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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.

Assistive Technology in two humanitarian contexts: Bangladesh and Jordan

KETT, Maria
June 2022

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Despite increased focus on the need for assistive technology (AT), along with estimates of need and gaps in provision in humanitarian contexts, very little is actually known about how people who need AT are managing in these contexts. To address this need, this study explored four main questions: 

What do we currently know about the need for AT in humanitarian contexts?
How is this need currently met?
What gaps are there in the evidence about these needs?
What mechanisms are needed to ensure provision of AT in humanitarian contexts? 

It explored these questions through individual interviews with AT users and their families, as well as people working in the sector, in two humanitarian response contexts: Bangladesh and Jordan. In Bangladesh, we partnered with CBM Global and their local partner, the Centre for Disability in Development, and in Jordan, all those interviewed were beneficiaries of HelpAge International.

The questions focused on the areas identified as gaps in the initial literature review, and used qualitative methodologies to probe and gain further insight into gaps across the entire AT ecosystem.

Early detection tools for children with developmental delays and disabilities in the Middle East and North Africa

UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN'S FUND (UNICEF)
June 2022

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This technical brief was developed to support specialists in countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to select which early detection tools best fit their needs and context by comparing various tools that have been used in theregion and lessons learned in using and adapting those tools to local contexts.

Explosive ordnance in Syria: impact and required action

May 2022

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Explosive ordnance (EO) puts one in two people in Syria at risk of death and injury and impedes the delivery of crucial humanitarian assistance. However, the extent of EO in Syria and its devastating impact is not sufficiently known or discussed among donors and humanitarian actors. International humanitarian mine action (HMA) actors operating in Syria for over ten years have come together to address this gap, sharing data and insight from their work on the ground. They produced a report to highlight the extent of EO contamination in Syria; its devastating impact on people, vital infrastructure and provision of humanitarian assistance; the crucial activities performed by humanitarian mine action (HMA) actors; and the action required to address this issue

Musculoskeletal impairment among Syrian refugees living in Sultanbeyli, Turkey: prevalence, cause, diagnosis and need for related services and assistive products

BOGGS, Dorothy
ATIJOSAN-AYODELE, Oluwarantim
YONSO, Hisem
et al
April 2021

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Epidemiological data on musculoskeletal impairment (MSI) and related service and assistive product (AP) needs for displaced populations are lacking. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence, aetiology, and specific MSI diagnosis and the need for related services and APs among Syrian refugees living in Sultanbeyli, a district in Istanbul, Turkey.

A population-based survey used probability proportionate to size and compact segment sampling to select 80 clusters (‘street’) of 50 individuals (aged 2+), for total sample size of approximately 4000 participants. An updated version of the Rapid Assessment of MSI tool (RAM) was used to screen all participants using six questions. Any participant who screened positive underwent a standardised examination by a physiotherapist to assess the presence, aetiology, severity and specific diagnosis of MSI and an assessment of need for related services and APs.

 

Conflict and Health volume 15, Article number: 29 (2021)

https://doi.org/10.1186/s13031-021-00362-9

Accessible construction toolkit

INSTITUTE OF MIGRATION (IOM) IRAQ
March 2021

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In October 2020, IOM Iraq commissioned the development of an accessibility toolkit for IOM Iraq built structures. This toolkit follows the Iraq “Building requirement code for people with special needs” on construction and accessibility and is a companion to the RRU Construction Manual: Best practices in construction and rehabilitation of community infrastructure. The RRU construction team constructs a variety of buildings including schools, health facilities and community centers. This toolkit is a resource to enable a strengthened approach to accessibility of future structures, and to enable a diverse range of community members to benefit from IOM Iraq’s construction and programming

Persons with disabilities and their representative organisations in Iraq

March 2021

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Iraq has one of the largest populations of persons with disabilities in the world. Despite this, there has been little consultation among persons with disabilities and their representative groups by government and humanitarian and development agencies. Persons with disabilities and their representative organisations in Iraq: Barriers, challenges and priorities aims to improve the understanding of the barriers experienced by persons with disabilities, including the key challenges and priorities of their rep­resentative organizations, in order to inform humanitarian and development programming. The report is based on interviews conducted with 81 representatives of 53 Organiza­tions of persons with disabilities across 18 governorates in Iraq.

