Bridging the Gap: Disability and Development in Africa

1. ESRC/DFID Poverty Alleviation ResearchBridging the Gap Examining Disability and Development in four African Countries (Kenya, Sierra Leone, Uganda, and Zambia) Presented by : Global Head of Influencing , Impact and Learning ,Ola Abu Alghaib

2. DFID/ESRC Poverty Alleviation Scheme-funded research project, with £2 million pound funding (2015-2018) Lead organisation: Leonard Cheshire Disability and Inclusive Development Centre, UCL. Builds on previous research undertaken by the Centre – in particular the DFID-funded Cross-cutting Disability Research Programme Emergence of a ‘disability and development gap’ (Groce and Kett, 2013) Building on a growing body of evidence around multidimensional poverty particularly as it applies to persons with disabilities (e.g. Groce et al, 2011; Mitra et al, 2013: Palmer, 2011; Mizunoya and Mitra, 2013; Eide and Ingstad, 2013; Munsaka and Charnley, 2013; McConkey, 2012.) Background 2

3. Research Areas • The grant specified four domains of focus: • Health • Education • Labour Market/Livelihoods • Social Protection • We selected four countries to represent a range of socio-economic concerns related to persons with disabilities: • Kenya • Uganda • Zambia • Sierra Leone

4. RESEARCH Objectives • Production of new evidence leading to sustained awareness of, and interest in, persons with disabilities and their families, policymakers, governments, bilateral and multilateral donor agencies, disabled people’s organisations, and other researchers • Policymakers in the four domains are influenced by key aspects of the research outcomes which ‘bridge the gap’ in their field and incorporate outcomes into poverty alleviation policies

5. RESEARCH Objectives cont. • A sustained, long-term positive impact on changing the attitudes of donors, policy-makers and development practitioners on disability issues; • South-South dialogue is facilitated and maintained between research partners and other stakeholders, including DPOs, in knowledge exchange and promoting genuinely inclusive policy and practice; and • Effective engagement with the media, at global, regional, national and local levels to communicate key research messages

6. Research consortium: LCD Background • Kenya: University of Nairobi, School of Public Health, African Centre for Science and Technology; United Disabled Persons Kenya • Uganda: Makerere University, Department of Social Work and Social Administration; National Union of Disabled Persons of Uganda • Zambia: Institute of Economic and Social Research, University of Zambia; Zambia Agency for Persons with Disabilities • Sierra Leone: University of Sierra Leone, Department of Sociology and Social Work; Sierra Leone Union of People with Disabilities • South Africa: Stellenbosch University • International Experts: Dr D, Mont; Professors T. Shakespeare, S. Mitria, M. Schneider, L. Swartz

7. Research Question: 1. How do current national policies, programmes and strategies in health, education, labour market and social protection address poverty, inequality and access to services of disabled adults and children in the four selected countries? 2.What implementation strategies are currently in place/ being developed to implement these policies, programmes and strategies? What monitoring and evaluation strategies are currently in place and how can they become more effective?

8. 3. What information can currently be obtained through the analysis of secondary data to compare disabled and non-disabled persons in censuses and national surveys in order to better understand the links between disability, multidimensional poverty and barriers to accessing initiatives to alleviate poverty? 3. What educational, health economic, and social protectioninterventions by state and non-state actors make a difference to persons with disabilities to ensure they benefit equally compared to their non-disabled peers and how can these be replicated? 4. How can the hypothesised disability and development gap be assessed to understand the multidimensional poverty and barriers faced by persons with disabilities in comparison to non-disabled persons?

9. RESEARCH Activities Years 1-2 • Policy analysis: WHAT SHOULD BE • Disability-specific policies • 3 national policies in the four domains (e.g. education acts; health, livelihoods and social welfare legislation) selected for analysis to assess disability inclusion • Regional analysis: review of regional policies in the four domains (e.g. African Union) • Secondary data analysis: WHAT ‘IS’ – reflected in growing body of data • Partners developed analytical frameworks to reanalyse existing national data sets • Identified variables that enable disaggregation of data by disability status over the four domains and other aspects of multidimensional poverty measures. • National data sets reanalysed to generate new information/ identifying gaps in the data sets where disability-focused information is missing

10. Year 2-3: • Household Survey based on the results from policy/secondary data analysis - 1,200 households to be randomly sampled in each country • In-depth Interviews (Levers of Success project); Qualitative focus groups/ follow up interviews. * Follow up series qualitative series of small projects

11. Initial findings: Health – policy analysis • Range of policies with varying amounts of disability inclusion • No consistency • Little accountability in terms of implementation plans and data collection or analysis in health domains for disability issues • Health policies do not coherently address the barriers to healthcare or lack of additional services for persons with disabilities (e.g. delivery beds in health facilities) - Uganda

12. Initial findings: Health Data • Secondary data analysis • Collection of disability data of health and disability is improving through the inclusion of Washington Group questions, and specific disability surveys, but not consistent HOWEVER: Analysisof disability data collection is less consistent USE of data once analysed to make a difference, is even more problematic

13. Initial findings: education Inclusion of disability in Educational Policies. Review of secondary data however clearly show that gaps remain

14. Initial findings: Education • Significantly, MAJOR Gaps in terms of what information is being collected • Education beyond the class room : we have even less information about/ fewer mechanisms in place to collect and analyse data regarding people with disabilities and educational opportunities.

15. Next steps • Better understanding of what this means to persons with disabilities and their households. (Household Survey/ Levers of Success) • While there are still many gaps, IMPROVING POLICY and IMPROVDING DATA collection are creating new opportunities specifically under the Sustainable Development Goals • BUT : without implementation plans, there is a critical GAP in development CYCLE • NEED for ADVOCACY: There is a need for a consortium of government/ civil society – DPOs/NGOs/ media – to use linked policy (what should be) and existing data (what is) to push for implementation/ monitoring and evaluation over time.

16. Possible actions on how to take the analysis further to influence ongoing policy development – combine all domains • The findings of this analysis be consolidated into different products for dissemination to various stakeholders (e.g. policy briefs for policymakers, research summaries ,awareness brochures and pamphlets for public at grassroots, blogs for the general public etc.). • There are also regular in-country dialogue through face-to-face meetings, as well as other outputs during the course of the research to ensure continued engagement. • These are continues dissemination activities taking place through national and international forums, as well as through a dedicated webpage. • An end of programme conference will be held to showcase key research findings, lessons learned and policy recommendations.

17. Research Team • Prof. Nora Groce Leonard Cheshire Disability and Inclusive Development Centre • Dr. Maria Kett Leonard Cheshire Disability and Inclusive Development Centre • Professor Tom Shakespeare, Norwich Medical School University of East Angelia • Ellie Cole, MSc. Leonard Cheshire Disability and Inclusive Development Centre

18. Thank you!