countries, as well as national policy, programmes and institutional mechanisms that exist on disability issues. This would be useful document for people who are interested in disability information in Asian and Pacific countries
ST/ESCAP/2583

Disability at a glance 2009 : a profile of 36 countries and areas in Asia and the Pacific

UN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (ESCAP)
November 2009

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This document provides disability information and statistics for 36 countries within the Asia and Pacific regions focusing upon the population of persons living with disabilities. The contextual definition of disability is outlined in each of these countries, as well as national policy, programmes and institutional mechanisms that exist on disability issues. This would be useful document for people who are interested in disability information in Asian and Pacific countries

Training manual on disability statistics

UNITED ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (ESCAP)
WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION (WHO)
2008

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This training manual enhances "the understanding of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) based approach to disability measurement. It provides an overview of the ICF framework as well as guidelines on how to operationalise the underlying concepts of functioning and disability into data collection, dissemination and analysis." This manual is useful for anyone who is interested in disability data collection and dissemination for both national and international disability policy analysis, formulation and evaluation

UN development account project on improvement of disability statistics

LIU, Wei
September 2007

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This presentation presents background information about ESCAP and disability and statistics. It highlights the UN development account project, featuring the expected outcomes and activities. This resource is useful to anyone interested in projects focusing on the improvement of disability statistics
Seventh Meeting of the Washington Group on Disability Statistics
19-21 September 2007
Dublin, Ireland

Comparing disability questions for censuses and surveys in Asia and the Pacific

SMIT, Jan
LIU, Wei
February 2007

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“"This paper compares the construct and predictive validity of a set of disability questions tested on a sample of respondents in five Asia-Pacific countries. It finds that the construct validity of the Washington Group questions for the seeing, hearing, mobility and self care domains is good when WHO questions for the corresponding domains are used as a benchmark; this does not, however, apply to the questions for the cognition and communication domains. The Washington Group questions perform similar to corresponding WHO questions in terms of predictive validity. For the four models examined - explaining difficulty with household responsibilities, work and school, and joining community activities, as well as employment status - the different question sets perform similar in terms of significance and magnitude of the odds ratios"

Disability at a glance : a profile of 28 countries and areas in Asia and the Pacific

UNITED NATIONAL ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (ESCAP)
2006

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This publication provides "...disability-related data and policy-related information so that readers are able to see in detail how a particular country or area defines disability and collects related statistics, and implements the Biwako Millennium Framework, in particular, with regard to the establishment of a relevant institutional framework and policies." It is intended "...that this publication will serve as a basis for continuing dialogue amongst the stakeholders on reviewing current status of Government commitments on disability and serve as an impetus for further actions"

Active life expectancy and functional limitations among older Cambodians : results from a 2004 survey

ZIMMER, Zachary
August 2005

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'This study's aims are to: (1) determine the prevalence of functional limitations among older adults in Cambodia using activities of daily living (ADLs); (2) compare limitation prevalence with other countries in the region; (3) estimate active life expectancy; (4) examine standard correlates of functional status and assess whether they are associated with limitation in expected ways. ADLs included here are bathing, dressing, eating, and getting up from lying down. Degree of difficulty is used to determine whether limitations are moderate or severe. Results are generally consistent with expectations. For example, women live longer than men but spend a greater proportion of life with limitations, and older age is related to higher rates of limitation and less active life. Elderly Cambodians appear more likely to report limitations than their counterparts in neighboring countries. A contribution of the analysis is the examination of a basic measure of health among a population that until recently has been isolated from the rest of the world.'

Disability issues in East Asia : review and ways forward

TAKAMINE, Yutaka
May 2004

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This paper provides "the World Bank’s East Asia and Pacific region with information and insights necessary for improving a focus on disability in its activities. There are two major parts to this paper. The first part reviews disability related issues in the region by describing (1) the prevalence of disability and related issues; (2) major issues and challenges confronting persons with disabilities; and (3) good practices, innovative approaches, and effective organizations in the region working to meet the needs of persons with disabilities. The second part reviews the Bank’s regional level activities through examining project portfolios and AAA products, as well as through interviews with Sector managers and staff members. Based on this review, the paper recommends ways to include disability issues at the regional and sector levels"

Disability statistics in the People's Republic of China

QIU, Zhupying
1998

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This paper presents the figures of disabled people in China. To a certain extent it is difficult to collect accurate figures of the total number of people with disabilities. The article presents how disability is classified in China in order to create a clear picture of the situation there. After analysing some surveys collected and conducted previously, a general picture of the total number of people with disabilities will be drawn

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