Mainstreaming disability conference

An international conference on mainstreaming disability has challenged development agencies to put the needs of disabled people and their organisations firmly on their anti-poverty agenda. How can this be achieved? ...

London was the location for a two-day conference and associated workshops entitled Mainstreaming disability in development: left off the agenda?

Held in November 2003,the conference was a collaboration between the Disability Awareness in Action, International Service and Action on Disability and Development. It was attended by over 120 people from 20 countries. The aim of the event, funded by the European Union's Year of People with Disabilities, was to address the very low priority given to the needs of disabled people and their organisations by development agencies in their anti-poverty strategies.

Delegates represented a range of stakeholders - disabled people from the North and South, service providers, technical support agencies, multi-lateral agencies, academics and donor agencies. The speakers were equally diverse; some of their views are represented below.

A number of key conclusions emerged from the conference:

• Governments must raise the priority of disability on their agenda because it is a rights issue.
• Governments, not benevolent organisations, are the guarantors of disabled people's rights. They have a duty to resource and implement that responsibility.
• The representative voice of disabled people must guide all development policies, programmes and monitoring mechanisms that affect them to ensure mainstreaming.
• Countries cannot afford to keep between 10 and 20% of their populations off their economic, social, cultural and political agenda.
• All development planning criteria, including funding for infrastructure, must address disability issues.
• A society fit for disabled people is the only society fit for all.

More information at:
www.internationalservice.org.uk

Viewpoint - UK Department for International Development (DFID)

Dr Michael Shultz of DFID said mainstreaming disability is "at the heart" of the department's concern: over the last few years it has moved away from isolated disability-related projects towards integrated support to governments on poverty reduction.

Shultz believes DFID and other agencies can help by supporting disabled people's movements in the South to hold their own governments to account. Recognising the disability agenda in other sectors, e.g. transport, so that disability is given "greater space", is also important.

The audience was invited to monitor the implementation of the Disability, Poverty and Development Issues Paper (see references), which promotes both mainstreaming disability and disability-specific measures. This is part of keeping information flowing Shultz said the development of DFID's positions over time is often the result of input, advice and lobbying from outside.

Viewpoint - United Nations

Vittoria Berria, of the UN's Department of Economic and Social Affairs, presented an update on the development of the UN's new Convention of the Rights of Disabled People. The Convention is the first time that civil society, specifically disabled people's organizations, has been involved alongside UN Member State delegates in the process of drafting text. Berria described it as, "a unique opportunity for building a common agreement."

The Convention's purpose is to raise the visibility of disability, to promote a culture of dialogue and trust, to increase the social inclusion of disabled people, to promote best practice, and to pool scattered knowledge. For more information see
www.dpi.org/en/resources/topics/topics-convention.htm

A Working Group met from 5 to 16 January 2004 to draft the text of the convention. There is a virtual forum for public discussion at
www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/rights/

Viewpoint - Southern African Federation of Disabled People (SAFOD)

Alexander Phiri of SAFOD told the conference that responsibility lies with each government, and that disability needs to be on the economic and social agenda.

"Instead of proving that we are 10% of any given population and 20% of the world's poorest, we must convince society that we are an irreplaceable part of 100%"
Alexander Phiri, SAFOD

In Phiri's view, initiatives such as the UN Decade of Disabled Persons have had little impact on African governments. In reality, "disability issues are still at the bottom of the list of priorities and it is not easy to change this situation without a long-term vision of a new society," he said.

How important is mainstreaming to SAFOD? According to Phiri, it means creating "a society for us all", and "the expansion of possibilities, establishment of new partners, mutual support and solidarity." He called for the red light to be given to development projects that are not universal.

The challenge in Africa, said Phiri, is to harness political will to commit the necessary resources, and to communicate effectively with disabled people.

Viewpoint - The World Bank

Judy Heumann, the World Bank's Advisor on Disability and Development, gave a teleconference with the International Disability and Development Consortium (IDDC) and guests based in London that coincided with the Mainstreaming Disability conference. She stressed the need to encourage countries to include disability data in their poverty mapping, as one step in pointing governments towards mainstreaming disability in policies and services. It is important to encourage an integrated, cross-sectoral approach, she said, and to collaborate with country leaders.

The World Bank is funding a number of small research projects; for example, in Uganda, a poverty mapping exercise is incorporating a census on disability, which is assessing the economic issues that disabled people experience.

There was much positive feedback from the teleconference group, many of whom valued it as an opportunity to make new contacts. Delegates echoed Heumann's call for collaboration. Among these was Mark Raijmakers of the Dutch Coalition on Disability and Development, who also said that some agencies are struggling to embrace inclusion and mainstreaming, which he believes must be changed through education.

Concluding, Heumann stressed the need for an emphasis on education, with support at country level, because local expertise is often limited. She asked for governments to be lobbied to include disability components in budget allocation criteria. She expressed her hopes for the Global Partnership on Disability and Development that she is developing, as an opportunity for funding, and a vehicle for better knowledge and increased visibility for disabled people.

A word from the delegates

The role of disabled people is vital. We need to work with many people: donors, community agencies, development agencies etc. to lobby governments [in the South] to include disabled people in their policies. (Mme Djikiné, West African Fed. of Disabled Persons, Mali).

The conference has been a unique opportunity for people to gather from all over the world . . . to exchange [information about] what has been successful in their countries with other countries, which will convince funders to think about the matter as a whole. . . and make [ disability programmes ] a priority. (Amneh Saquer, UNRWA, Syria).

Useful web-based references

List of conference materials:
www.internationalservice.org.uk

VSO Position Paper: Disability, VSO and development:
www.vso.org.uk/publications/positionpapers/

USAID Policy Paper on Disability:
www.usaid.gov/about/disability/
DISABPOL.FIN.html

The World Bank Disability Conference 2002 website:
www.worldbank.org/wbi/B-SPAN/
sub_disability_conference_2002_index.htm

ACP-EU Resolution on the Rights of Disabled People and Older People in ACP Countries November 2001:
www.edf-feph.org/apdg/Documents/EN%20EU
-ACP%20Resolution%20disability.pdf