House of Commons - Disability and development - International Development Committee

Disability and development - International Development Committee Contents

4 Implementing DFID's commitments on disability

A central role for disabled people

37. There is strong consensus that if development work is to benefit disabled people, it must be done in partnership with them.[96] If disabled people do not have a central role, there is a risk that—as DFID's own guidance from 2007 points out—"aid modalities [will] [...] perpetuate existing power imbalances whereby non-disabled people control funding and make decisions on behalf of disabled people".[97] Moreover, programmes designed with input from disabled people are likely to be more effective in meeting their needs: in one extreme example following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, a disabled girl was given five wheelchairs, but not asked if she needed food or clothes.[98] Witnesses emphasised the importance of involving people with a range of disabilities, and from a range of backgrounds (e.g. women, older people, youth).[99] Several submissions also emphasise the need to engage with the families of disabled people—particularly those with more complex conditions—and to understand the views of their wider communities.[100]

38. During our visit to Afghanistan, we saw first-hand the benefits of development programmes delivered by disabled people.We visited the Kabul Orthopaedic Centre, run by the International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, to which DFID contributes funds.[101] The Centre provides rehabilitation services to people with injuries and disabilities.[102] Most of the staff at the Centre—including the director— were themselves amputees, and so had an insight into their patients' circumstances.

39. DFID has taken some very encouraging measures to give disabled people a greater role in its work. It has consulted disabled people in the design of many of its WASH schemes, and plans to employ disabled staff in Ethiopia to advise on accessibility.[103] It has involved disabled people in the design of some of its cash transfer programmes, and modified one such programme in Zimbabwe in response to disabled people's feedback.[104] Between 2007 and 2012 it also set up a pioneering research programme run by disabled people in South Africa.[105] However, such engagement does not yet seem to be a consistent feature acrossall programmes that aim to reach disabled beneficiaries.[106] Moreover, we have seen little evidence that disabled people are involved in DFID's central policy work. The Minister recently established an advisory group on disability—a welcome step; however, the groupconsists of NGOs rather than DPOs.[107]

40. We warmly welcome the steps DFID has taken to give disabled people greater say in aspects of its work, in particular the fact that itmodified some WASH and social protection programmes in response to disabled people's feedback. The challenge is to do this more consistently across DFID's whole portfolio. DFID is currently reviewing its programme management, and we recommend it take this opportunityto give disabled people more influence - from programme design through to evaluation and research. DFID should ensure people with all types of disability participate, and should adjust its communications to make sure they are reached. It shouldconsult family and community members as well as disabled people themselves.More specifically, DFID should:

· Ensure that thatdisabled people play a prominent role in drawing up DFID's disability strategy, and help shape its Country Operational Plans.

· Seek to give more disabled people visible and senior roles in programme delivery—as already happens at the Kabul Orthopaedic Centre, which DFID helps fund.

· Invite DPOs from developing countries to join its disability advisory group, even if only in writing or by telephone.

DISABLED PEOPLE'S ORGANISATIONS

41. Many submissions stress the important role of DPOs, which help challenge exclusion and press for better access to services and other rights.[108] DFID already provides support to around 400 DPOs across around 40 countries[109]—most importantly through ADD International, the Disability Rights Fund (DRF) and Sightsavers.[110] Theseorganisations provide financial and capacity-building support to a wide range of DPOs, including some smaller organisations representing particularly marginalised groups.[111]

42. Our evidence indicated one key respect in which DFID could improve its support to DPOs: disabled witnesses from Kenya and Palestine told us that, in their countries, it is "almost impossible" for DPOs to apply for funding directly from DFID, since information is not available in accessible formats, and grant conditions are complex and ill-suited to small DPOs.[112] DFID provided us with a list of the DPOs that it supports: this indicatedthat in some DFID focus countries such as the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Pakistan , DFID is not supporting any DPOs. It also showed that very few DPOs had obtained funding directly from DFID: the majority had applied through intermediaries such as NGOs or large civil society organisations.[113] We accept that DPOs may be able to access alternative sources of funding in some countries. [114] However anecdotal evidence suggests that there is still a strong need for further funds in manylocations, and some DPOs are at risk of closing through lack of financial support.[115]

