Re-Thinking Disability Inclusion Towards Achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for, by and with Persons with Disabilities (PWDs).
Abstract
Persons with disabilities were not included in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2000 to 2015 and consequently excluded from many development initiatives and policies. In contrast, the 2030 Agenda: Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2015 to 2030 includes persons with disabilities and they are almost referenced in all the 17 SDGs. That is, almost every single goal of SDGs is relevant and related to persons with disabilities. This brings about re-thinking of disability inclusion in many global and national development initiatives and policies. Therefore, this article critically analyses the inclusion of persons with disabilities in Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Keywords: Disability Inclusion, Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Introduction
An estimated 1 billion people or 15 percent of the global population experience disability, and 1 in 5 of these individuals experience significant disabilities. As a group, persons with disabilities are more likely to live in poverty than their peers, to face food insecurity and poorer health outcomes, to be denied educational and employment opportunities, and to experience violence. Persons with disabilities are facing inaccessible physical environments and transportation, the unavailability of assistive devices and technologies, non-adapted means of communication, and limited access to services; all of which present discriminatory barriers to their social and economic inclusion, human rights enjoyment, and protection from situations of risk and humanitarian crises.
Therefore, advancing the human rights of persons with disabilities and ensuring their inclusion in global development and humanitarian action are essential. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 2006 affirms the inherent dignity and worth of persons with disabilities and calls for urgent action to address the impacts of exclusion, discrimination, and segregation. The UNCRPD represents a comprehensive international commitment to respect the rights of persons with disabilities in all areas of life, including civil, political, social, and economic, and to their protection in situations of conflict and humanitarian crises. In order to realize the full inclusion of persons with disabilities into all international cooperation efforts, it embraces the three foundational pillars of the UN System: to advance respect for human rights, ensure peace and freedom from violence, and promote international development.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 SDGs provide a powerful framework to guide local communities, countries and the international community toward the achievement of disability-inclusive development. It pledges to leave no one behind, including people with disabilities and other disadvantaged groups, and has recognized disability as a cross-cutting issue to be considered in the implementation of all of its goals. Furthermore, ultimately the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), together with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), offers a road map towards a more inclusive and sustainable world. Likewise, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development sets out a transformative vision for preserving our planet, promoting peace and ensuring that prosperity is shared by all. The central pledge of the 2030 Agenda is to leave no one behind and to reach those furthest behind first. This historic and ambitious Agenda has direct relevance to persons with disabilities, who face numerous barriers to their full inclusion and participation in the life of their communities. The global commitment to the 2030 Agenda recognizes the promotion of the rights, perspectives and well-being of persons with disabilities as a cross-cutting issue in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).
Persons with Disabilities (PWDs)
the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) explains “that disability is an evolving concept and that disability results from the interaction between persons with impairments and attitudinal and environmental barriers that hinders their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others”. Likewise, persons with disabilities (PWDs) “include those who have long-term physical, mental, psycho-social, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others” (United Nations, 2008).
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by the 193 Member States of the United Nations at the General Assembly in September 2015. It outlines a transformative vision for economic, social and environmental development and will guide the work of the Organization (UN) towards this vision for the 15 years.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which includes 17 Goals and 169 targets as well as 238 indicators, sets out an ambitious vision for sustainable development and integrates its economic, social and environmental dimensions. According to United Nations (2018), this new Agenda enshrines the expectations, aspirations and priorities of the international community to be achieved by 2030. Therefore, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda include the following:
Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere.
Goal 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.
Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.
Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
Goal 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.
Goal 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.
Goal 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.
Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation.
Goal 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries.
Goal 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
Goal 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.
Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.
Goal 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.
Goal 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.
Goal 17: Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development.
Five Ps of 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
The following are five fundamental principles of 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development:
People: all human beings can fulfil their potential in dignity and equality;
Planet: to protect the planet and its resources from degradation for present and future generations;
Prosperity: all human beings can enjoy prosperous and fulfilling lives and that economic, social and technological progress occurs in harmony with nature;
Peace: foster peaceful, just and inclusive societies which are free from fear and violence;
Partnership:
mobilize the means to implement,
focus on the poorest and most vulnerable,
with the participation of all countries, all stakeholders and all people.
The Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) in Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Persons with disabilities were not included in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and consequently excluded from many development initiatives and funding streams. In contrast, the 2030 Agenda: Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) includes persons with disabilities. According to United Nations (2018), persons with disabilities are almost referenced in all the 17 goals of 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. That is, almost every single goal of 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is relevant and related to persons with disabilities. Furthermore, the Agenda was created with the inclusion of persons with disabilities. Thus, it is the responsibility of the disability movement and duty bearers to ensure that the implementation of the Agenda is carried out with the inclusion of persons with disabilities at both local and national levels.
According to the International Disability Alliance (2022), out of 17 SDGs, 13 are particularly related to persons with disabilities, but only 7 targets have an explicit reference. A number of other Goals and targets reference vulnerable groups and thus include persons with disabilities. The inclusive phrasing of many Goals and Targets, also make them implicitly applicable for persons with disabilities, such as those referencing “for all” or “all women and men.” Even without any such references, all Goals and Targets will be applicable to persons with disabilities by simple virtue of the universality, which applies to all, and the overarching principle of “leave no one behind”. Therefore, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are inclusive and for all PWDs. The following are some Goals and Targets of SDGs that are related to persons with disabilities:
SDGs 1 and 2: Ending Poverty and Hunger for all Persons with Disabilities
Persons with disabilities are more likely to live in poverty than persons without disabilities due to barriers in society such as discrimination, limited access to education and employment as well as lack of inclusion in livelihood and other social programmes. Data shows that the proportion of persons with disabilities living under the national or international poverty line is higher, and in some countries double, than that of persons without disabilities. Regarding food security, in developing countries, data reveals that the average percentage of persons with disabilities who are unable to afford a meal with protein every second day is almost double that of persons without disabilities. More women with disabilities than men with disabilities are in such a situation, and the gender gap between women and men in terms of access to meals with protein is wider among persons with disabilities. In developing countries, data indicates that persons with disabilities and their households are more likely to not always have food to eat, than persons without disabilities and their households.
To end poverty and hunger for persons with disabilities, and achieve SDGs 1 and 2 with PWDs, a number of actions should be taken:
Design social protection policies and programmes to include persons with disabilities.
Remove barriers and obstacles that persons with disabilities face in accessing and fully benefiting from social protection on an equal basis with others.
Sensitize personnel of grant offices about barriers experienced by persons with disabilities to access social protection and approaches to overcome these barriers.
Improve access to and accessibility of banking and other financial services, including mobile banking.
Disaggregate data on poverty and hunger by disability status.
Establish national monitoring and evaluation systems that periodically assess all social protection programmes regarding inclusion and positive impact on the situation of persons with disabilities (United Nations, 2018).
What do SDGs 1 and 2 mean for persons with disabilities? They want to:
Eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere,
Implement social protection systems and measures for all, and achieve substantial coverage of the poor and the vulnerable,
Ensure that the PWDs who are poverty situation poor have equal rights to economic resources, access to basic services, ownership of land, property, inheritance, natural resources, financial services, including microfinance,
Build the resilience of the disable poor and those in vulnerable situations and reduce their exposure,
End hunger and ensure access for all PWDs in particular the poor and those in vulnerable situations to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round,
Food security is realized for persons with disabilities everywhere.
SDG 3: Ensuring Health Lives and Promoting Well-Being for all Persons with Disabilities
Persons with disabilities generally have more healthcare needs than others – both standard needs and needs linked to impairments – and are therefore more vulnerable to the impact of low quality or inaccessible healthcare services than others. Compared to persons without disabilities, persons with disabilities are more likely to have poor health. Furthermore, access to health-care services remains a challenge for persons with disabilities, who are more than three times as likely to be unable to get healthcare when they need it. Access to rehabilitation services is also a challenge. In some countries, more than 50% of persons with disabilities have an unmet need for these services. Lack of financial resources, lack of access to and accessibility of medical facilities and transport, as well as inadequate training of health personnel to accommodate persons with disabilities remain major challenges.
To achieve SDG 3 for persons with disabilities, the following actions should be taken:
Enact or reform or strengthen national legislation and policies on health care in line with the UNCRPD.
