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cbm recently ran what they intend to be the first in an annual series of seminars to mark the International Day for Persons with Disability within the context of aid and development.
Enable 08 was the title of this year's seminar on Disability in Development held in Wellington at the beginning of December. The global statistics on the link between disability and poverty are quite clear: people with disability are over represented among the poor of the world (see page of Facts About Persons With Disability). At the same time disability is not included as a specific issue in the MDGs, and is often not included in the work of development agencies.
In the seminar we were reminded both of how recently New Zealand attitudes to disability have changed, and also how far we still need to change. We heard about the dismantling of institutionalised care with the closing of places like Porirua Psychiatric hospital and the Kimberley centre, but we also heard of the continuing issues faced by someone like Mark Grantham in getting airlines to understand and work with his wheelchair needs.
The perspective on disability issues has to change from the medical model, which asks the question “what can we do for this person?” to a human rights model which starts rather with a question about what rights these people have, and how these can be met. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is seen by disabled people as a significant landmark. “The Convention marks a "paradigm shift" in attitudes and approaches to persons with disabilities. It takes to a new height the movement from viewing persons with disabilities as "objects" of charity, medical treatment and social protection towards viewing persons with disabilities as "subjects" with rights, who are capable of claiming those rights and making decisions for their lives based on their free and informed consent as well as being active members of society” (see www.un.org/disabilities).
This perspective requires both partnership and participation. Two slogans sum this up. The first is “We’re OK – it’s what happens to us that isn’t”. The second is “Nothing about us without us”.
The failure of many development organisations to even be aware of disability issues was pointed out from a number of perspectives. A school project in a developing country was being run by an organisation that failed to discover the number of children with disabilities who were not being included. Project planning needs to identify the most vulnerable groups in the community and involve them in all decision making. This will include those with disabilities.
Development Partners Need To
- Prioritise disability as a tool for planning and analysis for development assistance and international cooperation in all their international cooperation and assistance (aid, debt relieve and trade)
- Include and consult people with disabilities and their respective organisations in planning, implementation, monitoring and reporting
- Include disability as a requirement / condition for funding development programmes
(From: http://www.un.org/disabilities/default.asp?id=1432)
Resource information:
cbm hosted Enable 08 in their capacity as the world’s largest organisation specialising in improving the lives of persons living in poverty with disability. Their view is that the Millennium Goals for poverty reduction cannot be achieved without addressing disability.
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