REACHING DISABLED PEOPLE

1
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

2
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

3
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

4
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

5
Disability in CDDTen Projects Analyzed

• 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

6
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,

7
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)

8
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

9
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

10
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

11
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

12
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