May 2005, id21 insights #55

Breaking barriers

Building access for disabled people

According to the United Nations Development Programme four to six percent of the world's population is disabled. The prevalence of disability in many developing countries is worsened by poor nutrition, disease, conflict and accidents due to poor regulation. Many disabled people also face numerous physical and attitudinal barriers, which contribute to their isolation and impoverishment. If development is the expansion of (and removal of barriers to) the freedoms that people enjoy, a key aspect for disabled people is improving their access to the physical environment.
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Other articles in this issue:

Training Ethiopia's blind people in ICTs

Blindness in Ethiopia results from a wide range of natural and man-made factors, and is also linked to underdevelopment and armed conflict. Neglect, discrimination and lack of awareness means blind people have little access to education, employment, information and other forms of social participation. Information and communication technologies are, however, beginning to overcome these barriers.

Taps and toilets

Accessible water supply and sanitation

Disabled people have the least access to water and sanitation services, which adds to their isolation, poor health and poverty. It also contravenes a basic human right to safe water. Service providers are starting to recognise that the Millennium Development Goals of access to safe water and sanitation, health and poverty reduction will not be met unless disabled people are included.

Women are disabled too

The World Bank estimates that there are 300 million disabled women and girls worldwide. Disabled women in developing countries can face triple discrimination - for being poor, female and disabled. They are often the least educated, weakest and most vulnerable members of any society, especially susceptible to neglect, isolation and abuse. They are often the least educated with few opportunities to speak out.

Building bridges

Creating disabled-friendly environments in Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka, a common approach to disability is the welfare or charity model, which considers people with disabilities to be passive recipients of benefits. Community-based approaches, on the other hand, facilitate disabled people's independence and their ability to contribute to their families and communities. Yet, how feasible is the community-based approach given that most disabled people live in remote areas, where building and maintaining community infrastructure is considered costly and difficult?

Going to the toilet

Adapting infrastructure to suit disabled people need not be an expensive exercise. Often, it only requires minor adjustments, using locally-available materials.

Get moving

Better access to public transport

Encouraging greater access to transport, including public transport, can transform the lives of disabled people. Improved mobility is crucial to alleviating poverty throughout the developing world as it allows people with disabilities to play an active role in society both economically and socially.

Campaigning for access in Viet Nam

Handicap International reports that between 4.5 and 7 million (6 to 9 percent) of Viet Nam's population is disabled, of which up to 42 percent have motor impairments (difficulty with movement). The Youth Disabled Association (YDA) and Handicap International used the occasion of World Disability Day on 3 December 2004 to launch a campaign in Ho Chi Minh to raise public awareness on accessibility issues.

After the Tsunami

Are disabled people being ignored?

When the tsunami hit Sri Lanka in December 2004, it killed almost 40,000 people, injured 15,000 and made one million homeless. With the unprecedented levels of donations there is an opportunity to build a fully accessible environment for disabled people; indeed, several organisations, including the Access for All campaign, are lobbying for this. But will the reconstruction serve the needs of the affected people, including those who are disabled?

Useful web links

Further web resources.

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