Memorandum submitted by the Leonard Cheshire
International
1.1 INTRODUCTION
1.2 LCI welcomes the opportunity to submit
evidence to the International Development Committee's inquiry
into the 2007 DfID Annual Report. Leonard Cheshire International
aims to change attitudes to disability and to serve disabled people
around the world. LCI is an active member of the Cheshire Global
Alliance, an alliance of over 250 disability and development organisations
working in 55 countries. Global Alliance members run autonomous
projects, services and campaigns that support disabled people
and their right to participate fully in society. LCI and our partners
work regularly with DfID both in the UK and in many of the developing
countries in which we operate. As a result we are well placed
to comment on the detail and effectiveness of DfID's work and
we are happy to be able to share our experiences with the Committee.
This submission incorporates the informal views of our regional
staff from South Asia and East and North Africa.
2.1 DISABILITY
AND DEVELOPMENT
2.2 In developing countries poverty is both
a cause and an effect of disability. Disabled people tend to be
concentrated in the poorest sections of society and it is impossible
to separate the poverty of disabled people in developing countries
from the wider picture of world poverty. According to the UN,
82% of disabled people living in developing countries live below
the poverty line and approximately 98% of disabled children in
developing countries are not in school. However, poverty is not
simply about a lack of income and education but a denial of fundamental
freedoms, the opportunity to develop as a human being and to be
included in society.
2.3 This submission will focus on the need
for DfID to focus on fully inclusive approaches to eliminating
world poverty. DfID must ensure that disability is systematically
and effectively mainstreamed throughout all their work and activities.
3.1 DFID'S
WORK IN
2006-07
3.2 LCI welcomes the work that DfID has
started to do in order to include the rights of disabled people
within their work programme. However, LCI is disappointed by the
lack of attention given to disability within the 2007 Annual Report.
Despite acknowledgement by DfID in other publications that the
issues of disabled people must be addressed if poverty reduction
targets are to be met, there is no mention of any disability related
work in the Chapters on Reducing Poverty in Africa, Europe, Central
Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean and the Middle East.
3.3 LCI welcomes the reference in Chapter
3 to an Inclusive Education project in Bangladesh that includes
schooling for children with disabilities. LCI would be interested
in hearing more about the progress being made with this project.
3.4 LCI would welcome the Committees assistance
in examining in more detail the work DfID has done throughout
2006-07 to ensure that the rights of disabled people living in
poverty have been considered in the planning and implementation
of their work to reduce poverty.
4.1 THE UN CONVENTION
ON THE
RIGHTS OF
PERSONS WITH
DISABILITIES
4.2 In March this year the UK signed the
first ever UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
This Convention acknowledges the importance of the rights of persons
with disabilities in all international development programming.
LCI are disappointed that, unlike the rights of women and children,
this newest Convention has no mention in the 2007 report. Given
the commitment of the UK Government to ratifying this Convention,
it is extremely important that DfID begins work immediately to
ensure that it is adhering to Article 32 of the Convention. Article
32 requires that all international development programmes are
"inclusive of and accessible to persons with disabilities".
4.3 The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities must be more explicitly stated in DfID's work
programme. LCI would welcome the Committees assistance in establishing
the level of knowledge of the new Convention within DfID and what
steps are being taken by DfID to ensure compliance.
5.1 MAINSTREAMING
DISABILITY
5.2 LCI's experience has shown that in order
to achieve progress in poverty reduction, disability must be mainstreamed
into all development programmes. This means assessing the implications
for disabled people of any planned action, including all policies
and programmes in all areas and at all levels. LCI would welcome
the Committees assistance in seeking further clarification on
what steps DfID has taken to ensure that disability is systematically
being mainstreamed throughout their work programme, in particular
the education of disabled children globally.
5.3 LCI recently completed our European
Commission funded EDAMAT project (the European Disability Action
for Mainstreaming Assessment Tool). The project developed a practical
tool which can be used by policy makers to assess how they are
addressing the mainstreaming of disability issues. We have submitted
a copy of the toolkit alongside this submission and would welcome
any assistance the Committee may be able to give us in promoting
its use, or the use of any alternative mainstreaming tool, in
future DfID work.
6.1 MDG'S AND
INCLUSIVE EDUCATION
6.2 LCI welcomes DfID's strong commitment
to the MDG's and are pleased that the Annual Report gives great
priority to the MDG's throughout. However LCI would like to see
formal recognition that the UN MDG on Universal Primary Education
for all is unreachable without including disabled children in
education programmes. Approximately 98% of disabled children in
developing countries are not in school and the MDG cannot be met
if this sad fact remains a reality.
6.3 In order to achieve greater progress
on any of the MDG's then DfID will need to target harder to reach
groups. LCI's experience demonstrates that it is always easier
to reach large groups of poorer people than it is to reach smaller
groups of the poorest excluded groups. However if DfID can develop
ways to target the hardest to reach groups such as disabled children,
then other groups can be accessed more easily.
6.4 Sadly there has been remarkable little
progress in achieving any measure of equality for disabled people
in developing countries. LCI would like to see similar benchmarks
for progress on the reduction of disability inequalities and the
promotion of rights for disabled people as those that already
exist for gender and children. This should be done through the
use of inclusive audits for all aid proposals and the correct
systems should be in place to measure the outcomes.
6.5 LCI have extensive experience of developing
and successfully implementing inclusive education programmes.
We are able to provide evidence of our highly successful Oriang
programme in Kenya. If the Committee are interested in hearing
more about this programme and how it may be replicated in future
DfID work then please do not hesitate to contact us.
7.1 RECOMMENDATIONS
FOR CONSIDERATION
BY THE
COMMITTEE
7.2 LCI would welcome the Committees assistance
in finding out more details about DfID's work in the following
areas:
— What work has DfID done throughout
2006-07 to ensure that the rights of disabled people living in
poverty have been considered in the planning and implementation
of their work to reduce poverty?
— What steps have been taken by DfID
to ensure compliance with the new UN Convention on the Rights
of Persons with Disabilities? In particular, what assessment has
been made regarding their current compliance with Article 32 on
International Cooperation?
— What evidence can DfID provide to
show that it is systematically ensuring all its education programmes
are inclusive of disabled children? What percentage of DfID's
global education budget allocated through Bilateral Official development
Assistance has been spent on the education of disabled children?
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