General overview
Population of the persons with disabilities in Sierra Leone
Forms of Disabilities
Perceptions about disability before the War
Situation of Disability during the War
Issues faced by persons with disabilities population
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Education
Social participation
Employment and income
Health
Government of Sierra Leone intervention
Recommendations
Key messages
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Sierra Leone is a West African country
bordering Guinea to the northwest, Liberia to
the south east and West by the Atlantic
ocean.
It has an estimated population of 5.6m with
male female ratio of 940/1000. 45% of the
population is aged between 0-14years.
Average life expectancy is 42.2 years and the
under-5 mortality is 282/1000 live births.
World Development indicators ,2006 Htpp//web.world
bank.org/website/external/countries/Africaext/Sierraleoneextn/o
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There was no data about persons with
disabilities before the war in Sierra Leone.
The unicef MICs(2005) shows that 24% (about
625,000) of children were identified as
disabled. (NOTE:- children form 45% of the
country’s population.)
The Resource and Data base management
Unit, Ministry of Social Welfare Gender and
children’s Affairs collated data per 13
districts in 2005. Recorded a total of 194,364
persons living with disabilities. See graph;
DISABLED POPULATION IN SIERRA LEONE BY DISTRICT
30000
25000
Population per District
20000
15000
Male
Female
10000
Total
5000
0
Districts in Sierra Leone
SOURCE: RESOURCE AND DATA BASE MANAGEMENT UNIT, MINISTRY OF SOCIAL WELFARE, GENDER AND
CHILDREN'S AFFAIRS - 2005
•From the graph, a total of 92,174 are females (47.4%).
•UNIPSIL report on the rights of persons with disabilities say “the
national data is incomplete and sometimes contradictory. The data
varies from 2.4% to 20% of the national population. Though no
nationwide reliable data is available from government, this shows that
there is large under-served population of persons with disabilities
including children due to the war. The persons with disabilities are
faced with problems like social, political, cultural barriers and poverty.
•In addition little is known about persons with learning disabilities,
mental illness and multiple disabilities.
Pa Kamara – A war amputee
and blind father of six (6)
children begging on the street
of Freetown and lives in Rokel
Village 10km from Freetown
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Physical difficulties or mobility restriction e.g.
poliomyelitis
Sensory difficulties e.g. deaf and dumb
Learning and developmental difficulties e.g. slow
learner
Behavioral difficulties e.g. Autism
Mood and affect difficulties
Neurological difficulties e.g. Stroke
Most of these forms are not even recognized in Sierra
Leone e.g. an autistic girl Gifton Wright won Gold
medal for three years in the Para-Olympic and was
never recognized.
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Disability is the devil’s work connected to
beliefs about a bird or a snake that visit
pregnant women
It is an inherited ancestral spirit visiting
generation to generation
It is a curse
Alcoholism
Abject poverty
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Persons with mental disabilities difficulties were
killed as they were considered ‘Spies’
Most persons with disabilities were abandoned by
Parents or Guardians.
Person with disabilities were used as Sex Slaves,
Human Shield and most victims of polio were used
as Combatants.
Sharp increase in war related disabilities, caused
by the mutilating of limbs by warring factions as a
form of intimidating the civilian population.
(Handicap International data indicates 20,000 war
caused disabled) Even babies below the age of one
were not spared.(See TRC-SL Report 2004)
ISSUES FACED BY THE
PERSONS WITH
DISABILITIES
POPULATION AFTER
THE WAR
1.
SOCIAL PARTICIPATION
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Because of the increase in persons with disabilities
population, the war triggered awareness about the rights
of people living with disabilities. Thus helping to change
the mindset of the general populace and the persons with
disabilities themselves. They now have recognized
advocacy groups, two(2) disabled people have served in
the Parliament of Sierra Leone and amputee football team.
They are often isolated, stigmatized or marginalized from
social interaction even by family members.