Identify and eliminate obstacles and barriers to accessibility in health care facilities.
Improve healthcare coverage and affordability for persons with disabilities as part of universal approaches to health care.
Train health care personnel on disability inclusion and improve service delivery for persons with disabilities.
Empower persons with disabilities to take control over their own health care decisions, on the basis of informed consent.
Prohibit discriminatory practices in health insurance and promote health insurance coverage for assistive devices and rehabilitation services.
Improve research and data to monitor, evaluate and strengthen health systems to include and deliver for persons with disabilities (United Nations, 2018).
What does SDG 3 mean for persons with disabilities? It wants to:
Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all PWDs,
To achieve universal health coverage and access to quality health care are critical in particular reading it together with the principle “No one must be left behind”.
SDGs 3.7 and 5.6: Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health-care Services and Reproductive Rights for all Persons with Disabilities
Persons with disabilities have equal needs to access sexual and reproductive health as those without disabilities and have similar requirements for family planning and childbirth. However, misperceptions about persons with disabilities and the assumption that persons with disabilities are not sexually active has contributed to little attention being paid to ensuring that persons with disabilities have access to sexual and reproductive health. Evidence in some developing countries shows that 29% of births by mothers with disabilities are not attended by a skilled health worker and 22% of married women with disabilities have an unmet need for family planning. These percentages are higher in rural areas. Without access to sexual and reproductive health, persons with disabilities are at higher risk of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infection including HIV/AIDS. Furthermore, apart from the societal stereotypes, the barriers that persons with disabilities face in accessing sexual and reproductive health services include lack of accessibility of services and information. Persons with disabilities, particularly women and those with intellectual disabilities, also fear abuse and violation of their reproductive rights when accessing these services because many persons with disabilities have been subjected to involuntary sterilization in various countries.
A number of actions should be taken to ensure that women with disabilities have access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights:
Develop national policies and laws that guarantee access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights for women with disabilities.
Make sexual and reproductive health care facilities and information accessible for women with disabilities.
Train sexual and reproductive care workers, combat discriminatory practices and improve service delivery for women with disabilities.
Educate women with disabilities, including adolescents with disabilities, on sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights.
Establish a monitoring and evaluation mechanism to track the implementation of policies and programmes on access to sexual and reproductive health for women with disabilities.
Improve research and data to monitor, evaluate and strengthen sexual and reproductive health and services for women with disabilities (United Nations, 2018).
SDG 4: Ensuring Inclusive and Equitable Quality Education for all Persons with Disabilities
Persons with disabilities remain less likely to attend school and complete primary education and more likely to be illiterate than persons without disabilities. Available data reveals that, on average, one in three children with disabilities of primary school age is out of school, compared with one in seven children without disabilities. Primary school completion is also lower for children with disabilities. These trends are reflected in the lower literacy rate of persons with disabilities: 54% of persons with disabilities compared to 77% of persons without disabilities are literate. In some countries, more than 35% of persons with disabilities have been denied entry into school because of their disability; and more than a quarter of persons with disabilities reported schools were not accessible or were hindered to them. Crowdsourced data, mostly from developing countries, indicates that only 47% of more than 30,000 education facilities are accessible for persons with disabilities.
To achieve SDG 4 for persons with disabilities, in line with the UNCRPD, efforts are needed to implement and scale up the following actions:
Enact or reform or strengthen national policies or disability laws for ensuring access to quality education for all persons with disabilities.
Build capacity of policy makers as well as other decision-makers at both community and national levels to enhance their knowledge on disability inclusion in education.
Make schools and educational facilities accessible by creating an enabling environment for pupils and students with disabilities and by making physical and virtual environments accessible.
Provide training to teachers and other education specialists to gain knowledge and experience in inclusive education for persons with disabilities.
Adopt a learner-centered pedagogy which acknowledges that everyone has unique needs that can be accommodated through a continuum of teaching approaches.
Engage civil societies and local communities in inclusive education.
Establish monitoring mechanisms to evaluate the implementation of policies and laws on inclusive education.
Improve national collection and disaggregation of education indicators by disability.
Explore crowd-sourcing applications to obtain bottom-up information on the accessibility of schools for persons with disabilities (United Nations, 2018).
