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There is limited quantitative evidence on livelihood opportunities amongst adults with disabilities in Low and Middle Income Countries. This study adds to the limited evidence base, contributing data from one African and one Asian setting. A population-based case–control study of adults (18+) with and without disabilities was undertaken in North-West Cameroon and in Telangana State, India. It was found that adults with disabilities were five times less likely to be working compared to age-sex matched controls in both settings. Amongst adults with disabilities, current age, marital status and disability type were key predictors of working. Inclusive programmes are therefore needed to provide adequate opportunities to participate in livelihood prospects for adults with disabilities in Cameroon and India, on an equal basis as others

Using current evidence and testimony from more than 60 WASH experts in 30 countries, this technical paper highlights evidence to argue that accessible and inclusive WASH is achievable at low cost, by using universal design, community-driven change, and existing knowledge, expertise and methods. The paper provides starting points to understand the impact of and case for accessible and inclusive WASH.

Evidence on strategies/pathways for strengthening people with disabilities’ leadership in political and public life, at all levels of governance (formal and informal) is reviewed.

Topics discussed concerning participation in political and public life include: UNCRPD; barriers; strategies to support inclusive electoral and political processes; womens empowerment; capacity building and training; the role of disability movements and DPOs; affirmative action and quotas; election observation and increasing the visibility of people with disabilities 

K4D helpdesk report

The aim of the review was to create a capacity building and professional learning opportunity based on inclusive education experience and expertise in another context. The background, methodology, findings of the study are enclosed within the document. Specific objectives include: (1) to create focused peer-to-peer sharing and learning opportunities across countries, (2) record key strategies, opportunities, remaining challenges and achievements, (3) document lessons learned for targeted quality improvements during the last year of each project, and (4) use information collected for developing a responsible, phased exit strategy for 2018.

This rapid review looks at examples of existing literature on the availability of assistive technologies and efforts to make these technologies more affordable and accessible in developing countries. Needs and access to assistive technologies are overviewed. The discussion of market characteristics of assistive technologies covers availability, affordability, quality, appropriate design, and awareness and demand.  Efforts to increase the affordability and accessibility of assistive technology are discussed covering: The Global Cooperation on Assistive Technology (GATE); the WHO Priority Assistive Products List; and EYElliance and eye health initiatives. Market shaping and community based approaches are discussed in this context.

This is a K4D helpdesk report. This report was commissioned by the UK Department for International Development (DFID)

This is a practical manual about mental health care, aimed at community health workers, primary care nurses, social workers and primary care doctors, particularly in low resource settings. It describes more than 30 clinical problems associated with mental illness, using a problem-solving approach to guide the reader through their assessment and management. It addresses the lack of understanding of mental health among many health workers. Mental health issues as they arise in specific contexts are described - in refugee camps, in school health programmes, as well as in mental health promotion. The final section helps the reader to personalise for a particular location, for example, by entering local information on voluntary agencies, the names and costs of medicines and words in the local language for symptoms.

This product is an update of the first edition 2003. It is also available as Open Access.

UNICEF has issued an Assistive Products guide which addresses needs in four impairment groups: mobility, vision, hearing, and communication.  It provides details of some assistive products currently available on the market and information on when and how they are to be used. It covers a range of devices, from low-tech (e.g., walking sticks, pencil grips) to more complex (e.g., specialized computer software/hardware or motorised wheelchairs). This publication provides practical information to guide UNICEF, partner agencies and Governments in procurement planning and provisioning of assistive products. The information is designed to help with decision-making on the most appropriate assistive products to meet programme objectives and realise the rights of children with disabilities. The selection of assistive products in this overview is based on the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) 2016 Assistive Products Priority List (APL). References to particular brands and models are only illustrative examples available at the time of publication and do not constitute an endorsement of the manufacturer by UNICEF. Indicative prices listed are in US dollars.

Persons with a disability are among the population groups most likely to suffer from exclusion from education but data that permit an analysis of the links between disability and education remain scarce. This paper examines educational disparities linked to disability based on data from 49 countries and territories for five education indicators:

● Proportion of 15- to 29-year-olds who ever attended school

● Out-of-school rate (primary school age, lower secondary school age)

● Completion rate (primary education, lower secondary education)

● Mean years of schooling of the population 25 years and older

● Adult literacy rate (population 15 years and older)

The education indicators were calculated with data from three sources, collected between 2005 and 2015: Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) sponsored by USAID, School-to-Work Transition Surveys (SWTS) by ILO, and population census data compiled by IPUMS-International. Comparability of the data across countries is limited because only some of the surveys and censuses used questions developed by the Washington Group on Disability Statistics to identify persons with a disability. The accuracy of the indicator estimates is also affected by sampling and non-sampling errors in the data, the small sample size of many of the surveys that were analysed, and the relatively small proportion of persons with disabilities in each country’s population. Moreover, because of the scarcity of national data, it is currently not possible to generate statistics on the status of persons with disabilities with regard to education that are regionally or globally representative.

Information Paper No.49

This special issue of this journal includes the following papers:

• Achieving Disability Equality: Empowering Disabled People to Take the Lead
• Dis-Equality: Exploring the Juxtaposition of Disability and Equality
• Leveraging Employer Practices in Global Regulatory Frameworks to Improve Employment Outcomes for People with Disabilities
• Equality of What? The Capability Approach and the Right to Education for Persons with Disabilities
• Reasonable Accommodation as a Gateway to the Equal Enjoyment of Human Rights: From New York to Strasbourg
• Disability, Access to Food and the UN CRPD: Navigating Discourses of Human Rights in the Netherlands
• Rehabilitation as a Disability Equality Issue: A Conceptual Shift for Disability Studies?
• Inclusions and Exclusions in Rural Tanzanian Primary Schools: Material Barriers, Teacher Agency and Disability Equality
• Education, Work, and Motherhood in Low and Middle Income Countries: A Review of Equality Challenges and Opportunities for Women with Disabilities
• Social Inclusion through Community Living: Current Situation, Advances and Gaps in Policy, Practice and Research