A large number ended their marriages because their
partners become disabled during the war.
Some were abandoned by their families after the war.
Women and girls with disabilities continue to suffer sexual
and emotional abuse from the communities they find
themselves because having a vulnerability such as
disability puts them at greater risk of protection concerns
such as abuse.
Domestic actives are very complicated for Persons with
disabilities living by themselves. Especially the amputees.
E.g. Fetching water, etc…
2. EDUCATION
• According to UNICEF MICS 2005 41% of children in Sierra
Leone attend school while 300,000 children do not attend
school. 76% of children with disabilities however do not
attend school.
• Large drop-outs among children with disabilities because
of relocation, physical, psychological and mental status.
• This large drop-out are also made up of children from
families with disabilities.
• No pre-school education for all forms of children with
disabilities
• No support to persons with disabilities for tertiary or
technical education.
• Persons with disabilities still go through most of the day
walking or pushed about because Vehicles do not have
spaces for wheelchairs and drivers complain of time
wasting.
• Very few specialized institutions with trained personnel and
equipment for children living with disabilities; E.g. School
for the blind, Deaf and Dumb (Some subsidies are
requested from Parents).
3. EMPLOYMENT AND INCOME
•People with severe disabilities have no job opportunities.
•Even those qualified are not prioritized.
•Child labor and exploitation prevalent among children
with disabilities and children from families with
disabilities.
•Most persons living with disabilities main sources of
income is through begging.
Photo taken in Freetown.
Note: 9yr old disabled boy
Mohamed in apprenticeship
4.HEALTH AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH
• Increase of drug abuse by Persons with disabilities reported
by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency in 2010.
• Limited specialized medical facilities but not without a fee.
E.g.:- Depreciated Prosthesis have to be paid for replacement.
• Women and girls with disabilities reports Fistula problems
because of abuse and exploitations.
• Only children under the age of 5yrs and pregnant women
have access to free medical health facilities..
• Free Mental Facilities (only one mental home and one mental
Doctor in Sierra Leone)
• 16.4% of persons with disabilities have no access to
healthcare –
Leonard Cheshire report on Disability in and around urban areas of Sierra Leone
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Some cash support to the war affected disabled ($75 micro- grant) – Reparation .
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The 2011 disability Act has been enacted which will tend to increase participation
of the disabled in community life. This is the domestication of the UN Convention
of People Living with disability – yet to be rolled out/popularized
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2004 Education Acts – Free Basic Education – still do not prohibitive school
charges imposed by school authorities
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Free medical care for pregnant women, lactating mothers and under five
children(Requires more funds to prioritize vulnerable population)
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Access to justice for all – more work to be done for the poor, person with
disabilities and marginalized
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Anti-trafficking Acts 2005 enacted, but some children with disabilities still
engaged in begging, used as lead in criminal activities such as drug trafficking,
and robbery
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Popularize and implement the disability act 2011
Detail Research on nation-wide disability status
Advocate for the allocation of substantive budget
Social protection and services for the severely
disabled
Promote pre school education for children with
disabilities
Inclusive reconstruction of pro-disabled social
facilities through lobby bilateral and multi-lateral
developmental agencies
Promote shared learning for specialized
impairment
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The war did not only increase the population of Persons with disabilities,
but worsened their situation in all forms-mental, physical, emotional,
economical….
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Although there is no credible national data on Disability issues, the
rights of Persons with disabilities remain a huge challenge in Sierra
Leone
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There are limited social services for people with various disabilities
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Government lacks the capacity to respond to the various needs of
Persons with disabilities populace.
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Government, civil society, NGO’s and partners have the moral obligation
to uphold and defend the rights of Persons with disabilities .
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There is a deliberate link in Sierra Leone between Disability and abject
poverty. Therefore GOSL, local and international partners should assist
to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty whereby helping to attain
the MDGs and PRSP.
THANKS FOR YOUR
ATTENTION!!!