NGO perspective on global
disability research
Stand up and be counted: it is not
just about numbers, it is about the
full rights of disabled people
Sunanda Mavillapalli
“Research is not the end. The end is a fully inclusive
society with no discrimination and people not being
excluded from life. Statistics and research are tools.
They can be particularly effective used by governments
to figure out how to allocate their resources.”
Daniel Mont, Senior Economist, Disability and
Development Team, World Bank
Sunanda Mavillapalli
Disaggregated data on disability:
• Out of the 72 million who are currently out of school, one
third are children with disabilities.
• Equity can only be ensured when the most marginalised
groups who otherwise remain excluded can gain access
to education and their learning outcomes are on par with
others.
Sunanda Mavillapalli
• In India, the 2001 census documented the disabled
percentage in the country as 2%. Disability professionals
and experts in the field guarantee a figure as large as 5 6%. But education schemes, grants and scholarships
provided by the government are calculated on the basis
of 2%.
• Challenge: measuring disability and definitions of
disability; how it is perceived both by disabled people, the
public and those trying to measure it. Methodology has
real implications for data collection and resulting policies.
Sunanda Mavillapalli
• Effectiveness of advocacy and campaigns. A key component
of working with marginalised groups is ‘changing attitudes of a
wide range of stakeholders’. Measuring attitudinal change and
the impact of the campaigns is a very challenging one.
• Policies rely on evidence from research and accurate data on
disability.
• Comparative studies would help to develop targeted
campaigns and policy messages, rather than relying on the
global figure of 650 million. It puts us on a weak ground.
Sunanda Mavillapalli
Inclusive Education
Sunanda Mavillapalli
• Measuring additional costs to disability. There are
numerous additional barriers that disabled children
encounter and they may not be able to convert education
into subsequent economic activities at the same rate as
their non-disabled peers.
• Understanding why disabled children drop out of
education. A recent Leonard Cheshire Disability study
found that in urban and peri-urban areas of Sierra Leone, a
higher proportion of children with severe or very severe
disabilities than non-disabled children do not believe that
education is useful – 11.9% compared with under 3.4% of
non-disabled respondents. This reflects assumptions about
the value, quality and appropriateness of education, lack of
opportunities and prospects for the future
• Teaching and learning materials in inclusive education.
Sunanda Mavillapalli
• Data on impact of state welfare schemes and
programmes on the lives of people with disabilities.
Assessments largely based on medical models.
• Knowledge base of accessibility of services by severe
and profoundly disabled people.
• Data on the effectiveness of twin track approach on the
lives of disabled people
• Comparative analysis of factors of marginalisation of
women and girls with disabilities
• Scaling up of programmes due to the need for big
systemic changes, national level policy, and resource
allocation
Sunanda Mavillapalli