43. We strongly welcome DFID's support for DPOs. However, we are concerned that it is hard for disabled people's organisations to access funding directly from DFID. We recommend that DFID make its funding more accessible to DPOs. We do not wish to prescribe how DFID does this, but do recommend that it address the main barriers such as information that is not accessible, and complex grant conditions. We are also concerned that, if DPOs can only access DFID funding through intermediaries, DFID is missing a valuable opportunity to train its staff in local disability issues. While we recognise country offices have many calls on their time, we recommend that DFID seek to establish more direct contact with DPOs, which could be an efficient way to tap into local knowledge and networks.

44. In addition, some authors have argued that, if disabled people are successfully to challenge inequality and exclusion, they need to form alliances with other marginalised groups.[116] This also helps tackle stigma, and makes it easier for disabled people to access self-help schemes from across the community.[117] We have seen some encouraging evidence that organisations such as ADD International supportsuch linkages, but this evidence is not widespread.[118]We welcome DFID's current work to build DPO capacity and to reach out to marginalised groups, and encourage it to ensure this is standard practice in all its work with DPOs. We also recommend that, whenever DFID provides grants to 'mainstream' civil society organisations (for example, women's organisations), it monitor whether they are including disabled people.

DISABLED PEOPLE'S ORGANISATIONS FROM THE UK

45. We have been told that UK DPOs have little opportunity to participate in DFID's work.[119] Some such organisations have a track record of work in development— indeed they have in the past undertaken work for DFID, including training and capacity building.[120] While DFID's primary aim should be to work with disabled people in developing countries, we recognise specialised input from the UK will sometimes be needed. UK DPOs have complementary experience to UK NGOs—for example, while NGOs may have experience of certain country contexts or of specialist fields such as sanitation, DPOs have direct experience of lobbying governments for disabled people's rights. We encourage DFID to renew its links with UK DPOs, and to consider where their expertise might usefully complement that of NGOs.

DFID's internal organisation

46. DFID's current work on disability is coordinated by a very small team of people (Table 2). They all have to balance disability work with other responsibilities, and have demonstrated considerable dedication in accommodating a growing disability workload over recent months. Table 2 shows the numbers of staff at each grade on the disability team. For comparison, it also shows the make-up of the gender team. We were very surprised to see the disparity in staff numbers between the disability and gender teams. We would not expect the disability team to be commensurate with that for gender, but, as a guide, the ratio of disabled people to women in the developing world is around 2:5.[121] The teams for gender and disability are also supported by a wider network of 80 social development advisors, but these advisors are responsible for all aspects of social inclusion—women, children, ethnic minorities, etc.—so there remains, in practice, a risk that disabled people will not be their main focus (paragraph 23).
Table 2: Comparing DFID's staffing for disability and gender

It should be noted that the Conflict, Humanitarian and Security Division (CHASE), which handles DFID's response to emergencies, currently contains no disability specialists: disability work is undertaken by social development advisors.

Grade (most senior at the top) DFID's disability team[122] DFID's gender team

SCS 0.05 0.5[123]

A1 0.05 3

A2 0.25 8.7

A2L 0.5 1.2

B1d 0.05 1

B1 0 3

B2 0 1.8

Graduate[124] 0 2

Total 0.90 21.2

Source DFID Annex A (DIS0071) para 4. A decimal fraction indicates the proportion of the working week devoted to disability/gender.

47. Evidence from Australia, the US, and the World Health Organisation suggest that, to build a sustainable commitment to disability, DFID will need a considerably larger team, including the following elements.