Persons with disabilities and their representative organisations in Iraq

INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION FOR MIGRATION (IOM) IRAQ
March 2021

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Iraq has one of the largest populations of persons with disabilities in the world. Despite this, there has been little consultation among persons with disabilities and their representative groups by government and humanitarian and development agencies. Persons with disabilities and their representative organisations in Iraq: Barriers, challenges and priorities aims to improve the understanding of the barriers experienced by persons with disabilities, including the key challenges and priorities of their rep­resentative organizations, in order to inform humanitarian and development programming. The report is based on interviews conducted with 81 representatives of 53 Organiza­tions of persons with disabilities across 18 governorates in Iraq.

The protection situation during COVID-19 in Syria. The impact of COVID-19 on protection activities and on vulnerable groups

PROTECTION CLUSTER, UNHCR
February 2021

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After nearly nine months of preventative COVID-19 measures in place by the Government of Syria, the protection sector and its area of responsibilities ( Child Protection AoR, Gender Based Violence AoR and Mine Action AoR) have attempted to understand the level and types of impact this has had on the implementation of activities, specifically on partners' ability to provide services through community centers, and on the most vulnerable groups of the served population. The aim is that this report will provide protection partners with key information for reviewing and revising their current activities in light of the ongoing pandemic.

The data presented in this report was gathered during December 2020 from 213 protection partners and staff working directly or through partners with the affected population throughout Syria through an online survey. The main protection issues affecting persons with disabilities as a result of COVID-19 situation are identified.

The definition of disability and disability related data collection and analyses - Applying the IASC Guidelines in the northwest Syria humanitarian response

UNHCR INCLUSION TECHNICAL WORKING GROUP, SYRIA PROTECTION CLUSTER (TURKEY)
February 2021

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Action by humanitarian partners to strengthen inclusion of persons with disabilities in the humanitarian response in an evidencebased manner remains highly needed – this note aims to support that effort by providing background and explanation on the definition of disability as well as on how to interpret and use data related to disability.

 

The note also provides elaboration on the Syria Protection Cluster (Turkey) recommended disability-related data collection methodology for humanitarian organizations and entities in northwest Syria. Thereby the note aims to stimulate and assist the broader humanitarian community in northwest Syria in adopting the Washington Group Short Set of Questions on Functioning, especially in relation to disability focused data collection and in understanding and utilizing assessment findings, specifically prevalence-rates of disability in northwest Syria.

 

For more elaborated description of the situation of persons with disability in northwest Syria and practical suggestions for humanitarians on enhancing inclusion of persons with disabilities in programming, this note is to be read in conjunction with the ITWG “Self-reported barriers to activities of daily living of persons with disabilities living in IDP sites in northwest Syria” brief report and recommendations.

 

Guidance note on the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the COVID-19 CCCM response

UNHCR INCLUSION TECHNICAL WORKING GROUP, SYRIA PROTECTION CLUSTER (TURKEY)
February 2021

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This guidance note provides an overview of the risks that persons with disabilities face in the COVID-19 response regarding accessing humanitarian services and proposes actions to address these risks within the CCCM response specifically. This note draws on the IASC Guidelines on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action, 1 CCCM chapter, applying these to the northwest Syria COVID-19 response

Disability inclusion in climate change programming in the Middle East

KETT, Maria
MEANEY-DAVIS, Jessie
January 2021

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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

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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

Self-reported barriers to activities of daily living of persons with disabilities living in IDP sites in northwest Syria

