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“When special needs occur in generally poor areas, vulnerability may easily translate into acute destitution and suffering.” Iran project. REACHING DISABLED PEOPLE THROUGH DEMAND-DRIVEN PROJECTS Abigail Somma May 18, 2004. Objectives:.
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“When special needs occur in generally poor areas, vulnerability may easily translate into acute destitution and suffering.” Iran project REACHING DISABLED PEOPLE THROUGH DEMAND-DRIVEN PROJECTS Abigail Somma May 18, 2004
Objectives: • To identify approaches which a project manager or policy-maker may choose to use for targeting disabled people in demand-driven projects based on previous choices • Provide a framework for further analysis
Why Target Disabled People? • Research indicates that 7-10% of a population has a disability • Disability and poverty have an interconnected relationship • Disabled people face numerous barriers to access and inclusion • As a minority group, disabled people are less likely to be reached through a demand-driven mechanism
How is the Bank Addressing Disability in Projects? • Mainstreaming disability is in its infancy • Project information is based regionally and not centrally • A database search results in 24-26 projects which mention disability in the abstract: ECA: 8 AFR: 6 SAR: 4 LAC: 4 MENA: 3 EAP: 1 • This is clearly not representative; regional disability working groups are currently taking inventory through regional consultants
MENA: 3 Yemen: Social Fund for Development Project Lebanon: Community Development Project Iran: Local Development Fund Project LAC: 2 St. Lucia: Poverty Reduction Fund Project Honduras: Fourth Social Investment Fund Project ECA: 2 Ukraine: Social Investment Fund Project Tajikistan: Education Modernization Project SAR: 1 Andrah Pradesh: District Poverty Initiatives Project AFR: 1 Malawi: Third Social Action Fund EAP: 1 Cambodia: Social Fund Project Disability in CDDTen Projects Analyzed
Types of Interventions • Community Level: • sub-projects which benefit disabled people, training, education centers, foster care, employment schemes, • organizational support, savings and loans groups, • mainstream projects which benefit disabled people • National: • national reform • inform/complement national policy • capacity building • Regional Level: regional reforms, capacity building,
Targeting Strategies • Most projects identified poorer regions through poverty targeting • Self-targeting mechanisms (i.e. funding an education center for blind people) • Proposals which benefited disabled people received highest priority (Cambodia) • Communities were targeted with high numbers of disabled people (Ukraine) • Geographic constraints were relaxed for projects which targeted disabled people (Iran)
Targeting Strategies • Information, Education, and Communication component, aimed specifically to address disabled people and the groups which represent them; capacity building and outreach for groups which represent disabled people (Malawi) • Targeting NGOs specialized in serving disabled people as intermediary and implementing agencies • Steering committee assigned role of identifying beneficiaries • Choosing communities based on commitment to social services
Division of Labor • Generally: national oversight • Steering Committee created to address needs of vulnerable groups • Consultant hired to specifically address needs/barriers of disabled people • Sponsoring agencies: could be local government, community or municipality; may choose implementing agency
Division of Labor • NGOs and Communities: proposal generation and implementation • Some projects (Lebanon) used NGOs as primary implementing agents • Coordination among levels: international NGOs or specific unit
How are disabled people being empowered? • Information dissemination and participation of disabled people and their organizations in project preparation and design • Organization into community groups and federations • Sub-projects which include enhancing assets: training, skills, and inclusion • Addressing issues of integration and access • Sensitization training and capacity building of larger community and involved stakeholders • Accommodating needs of disabled people in mainstream projects • Disabled people were integrated into supervisory positions
Challenges/Lessons Learned • Task team leaders can generate awareness and interest among government counterparts • Outreach: targeted toward disabled people and toward community at large • Addressing access issues: sensitization • Self-targeting by project type • Giving priority to disabled people in selection process • Including families members of disabled people • Disability interventions can also be preventative: nutrition and conflict-resolution