Disability and Development

Information about disability and development

Disabled people make up approximately 10 per cent of any population (WHO) and 20 per cent of the world’s poorest (World Bank). Disability is both a cause and effect of poverty, and 82 per cent of disabled people live below the poverty line in developing countries (UN). These figures can be higher in countries devastated by civil war or natural disaster.

Disabled people, in all parts of the world, experience discrimination and are widely excluded from the social, economic and political life of the community. This exclusion is the basic cause of high rates of poverty among disabled people in the poorest countries. Being amongst the most excluded has severe life and death implications for disabled people in developing countries. 

 

Approaches to disability

The traditional way of addressing disability issues has been either through medical or charitable approaches, often based on the assumption that disability is an individual (biomedical or functional) problem. Organisations for disabled people, rather than organisations made up of disabled people themselves, have provided segregated services, with little or no recognition of disabled people’s rights to participate as equal citizens.

In the last few decades, disabled people’s organisations around the world have promoted a human rights approach and an environmental approach to disability issues. These approaches are both based on a social model of disability. The focus is on disabled people’s rights and on the need to change society to be inclusive of everybody. Within these models, it is the way that society is organised to exclude people with impairments that is considered disabling, not the individual impairment. Organisations of disabled people have been coming together increasingly to fight for their rights on this basis.  

 

Exclusion, marginalisation and vulnerability

Disabled people experience discrimination from the moment of becoming disabled onwards. The birth of a disabled child is often considered a tragedy. A disabled child needs more attention and may not be considered to have the potential to support him or herself in the future. In communities that are already living in chronic poverty this is very significant. Disabled children may be protected and cared for, but often excluded from day-to-day activities of the family and community. Their voice goes unheard.

Disability is often perceived in a very negative way due to cultural factors, ignorance, superstitions and fear. In some places, disability is seen as a curse or punishment from God. Disabled people are perceived as being sub-human and unfit to participate in society’s mainstream activities. Many families of children with disabilities both fear for and ashamed of them. They tend to hide disabled children and do not offer them any opportunities for development. Where disabled people are not visible in society, advocacy for disability rights is made all the moiré difficult.

 

 

 

Many disabled persons develop a dependency syndrome, inferiority complex, a sense resignation and feelings of isolation and exclusion from the society in which they are born and live. It is clear, however, that many of the problems encountered by people with disabilities are not solely caused by perceptions or by culture. Cultures and perceptions of disability differ from country to country, and there are also differences in this regard between rural and urban environments.

 

Specific concerns of disabled women

Disabled women and girls face double exploitation and discrimination. They often excluded from education, health services, family life and employment. At the same time they experience high rates of sexual abuse with high risk of contracting HIV/AIDS. They often have low self-esteem and confidence resulting from a life of discrimination and exclusion.

 

Disabled people have rights!

 

The right to basic services.

The right to health care.

The right to food and water.

The right to life!  

 

 

 Basic needs – food, health care, education

Where there are limited resources it may be seen as economically irresponsible to give an equal share of resources to a disabled child who is considered unlikely to be able to provide for the family in future. In situations of extreme poverty, this may be a desperate but rational decision. Disabled people are often given the lowest priority for any limited resources, including food, clean water and land. This leads to poor health. Recent experiences show that disability issues cab be addressed successfully even in difficult circumstances.

 

Health care

All disabled people have the same needs for basic health services as anyone else. This is often denied. Health centres may be physically inaccessible and/or far away and health workers may discriminate against them. Disabled women frequently complain of doctors denying them access to reproductive health services. Information on health care is often not provided in accessible formats and disabled persons are not targeted for health education. Some disabled people have specific medical needs associated with their impairments. In conflict/post-conflict zones there may also be a need for access to psychological expertise. Meeting such needs is a prerequisite for achieving full participation.

 

Education

Universal primary education is unobtainable without the inclusion of disabled children. 98 per cent of disabled children receive no formal education (UNICEF). Even if the school is physically accessible, many disabled children remain excluded. Parents may fear that the child will not cope or that disclosure of a disabled child will stigmatise the whole family. They may consider that investment in a disabled child is not worthwhile.

Those children who do get education often receive inferior treatment, have low expectations of themselves and from others. They do not get the support they need in order to participate equally. Disabled children often have fewer demands placed on them and therefore may learn less than non-disabled.

However, lack of access to education should not be seen only as a question of overcoming cultural barriers. Attitudes of teachers, physical accessibility of schools and transport and access to orthopaedic material and equipment are issues that also need to be addressed. In order to be effective, inclusive education requires investment in building a barrier-free environment. This involves appropriate teacher training, curriculum development and providing the necessary support for disabled children. There is also a need for developing special education programmes in which children with disabilities can get more and appropriate attention.

 

 

HIV/AIDS

Disabled people are particularly affected by and vulnerable to HIV and AIDS. Many disabled people are also indirectly affected HIV/AIDS. They have inadequate access to information, health care and treatment. Information is rarely available in appropriate formats for disabled persons or adjusted to existing needs. As only very few of the world’s disabled people obtain any form of education, illiteracy is also widespread. There is lack of information provided

• in sign language for deaf and hearing-impaired people
• in Braille for visually impaired people
• in any kind of accessible form for people with learning or intellectual disabilities.

 

The sexuality of disabled persons in general, and women with disabilities in particular, si something unknown and often stigmatised and is therefore infrequently discussed. Disabled persons are simply presumed not to have sexual contacts, which is yet another reason why information about HIV/AIDS does not reach these groups.

 

Employment

Later in life, disabled people have restricted employment opportunities, due to

• discrimination
• lack of education
• lack of experience
• lack of confidence.

In fact, employment opportunities for disabled people in developing countries are often almost non-existent. Many disabled persons have to beg for a living whereas, in actual fact, employment is the only way out of life long exclusion. If during childhood disabled children are not included in the community, then as they grow up, their non-disabled peers may not be aware of their existence, let alone their value and rights as equal citizens.

 

 

Disabled persons in the workplace are paid meagre salaries compared to the able-bodied.

Exploitation is worse for people with intellectual disabilities and those with speech and hearing impairments. In developing countries they may gain more from begging than as workers.

 

Access barriers

In addition to social and attitudinal barriers disabled people also face architectural and environmental barriers that limit access to community services and facilities and hinder equal participation. Most roads, houses and public utilities – including public transport – do not cater for special mobility needs. Little or no attempt is made to legislate to require accessibility provisions in public services. Persons with sensory disabilities are completely cut off from the information world when public services fail to provide information in accessible formats, such as Braille, sign language and easy-to-read texts.