UNHCR INCLUSION TECHNICAL WORKING GROUP, SYRIA PROTECTION CLUSTER (TURKEY)
November 2020

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This brief aims to describe the lived experience of persons with disabilities in northwest Syria and highlight needs and key barriers to engagement in personal, domestic and community-based activities of daily living, which includes access to and engagement with humanitarian organisations. The analysis of these difficulties forms the basis of key pragmatic recommendations for humanitarian actors

Disability design and innovation in computing research in low resource settings

MORGADO-RAMIREZ, Dafne Zuleima
BARBARESCHI, Giulia
DONOVON-HALL, Maggie Kate
SOBUH, Mohammad
ELLYAN, Nida'
TAKANDI, Brenda T
SSEKITOLEKO, Robert
OLENJA, Joyce
MAGOMERE, Grace Nyachomba
DAYMONDE, Sibylle
HONEYWILL, Jake
HARRIS, Ian
MBUGUA, Nancy
KENNEY, Laurence
HOLLOWAY, Catherine
October 2020

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80% of people with disabilities worldwide live in low resourced settings, rural areas, informal settlements and in multidimensional poverty. ICT4D leverages technological innovations to deliver programs for international development. But very few do so with a focus on and involving people with disabilities in low resource settings. Also, most studies largely focus on publishing the results of the research with a focus on the positive stories and not the learnings and recommendations regarding research processes. In short, researchers rarely examine what was challenging in the process of collaboration. We present reflections from the field across four studies. Our contributions are: (1) an overview of past work in computing with a focus on disability in low resource settings and (2) learnings and recommendations from four collaborative projects in Uganda, Jordan and Kenya over the last two years, that are relevant for future HCI studies in low resource settings with communities with disabilities. We do this through a lens of Disability Interaction and ICT4D.

 

ASSETS '20: Proceedings of the 22nd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility; 2020

https://doi.org/10.1145/3373625.3417301

Smartphone apps for transportation by people with intellectual disabilities: are they really helpful in improving their mobility?

ALANAZI, Adel
2020

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Purpose

The paper undertakes a critical assessment of the use of smartphone apps for transportation by people with intellectual disabilities. Although apps for transportation such as Uber and Careem have been developed to assist people with disabilities and have numerous benefits, people with intellectual disabilities tend to encounter their own set of difficulties in accessing these apps.

 

Materials and method

This paper presents the research findings drawn from a focus group discussion conducted with nine people with moderate to mild intellectual disabilities in Riyadh, by using a qualitative study focussed on the interpretative paradigm.

 

Results

From the interview findings, some relevant themes were identified. These were: transportation issues encountered by people with intellectual disabilities, the extent and manner of the use of smartphone apps for transportation, the benefits enjoyed by those individuals in using smartphone apps for transportation and the difficulties encountered by them.

 

Conclusions

The paper also discusses the implications for practice and presents some useful recommendations, including the need for family support and government assistance.

'What works' to ensure persons with disabilities have access to sexual and reproductive health services

Itad
June 2020

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A growing body of evidence shows that people with disabilities have historically been denied their sexual and reproductive health rights, despite having the same sexual and reproductive health needs as people without disabilities, and continue to face many barriers to accessing these lifesaving services.

This evidence gap map, developed as part of the UK Department for International Development’s Women’s Integrated Sexual Reproductive Health (WISH) programme, collates evidence on ‘what works’ to enable access to sexual reproductive health services for persons with disabilities in low and middle-income countries.

Disability Inclusive Development - Jordan Situational Analysis

THOMPSON, Stephen
June 2020

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This situational analysis (SITAN) addresses the question: “what is the current situation for persons with disabilities in Jordan?”. It has been prepared for the Disability Inclusive Development programme (which works on access to education, jobs, healthcare, and reduced stigma and discrimination for persons with disabilities in Bangladesh, Jordan, Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, and Tanzania), to better understand the current context, including COVID-19, and available evidence in Jordan. It will be helpful for anyone interested in disability inclusion in Jordan, especially in relation to stigma, employment, education, health, and humanitarian issues.

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