What does SDG 4 mean for persons with disabilities? It wants to ensure that all girls and boys with disabilities:
complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary,
have access to quality early childhood development, care and preprimary education,
have equal access to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university,
Eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for persons with disabilities,
Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive.
SDG 5: Achieving Gender Equality and Empowering all Women and Girls with Disabilities
Women with disabilities are often subjected to double discrimination due to their gender and disability status and continue to be at a disadvantage in most spheres of society and development. Available data indicates that the gap is stark compared with women without disabilities: women with disabilities are three times more likely to have unmet needs for health care; three times more likely to be illiterate; two times less likely to be employed and two times less likely to use the internet. Among those employed, women with disabilities are two times less likely to be elected as legislators, or to work as senior officers or managers. Women with disabilities tend also to be in a worse position than women without disabilities. Moreover, women with disabilities are at heightened risk of suffering sexual violence compared to those without disabilities. Compared with men with disabilities, women with disabilities are more likely to have unmet health-care needs; more likely to be unemployed or inactive in the labour market; and less likely to be elected as legislators or to work as senior officials or executive directors.
To achieve SGD 5 for women and girls with disabilities, efforts should focus on:
Addressing the needs and perspectives of women and girls with disabilities in national strategies or action plans on disability and on gender.
Develop policies and programmes focused on women and girls with disabilities aiming at their full and equal participation in society.
Support the empowerment of women and girls with disabilities by investing in their education and supporting their transition from school to work.
Raise awareness on the needs of women and girls with disabilities and eliminate stigma and discrimination against them.
Enhance the collection, dissemination and analysis of data on women and girls with disabilities and disaggregate and disseminate data by sex, age and disability (United Nations, 2018).
What does SDG 5 mean for women and girls with disabilities? It wants to:
End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere,
Eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls everywhere,
Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation,
Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life.
SDG 6: Ensuring Availability of Water and Sanitation for all Persons with Disabilities
Persons with disabilities, especially those living in developing countries, encounter challenges in access to water, sanitation and hygiene, including physical, institutional, social and attitudinal barriers. This is particularly true for persons with severe disabilities. Furthermore, in many countries persons with disabilities are less likely to live in households with access to improved water and sanitation, and less likely to live in a dwelling with hygiene and sanitation facilities on the premises. This can create difficulties for persons with
disabilities who experience difficulties in mobility, in locating the bathroom on in waiting in line. Moreover, evidence from developing countries indicates that more than one in seven persons with disabilities finds the toilet at home hindering or not accessible. Lack of accessibility of toilets outside the home is also a challenge and prevents persons with disabilities from participating in society. Crowd-sourced data, mostly from developing countries reveals that only 39% of public toilets are accessible for wheelchair users. Evidence also shows that many primary schools do not have sanitation facilities accessible for persons with disabilities. Furthermore, assistive technologies, such as specially designed handles for water pumps or toilets, ramps and handrails and wider doors that are designed for persons with disabilities, have been less used to overcome such challenges and make water, sanitation and hygiene accessible. Also, some countries have minimally made communal wells safe and physically accessible for persons with disabilities and provided moveable toilet seats to households that had latrines, which helped persons with disabilities having leg and/or back problems and reduced the need to sit or crawl on a wet latrine floor.
To achieve SDG 6 for persons with disabilities, it is imperative to focus on programs that target challenges in access to water and sanitation through various steps. These include:
Involve all stakeholders, especially persons with disabilities,
Invest and allocate financial resources to accessible water, sanitation and hygiene facilities in households and in settings outside the home, prioritizing schools, workplaces, health facilities and communal facilities,
Adopt a twin-track approach, i.e. mainstream disability in water and sanitation policies and programmes while at the same time developing disability specific programmes,
Share information and build capacity about low-cost inclusive interventions to scale them up,
Raise awareness and end discrimination and stigma,
Monitor progress through the collection of individual data,
Collect, analyse and disseminate census and survey data on water, sanitation and hygiene access for persons with disabilities and disaggregate these data by type of disability, age and sex,
Explore crowd-sourcing applications to obtain bottom-up information on the accessibility of water and sanitation facilities for persons with disabilities to inform accessibility policies,
Mainstream disability in international fora and global mechanisms working on water, sanitation and hygiene (United Nations, 2018).
