The Potential Impact of the Global
Economic Downturn on People with
Disabilities Developing Countries
Dr Raymond Lang
Honorary Senior Research Associate
Leonard Cheshire Disability and Inclusive Development
Centre
University College London
r.lang@ucl.ac.uk
Development Studies Association Annual Conference
University of Ulster
4th September, 2009
Slide 1
Presentation Outline
• An analysis of the disability and development nexus
• Why people with disabilities are particularly vulnerable
from the impact of the economic crisis
– Extreme levels of social exclusion
– Depleted social capital and relational bonds
– Lack of employment opportunities
• An analysis of the potential negative consequences of
the economic crisis
• “Crisis” defined
– “a situation that has reached an extremely dangerous or advanced
point; a time of disagreement, uncertainty and suffering”.
Cambridge Advanced Learners Dictionary
Slide 2
The Disability, Poverty and Development Nexus I
• There are approximately 600 million disabled people than the
world, 80% of whom in developing countries
– Many disability could be prevented with timely and appropriate
health interventions (public health and basic rehabilitation
services)
– DFID estimates that 50% of disabilities are preventable (DFID,
2000)
– Lack of robust statistical data on disability prevalence rates
• Disability and poverty are a cause and consequence of each
other (Yeo and Moore, 2003; Thomas, 2005)
• Disabled people constitute one of the most marginalised and
socially excluded groups within any society
– Lack of access to mainstream public services, including health,
education and employment
– Anecdotal evidence that people with disabilities do not access
humanitarian assistance in the aftermath of war and civil strife
Slide 3
The Disability, Poverty and Development Nexus II
• UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities
– Came into force in May, 2008
– First legally-binding treaty is promote and enforce
disability rights
– Negotiated in strong collaboration with civil society
institutions, particularly, disabled people’s organisations
• Disability and the MDGs
– No explicit reference to disability in the MDGs
– Therefore, there is a real threat that people with
disabilities will continue to be marginalised vis-a-vis
future development and modifications to existing
international aid modalities
Slide 4
Disability & International Development: A Conceptual Framework
NGO/DPO & Government Interventions & Activities
POVERTY
Service Provision
Capacity building of DPOs
Advocacy
Legislation
UN Convention Enforcement
Policy Development
Media
Evidence-Based
Research
DISABILITY
Social Exclusion
Human Rights Voilations -ve Social Attitudes
STRUCTURAL FACTORS
Global Political Context
• The social exclusion and marginalisation of people with
disabilities is not solely the result of the economic crisis, but
its effects will exasperate the situation
– Human rights violations
– Negative social attitudes
– Lack of understanding of a human rights-based approach true
disability issues like many governments in developing
countries
• Current uncertainties regarding aid architecture and
modalities
– What will happen post 2015 regarding the MDGs?
– Will the Obama administration create a new global economic
order?
– What will be the operational implications of implementing
DFID’s new White Paper?
– In the UK, will there be a change in international development
priorities if the Conservative Party comes to power?
Slide 6
Disability Rights and Global Governance
• The effective implementation of a rights-based
approach to disability is dependent on good governance
frameworks.
• In many low income countries this does not exist.
– Lack of transparency in government
– Fragmentation between legislation and implementation
– Lack of robust statistical data on disability prevalence rates
• Creation of a “democratic deficit”
• Lack of benchmarks by which to hold governments to account for
disability rights commitments
• Inability for governments to plan and implement services
(particularly at regional and local government level).
Potential Consequences of the Economic Crisis I
• The crisis affect all vulnerable groups in developing
countries, but will especially affect people with encounter
the following challenges:– EMPLOYMENT
• High correlation between disability and poverty (Elwan, 1999;
Thomas, 2005)
• People with disabilities find to hard to secure long-term sustainable
employment, with many employers believing that they can be
economically productive
• They are invariably the last to be hired and the to be fired
• Unemployment rates for people with disabilities in both Western
and developing countries are significantly higher than for their nondisabled counterparts
• With some notable exceptions, they are few social protection
programmes for people with disabilities in developing countries
(Mitra, 2008)
Slide 8
Potential Consequences of the Economic Crisis II
EDUCATION
• UNESCO estimates that 98% of children with disabilities do not
complete primary education in developing countries
• Educational deficits reinforces systemic and entrenched social
exclusion, by making it harder for people with disabilities to secure
employment
• In many developing countries, there is a strong gender bias against
educating girls with disabilities, in the belief that they can never be
economically productive, over and above boys with disabilities
• This situation is commonplace, notwithstanding high level
rhetorical statements by UN agencies promoting inclusive
education (for example, the Salamanca declaration 1994 (UNESCO,
1994).
• There is strong evidence to suggest that unless a concerted effort
is made to promote inclusive education, then the MDG target on
universal primary education will not be met.
Slide 9
Potential Consequences of the Economic Crisis III
– HEALTH
• People with disabilities require access to appropriate and
affordable health care in order to exercise their inherent human
rights
• The past 30 years WHO has developed Community-Based
Rehabilitation as a strategy to provide basic medial and
rehabilitation services in developing countries
– However, recent evidence would suggest that of 2% of people
with disabilities actually access health services
• The global health agenda is placing increasing emphasis on
mainstreaming heal and rehabilitation services, but man
governments lack the financial and human infrastructure to proving
services efficiently and effectively (Lang, 2008)
• People with disabilities are at high-risk of contract HIV/AIDs, due
to lack of access to information and the common misconception
that people with disabilities are not sexually active
• A social anthropological study in India show that men access and
have more money spent on medical and rehabilitation services than
women (Harriss-White and Erb, 2002)
Slide 10
Impact of the Economic Crisis on People with
Disabilities I
• The continuation of the crisis will potentially have the
following effects
– Reduction in revenue of civil society organisations, including
disabled people’s organisations as a result of cuts in charitable
giving in western economies
• Consequently, this will result in a reduction in direct service
provision provided by INGOs
• A reduction in funding to disabled people’s organisations will
create a “democratic deficit”, as this will result in a decrease in
their capacity to hold their respective governments to account for
disability rights commitments.
– Reduction in global levels overseas development assistance
• The MDG targets will be even harder to achieve
• Less resources made available to direct budget support, resulting
in a significant depletion in the ability of governments in developing
countries to provide mainstream services (particularly health,
education and social protection)
Slide 11
Impact of the Economic Crisis on People with
Disabilities II
– People with disabilities in developing countries will encounter an
increased risk of further isolation, marginalisation and social exclusion
• Reductions in direct budget support will mean that there will be less
opportunity for people with disabilities to benefit from education,
health and social protection programmes
• Reductions in direct budget support will also result in a
deterioration in governance frameworks that underpins a human
rights-based approach to disability issues (an example, the rule of
law, due judicial process, and the development of effective and
efficient administrative infrastructure for service provision)
• Increased levels of poverty among people disabilities
• Increased competition for limited resources available for
international aid (including humanitarian assistance) for all
vulnerable groups.
• Governments and bilateral and multilateral donor agencies will
increasingly have to make ever more challenging choices regarding
resource allocation. Again, this could have a significant detrimental
effect on people with disabilities
Slide 12