Thematic research:
5. Has disability been mainstreamed into the development co-operation?
| Research papers | |
| > Introduction | |
| > List of researchers | |
| > Thematic research | |
| > 1. Gap analysis | |
| > 2. Policy and legislation | |
| > 3. Data and statistics | |
| > 4. Disabled people's voices | |
| > 5. Mainstreaming disability | |
| > 6. Conflict situations | |
| > 7. Education | |
| > Reducing poverty study | |
| > DFID policy project | |
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Read the Executive Summary and Full Reports here:
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Diversity Training Ltd in association with Samaita Associates, South Africa and Atlas Alliance, Norway
The research looked at whether disability has been mainstreamed into the Development co-operation. This was undertaken by Bill Albert, A.K. Dube, Trine Cecilie Riis-Hansen who investigated whether international donor agencies’ policies on disability mainstreaming were being effectively implemented. The researchers looked at USAID, the World Bank, DFID and NORAD as the international donor agencies and their strong formal policy commitments to mainstreaming disability.
A comparative review of these four agencies has shown that while there are common issues, on the whole mainstreaming strategies must be agency specific. This means that while reasons for failing to deliver were also specific, in broad terms there were five main reasons identified.
- Lack of broad institutional support for mainstreaming
- Failure to communicate policies
- Failure to break down traditional attitudes to disability
- Need for practical guidance
- Inadequate resourcing
The researchers also found that interviewees said, disability does not appear in the MDG’s and therefore does not cascade down through the PSA and beyond. This is a significant issue because of a general lack of awareness. Due to this, disability tends to be forgotten and has become more or less invisible, despite being recognised by such key players as the UN and the World Bank as a major issue of social exclusion, a principle cause of poverty and something that needs to be addressed if the MDG’s are to be fulfilled.
The researchers said: “Mainstreaming should not just about inclusion; it must be about the precise nature of that inclusion. While, as we have indicated, it is understandable that the culture and practices of entire institutions cannot be transformed at a stroke, it is absolutely essential that the broader, more radical goals of disability mainstreaming, that is self-empowerment, self-determination and equality are not soft peddled. These need to be constantly promoted and constantly revisited.”
Read
the Executive Summary as a Word document (7 pages, 238 KB)
Read
the Full Report as a Word document (107 pages, 981 KB)