· A Director-level sponsor with overall responsibility. Many submissions recommended that highly visible, senior, leadership would help signal DFID's commitment to disability.[125] For example, if DFID produces a disability strategy, endorsement by senior officials will be important.[126] Dr Tom Shakespeare told us how endorsement from the lead of WHO was crucial in gathering support across that Organisation.[127]

· A substantial number of Social Development Advisors specialising in disability. The Minister told us that most of DFID's current Social Development Advisors are not disability specialists[128]—and, as can be seen from Table 2, they do not devote a substantial share of their time to disability. In contrast, AusAID—a considerably smaller agency than DFID—had a team of full time staff dedicated to disability work.[129]

· A wider network of people to champion disabilityin every country office. These staff members would devote a substantial proportion of their time to disability, liaising with government partners and DPOs, and providing guidance to country office staff.[130]

· Training for all staff - both general training on disability rights in a development context, and sector-specific training.[131]Some expertsrecommend that, where possible, this training should be delivered by disabled people.[132]

48. We commend the dedication of DFID's current disability team, but are concerned that DFID has no full-time disability specialists. To ensure its commitments to disability are sustainable, we recommend DFID develop alarger team, with more capacity, including: a senior sponsor; a complement of Social Development Advisors specialising in disability; and a wider network of people to champion disability in each country office. We further recommend DFID ensure all staff are trained in basic principles of disability rights and access to development programmes. It should consider making disability the theme for the next Social Development Advisor team conference. It should also ensure disability specialists are represented in its humanitarian division, as well as in its development work.

DISABLED STAFF

49. We asked DFID to supply us with a breakdown of disabled staff, by grade. It told us 45 of its total staff had declared a disability. It also told us no locally appointed staff from its country offices had declared a disability.[133] These figures may partly reflect that staff are not required to disclose whether they have a disability or not[134]—but nonetheless, they appear to be low compared with the numbers of disabled staff at many other major Government departments.[135] Evidence from a large UK DPO praises DFID's disability recruitment policy,[136] but these figures suggest further action is needed.

50. We are concerned that DFID only employs 45 staff with a declared disability—and that no locally appointed staff in its overseas offices have declared they are disabled. A visible disabled workforce could be a powerful way to challenge stigma and discrimination, and to get a deeper understanding of the barriers that disabled people face. DFID should investigate why it has not attracted more disabled staff, and should consider whether targets would help it redress the balance in some of its offices.

96 See, for example, Secretariat of the African Decade of Persons with Disabilities (DIS0030) para 2.1, Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (DIS0083), Bond Disability and Development Group (DIS0011) para 7.5, Equal Lives (DIS0001) paras 7.1 and 7.12, Prof Michael Stein (DIS0053) paras 7,8,9, Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DIS0063), USAID (DIS0088) para 11, Action to the Community Development Center (DIS0109) para 14 Back

97 DFID, How To Note: Working on Disability in Country Programmes, 2007, para 8.4 Back

98 UNICEF, State of the World's Children 2013: Children with Disabilities, New York, 2013, p.53 Back

99 For example, Q16 [Mr Chandrasekar], Q97 [Dr Shakespeare], Centre for Global Mental Health/CBM/Nepal Mental Health Foundation (DIS0052) para 7.2, Inclusion International (DIS0080), ADD International (DIS0027) paras 4.4 and 4.6. Back

100 For example, Inclusion International (DIS0080), Sense International (DIS0057) para 5.3.4, Leonard Cheshire Disability (DIS0058) para 5.2.6, Dr Rebecca Dingo (DIS0044) para 6. Back

101 DFID Annual Report and Accounts 2012-13, p.98 Back

102 ICRC, 'Kabul Orthopaedic Centre', accessed 23 March 2014 Back

103 DFID (DIS0054) para 26 Back

104 DFID (DIS0054) para 33 and DFID Annex A (DIS0071) para 8 Back

105 DFID (DIS0054) para 44 and Equal Lives (DIS0001) para 6.1. See also Thisability (DIS0072). Back

106 DFID Annex A (DIS0071) para 9: systematic approach to beneficiary feedback is still being developed; and it is unclear how far this approach will routinely involve consultation with disabled beneficiaries. Back

107 Q147 Back