Welcome to the Fourth Washington Group on Disability Statistics Bangkok, 29-Sept. to 1 Oct. 2004

1. Welcome to the Fourth Washington Group on Disability Statistics Bangkok, 29-Sept. to 1 Oct. 2004 Lene Mikkelsen, Chief of Statistics Development , UNESCAP

2. Whyis ESCAP working in disability statistics? • to know how many disabled people there are in the region • because available data are not adequate for policy formulation • to promote common standards so data can be compared • BMF recommends the improvement of national disability information systems

3. ESCAP Disability Project • Training in the use of ICF for disability collection • Capacity building in data collection methodologies • National action plans for improving disability information systems ·Prepare a disability manual and training materials ·Establish a disability forum and network to share experiences in developing disability statistics better

4. First workshop in May, 2004 Training was provided in: • the use of ICF for data collection • collection instruments and measurements issues • development of national action plan for improved disability data and ICF implementation

5. Second Workshop September, 2004 • How to operationalise ICF into questions for surveys and censuses • How to bring registers in line with ICF • Testing and interviewing techniques to get better data • Feedback on progress on national action plans and on the draft modules of the disability manual

6. Synopsis of disability data in the ESCAP region

7. Comparison of census and survey sources of data on disability Source: UNSD

8. Disability information from censuses • A couple of questions in the census -identification of the disabled persons, type of disability, cause of disability (sometimes) • Response rate: Near 100% • Type of questions asked mostly impairment based: 1 Does this household have any physical or mental disability? 2 What type of disability does it have?

9. Disability information from surveys • Most surveys did not focus on disability • Sample size: - from 250 households in Kyrgyzstan to 369,816 households (1,579,314 persons in China) • Response rate: Typical 70-100% • Type of information: -disabled persons/households -disability type, cause and severity of disability -basic demographic information (sometimes) - educational level, employment (sometimes) - income and disability pensions (sometimes) - use of support services, special equipments - unmet needs and care-takers (rarely)

11. Diagnosis of the region’s disability statistics (1) • Most use measurement instruments that only covers the most severely disabled, i.e censuses • Most use an impairment-based approach • Most use a generic question to identify PWD • Lack of a common conceptual framework means that data are not comparable across or between different sources within countries

12. Diagnosis of the region’s disability statistics (2) • National standards have been used in design and wording of disability questions • The disability model used is focused on a few traditional impairment categories • There is limited experience in developing disability questions covering the broad spectrum of disability

13. Prospect for disability statistics in the region is looking bright • Active and strong disability associations • BMF helps to keep pressure on Governments • Growing awareness that disability and poverty are related • A core group of countries who will start using ICF will set a trend • ESCAP is preparing a strong census program for preparing the 2010 round • Things change rapidly in Asia and many NSOs are developing fast