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Current research from Bhutan indicates that over 21 per cent of children aged 2–9 years have one or more disabilities. One of the challenges for Bhutan is to ensure that all children with special educational needs and disabilities receive appropriate education and social services. This study recognized the internationally acknowledged definition for children with disabilities (CWD). The term ‘children with disabilities’ in this study is used to refer to children up to the age of 18 who have “longterm physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others” (Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Article 1). However, the intention of this study was to secure participants’ knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) based on their own understanding of the term.1 This project provides a data set and accompanying commentary that can stimulate discussion, whilst becoming a catalyst for further policy and practice developments for CWD. 

In the context of its Urban Eye Health Programme in Bhopal (India), Sightsavers launched a pilot approach aimed at developing an Inclusive Eye Health (IEH) model and IEH Minimum Standards.

Accessibility audits were conducted in a tertiary eye hospital and four primary vision centres located within urban slums, addressing the accessibility of physical infrastructures, communication and service provision. The collection and analysis of disaggregated data inform the inclusion strategy and provide a baseline to measure the impact of service provision. Trainings of eye health staff and sensitisation of decision makers on accessibility, universal design, disability and gender inclusion are organised on a regular basis.

A referral network is being built to ensure participation of women, people with disabilities and other marginalised groups, explore barriers at demand level, and guarantee wider access to eye care in the community. Finally, advocacy interventions will be developed to raise awareness in the community and mainstream disability and gender inclusion within the public health sector.

Cochrane Rehabilitation aims to improve the application of evidence-based practice in rehabilitation. It also aims to support Cochrane in the production of reliable, clinically meaningful syntheses of evidence related to the practice of rehabilitation, while accommodating the many methodological challenges facing the field. To this end, Cochrane Rehabilitation established a Methodology Committee to examine, explore and find solutions for the methodological challenges related to evidence synthesis and knowledge translation in rehabilitation. An international online survey was conducted via Cochrane Rehabilitation networks to canvass opinions regarding the future work priorities for this committee and to seek information on people’s current capabilities to assist with this work. One of the areas of debate concerned whether and how work on the application of Cochrane methods in low and middle income countries should be prioritised.

Eur J Phys Rehabil Med 2017;53:814-7

DOI: 10.23736/S1973-9087.17.04958-9

Based on a survey of 205 Syrian refugees in Lebanon and in-depth interviews with 14 Syrian women refugees originally from different towns and cities in Syria, and additional research, this study confirms that the use of explosive weapons in populated areas drives multiple forced displacements and induces a pattern of displacement that increases the vulnerability of civilians. Quantitative data collected during the survey confirms the correlation between multiple forced displacements and the use of the explosive weapons, as almost half of all respondents had been internally displaced prior to seeking external refuge in Lebanon, with an average of 3 internal displacements within their own city. The women interviewed highlighted the deprivation induced by forced displacement. The study also reflects the considerable harm caused by the use of explosive weapons in populated areas in terms of socio-economic vulnerability, linked to the loss of livelihood and the disruption of civilian infrastructure, as well as the long-term impact on mental health. Dire social impacts were emphasised by respondents, namely aid dependence and new restrictions encountered by people living with disabilities, along with a loss of personal dignity, as well as the loss of education for Syrian children

This report highlights existing key evidence on the relationship between disability and HIV. It discusses the concrete steps needed for a person-centred, disability-inclusive HIV response that allows for increased participation of people with disabilities and integrates rehabilitation within the continuum of HIV care. Globally, it is estimated that 1 billion people (15% of the world’s population) have a disability. Of those aged over 15 years, approximately 110–190 million (2.2–3.8%) experience significant disabilities. Disability is increasing in prevalence due to ageing populations, trauma, accidents and the increase in chronic health conditions, including HIV. Persistent discrimination against and exclusion of people with disabilities, in particular women and girls with disabilities, increases their vulnerability, including their risk of HIV infection.
 

The aim of this systematic review was to identify, appraise and synthesise available evidence to understand:

1. What experiences and practices have already taken place in African countries to support political participation of people with disabilities and;

2. What effect they have had on the political inclusion of people with disabilities at local and national levels across the continent.

Relevant electronic databases and websites of service providers and donor organisations working in this field were searched. Authors and organisations were contacted for relevant reports. A total of 54 documents were reviewed. 

Limitations of the literature included in this review suggest that activities aiming at increased political participation of people with disabilities in Africa are poorly documented.

The focus of this publication is on showing progress of the EU and its Member States towards the goals and targets defined in the Europe 2020 strategy. The analysis of long-term trends, as described by the strategy’s headline indicators, is accompanied by additional contextual information, which improves understanding of the driving forces behind the developments that these indicators show. The current edition builds upon and updates the previous releases. The publication provides analyses based on the most recent statistics in the five thematic areas of employment, R&D and innovation, climate change and energy, education, and poverty and social exclusion. Each area is analysed in a dedicated chapter. An executive summary outlines the main statistical trends observed in the indicators. Additional country profiles describe the progress of each Member State towards its national Europe 2020 targets

DOI: 10.2785/760192

This special issue of the Journal of Poverty & Social Justice has two aims. Firstly to provide new evidence on the implementation and impacts of conditionality for disabled benefits claimants in order to provide an empirical foundation for the contested claims on both sides of this debate and secondly to prompt further research in this area. 

Article titles in this issue are:

• Benefits conditionality for disabled people: stylised facts from a review of international evidence and practice
• Does sanctioning disabled claimants of unemployment insurance increase labour market inactivity? An analysis of 346 British local authorities between 2009 and 2014 
• Consequences of activation policy targeting young adults with health-related problems in Sweden and Denmark
• Assessment of work ability in competing strands of social insurance: the German case 
• Welfare conditionality and disabled people in the UK: claimants' perspectives
• The bedroom tax in the Supreme Court: implications of the judgment 

The gender-responsive implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development presents an enormous opportunity to achieve gender equality, end poverty and hunger, combat inequalities within and among countries, build peaceful, just and inclusive societies, protect and promote human rights, and ensure the lasting protection of the planet and its natural resources. The SDGs provide an important framework for collective action to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls and the realization of their full enjoyment of all human rights. This work requires continued attention to the implementation of outcomes of major United Nations conferences and Summits, including the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, as well as sustained implementation of international human rights treaties.