European Conference on Millennium Development Goals

1. European Conference on Millennium Development Goals Inclusion of People With Disabilities

2. BACKGROUND • Generally, persons with disabilities remain at the periphery of development and poverty reduction strategies. • No systematic mainstreaming of disability in programmes to achieve millennium development goals • No capacity among DPOs and government departments to effectively plan and implement mainstreamed programmes.

3. BACKGROUND • Attempts made to address inclusion in poverty reduction, education and creation of a global partnership. • However, progress is generally slow.

4. BACKGROUND • No (user-led) research or evidence gathered to determine extent of inclusion or mainstreaming of disability in a number of the millennium development goals.

5. We are able!

6. SITUATION OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES IN AFRICA • There is a large and growing number of persons with disabilities in Africa today. • Major causes of disabling impairments: • War, violence and accidents • Malnutrition, including iodine and Vitamin A deficiency

7. SITUATION OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES IN AFRICA • Infectious diseases such as polio, HIV & Aids and TB • Infectious diseases • Congenital conditions

8. Goa1 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger-responses • Need for programmes that prevent poverty, and hunger among persons with disabilities and promote mainstreaming in PRSP programmes should be encouraged, supported and funded. • The Secretariat’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers Programmes • Other programmes at country levels

9. Goal 1-Examples of Disability NGO Initiatives • NUDIPU’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers process in Uganda • Mainstreaming disability in five-year plan in Zambia • Policy and Legislation Approaches (Namibia, South Africa, Uganda, and other countries)

10. Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education-responses • Urgent need to appropriate educational programmes and compulsory education of children with disabilities • Piloting of inclusive education and revisiting special education in some countries • Free education

11. Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women-responses • Urgent need for programmes that address gender equality and the empowerment of women with disabilities. • African network of women with disabilities • Gender policies in progressive DPOs • Policy and legislation to guarantee gender equality and empowerment of women

12. Goal 4: Reduce child mortality • For every child killed by armed conflict, three are injured or permanently disabled. Over 10 million children are psychologically traumatised by armed conflict[3]. • [3] UNICEF, op. cit.

13. Goal 4: Reduce child mortality-responses • Empower and mobilise parents • Children’s programmes • Ratification and implementation of the Children’s Rights Convention • Developing policies and legislation

14. Goal 5: Improve maternal health-responses • Programmes to improve maternal and reproductive health • Advocacy targeted at Departments of Health in the different countries

15. Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases • HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis are the 1st, 6th and 9th leading causes of losses in disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in high mortality countries respectively[1]. DALYs are the number of healthy years of life lost due to premature death and disability. • [1] WHO 2002a, World Health Report 2002: Reducing Risks, Promoting Healthy Life, Geneva.

16. Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases • About 1 in 10 children suffer from neurological impairment after cerebral malaria, including epilepsy, learning disabilities and loss of coordination[1]. • [1] Wellcome Trust, Malaria and people.Available: http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/en/malaria/MalariaAndPeople/mp_neurd1.html. Accessed 28 July 2003.

17. Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases • Subgroups within the disabled population are at especially increased risk compared with others: e. g. • women • disabled members of ethnic and minority communities • disabled adolescents • those living in institutions • Intellectually disabled persons

18. Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases • Issues: • Poor access to HIV/AIDS information and services • Social vulnerability • Victim of sexual violence (rape among intellectually disabled boys and girls, “virgin rape”, etc)

19. DISABILITY NGOS IN AFRICA • Inadequate Capacity and resources. • However, some initiatives around HIV/ AIDS, PRSPs and Education at different levels of development and implementation: • Working to reduce this vulnerability among members (Asindua, 2006). • (SAFOD) has done outstanding work in 6 countries in the region

20. SECRETARIAT’S RESPONSE • AFRICAN COALITION ON DISABILITY AND HIV/AIDS • There is still an urgent need for action, for collaboration and support of innovative efforts for the inclusion of disabled populations in HIV/AIDS outreach and service efforts.

21. Purpose of the coalition • The purpose of the Coalition is to reduce the number of new HIV infections among the disabled population through: • Greater HIV/AIDS awareness among the most vulnerable disabled persons • Greater global awareness of the particular vulnerability of certain members of the disabled population • Providing guidance for mainstreaming Disability into HIV/AIDS prevention, testing and care programmes • Strengthening DPOs to enable them to play a monitoring role

22. Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability • Poor environmental quality is directly responsible for about 25% of all preventable ill-health in the world, with diarrhoeal diseases as a leading cause[1]. For example, deforestation leaves areas more susceptible to flooding and land slides, increasing the possible transmission of water-borne diseases which can cause diarrhoea. • [1] WHO 1997, Health and Environment in Sustainable Development: Five Years after the Earth Summit, Geneva.

23. Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability • Urgent need to promote programmes that address environmental issues, and/or promote the active participation of persons with disabilities in environmental programmes as users, beneficiaries or entrepreneurs.

24. WHAT AU and GOVERNMENTS ARE DOING? • Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers Campaigns that largely exclude persons with disabilities. • Health Policies that do not take into account the needs of persons with disabilities. • Generally below par performance on all millennium development goals.

26. Global Campaigns & Commission for Africa Report • Key challenges: • A lot of potential for more development • Uncertain, if commitment to 0,7 % GNP for ODA can be realized • Scope of programmes for and level of involvement of people with disability in PRSP open • The Quality of diagnosis of poverty situations • Inconsistent budget allocations • Lack of commitment by authorities • Lack of accountability of the authorities

27. Global Campaigns & Commission for Africa Report • Recommendations: • Jointly seize the present window of opportunity for inclusion of disability • Lobby in Developed Countries for keeping commitment to 0,7 % GNP • Get involved with PRSP to include disability

28. Global Campaigns & Commission for Africa Report • Objectives and measures: -coordinate efforts in the South (African Union/ African Decade) and in the North to impact present global developments for inclusion of disability -engage jointly DPO´s & NGO´s in awareness raising campaigns in developed countries - for example VISION 2020 - for achieving 0,7 % GNP for ODA

29. Global Campaigns & Commission for Africa Report -inclusion of disability as a mainstreaming task in European Development Programmes as proposed in joint European NGO & DPO proposal -Governments in Developing Countries state requests for funding of programmes to include disability in development programmes

30. of a national DSC The establishment Summary

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