Realising the rights of disabled people in Africa: an introduction to the special issue

Abstract

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) has now entered into international law. It requires that all governments take cognisance and action to ensure that the human rights of people with disabilities are realised. This will be particularly challenging in some of the poorest countries; a fact recognised by the Convention's requirement that all international aid-giving countries address disability as part of their programmes. This Special Issue of Disability and Rehabilitation arises from the first conference of a new network - the African Network for Evidence to Action on Disability (AfriNEAD) - which was established to address, on a regional basis, the 'know-do' gap, in the field of disability. Papers in this special issue address a broad range of themes including the measurement of disability; the involvement of persons with disability in the design, conduct and analysis of research on disability; the role of Community Based Facilitators; the impact of HIV/AIDS on people with disabilities, and the challenges of mainstream schooling for children with disabilities. Promoting the human rights of persons with disabilities places an obligation on us all to ensure that the value of research goes beyond publication, to influence policy and practice. One important way of promoting efforts to collectively achieve this is through networks of disabled people's organisations, practitioners, policy makers and researchers working together.

Signs speak as loud as words: deaf empowerment in Namibia

“…Until that time, disability had not featured prominently within the field of international development (Miji et al 2009). The World Report on Disability clearly recognises disability as a development issue, and points out that 'a growing body of empirical evidence from across the world indicates that people with disabilities and their families are more likely to experience economic and social disadvantage than those without disability' (WHO 2011: 10).…”

“…It seems, therefore, that in the international policy arena, the inclusion of disability has now been recognised to some extent, though much work remains to deliver tangible results (Albert 2004). A recent overview of the rights of disabled people in Africa, for instance, states that 'despite the many progressive statements promulgated in recent years, the extent of meaningful change in the actual life of persons with disability in Africa remains limited' (Miji et al 2009: 3).…”

Globalising accessibility: drawing on the experiences of developed countries to enable the participation of disabled people in Zambia

“…While there is ample evidence of advancement in disability research, opportunities and participation by disabled people in developed countries (Imrie and Kumar 2010;Bennett, Lee Kirby, and Macdonald 2009;Barnes 2002), there is a paucity of literature about their situation in developing countries (Mji et al 2009) and how the rights and status of disabled people can be improved particularly in relation to the provision of accessible built environments.…”

“…It is argued that disabled people not only experience barriers in the physical and structural environment but also in the social, psychological, cultural, political, economic and interpersonal environment (Ephraim et al 2006). Consequently, disabled people have been denied participation in society/community (Hammel et al 2008b;Wee and Lysght 2009) and full realisation of their rights (Mji et al 2009;Lawson 2007). Accessing facilities, services and opportunities in society and the community is a right of all citizens (UN 1993(UN , 2006WHO 2001).…”

Provision of prosthetic and orthotic services in low-income countries

“…30 Programmes in LICs are commonly staffed by a small number of expatriate Category I professionals alongside various categories of local staff. 27 The service in Harare, which previously utilised exclusively expatriate prosthetists, now operates with 11 Category II orthopaedic technologists, 7 of whom were trained at the Tanzania Training Centre for Orthopaedic Technologists (TATCOT) school in Tanzania. 26,28 The Harare project illustrates consideration of sustainability.…”