What does SDG 6 mean for persons with disabilities? It wants to:
Achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all Persons with disabilities,
Achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all PWDs and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations.
SDG 7: Ensuring Access to Energy
Access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy is vital for persons with disabilities. Assistive technology, used by many to facilitate equal participation in society and independent living, often requires electricity. Persons with disabilities are more likely to spend longer periods in their homes and therefore to consume more electricity, for example, to maintain adequate room temperature. Higher electricity consumption contributes to higher energy bills. In many countries, persons with disabilities face more challenges in accessing modern energy than persons without disabilities. In some developing countries, the percentage of households with access to electricity is lower for households with persons with disabilities than households without persons with disabilities. In some countries, less than 50% of households with persons with disabilities have access to electricity. Similarl, In developing countries, persons with disabilities, especially women with disabilities, are less likely than persons without disabilities to be able to keep their homes warm. Traditional fuels, such as biomass and coal, are also more commonly used for cooking in households with persons with disabilities than in other households. Longer periods spent at home can lead to greater exposure to indoor pollution from those fuels. In several countries, more than half of the households with persons with disabilities still use wood and coal for cooking. Access to clean energy is therefore crucial for the well-being of persons with disabilities. Also, initiatives taken to address the needs of persons with disabilities in accessing energy remain limited. Good practices include the provision of financial support for adjusting room temperature in winter and summer and distribution of energy-efficient stoves in refugee camps focusing on persons with disabilities.
The following eight steps could contribute to address the energy needs and implement SDG 7 for persons with disabilities by 2030:
Take into account the extra energy costs which persons with disabilities are faced with in determining social protection measures.
Include targeted measures for persons with disabilities in energy programs.
Close the gap in energy access between persons with and without disabilities.
Prioritize electricity access for persons with disabilities who require electricity-dependent assistive technology for independent living and for participation in society.
Reduce use of solid fuels and promote modern forms of energy in households of persons with disabilities.
Promote electricity in schools to increase the use of assistive technology in education and enhance the opportunities for students with disabilities to participate equally in educational systems.
Include persons with disabilities in national governing bodies working on energy access.
Raise awareness within ministries and promote inter-ministerial coordination to address fuel and energy poverty among persons with disabilities (United Nations, 2018).
What does SDG 7 mean for persons with disabilities? It wants to:
Ensure universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services for all PWDs,
Ensure households with persons with disabilities have access to electricity supply.
SDG 8: Promoting Full and Productive Employment and Decent Work for Persons with Disabilities
Persons with disabilities continue to have limited access to the labour market. The employment topopulation ratio of persons with disabilities is almost half that of persons without disabilities and employed persons with disabilities tend to earn lower wages than their counterparts without disabilities. Lack of accessible workplaces and reasonable accommodation poses further obstacles in the employment of persons with disabilities. In some developing countries, 52% of persons with disabilities consider their workplace hindering or not accessible. Furthermore, to improve the employment situation of persons with disabilities, quota systems, which oblige employers to recruit a certain number or percentage of persons with disabilities, have been adopted by several countries. Quotas typically range from 1% to 15%. The most effective quota systems include the payment of a levy by the non-complying company for every position not held by a person with disabilities. These levies typically contribute to a special fund used to finance measures promoting the employment of persons with disabilities. Some countries have also adopted employment laws and policies that ensure the right of persons with disabilities to equal employment opportunities and prohibit discrimination on the grounds of disability. In some countries, national constitutions explicitly guarantee the right to work for persons with disabilities. Many countries incorporate provisions in their labour laws prohibiting discrimination in employment and guaranteeing equal pay for persons with disabilities.
To address the current employment gaps and realize SDG 8 for persons with disabilities, States should ensure that:
National disability laws in line with UNCRPD are enacted to protect persons with disabilities from discrimination on the basis of disability in all matters of employment.
The public sector recruit persons with disabilities.
Public procurement policies and systems include provisions that encourage the employment of persons with disabilities.
Public employment services are inclusive of persons with disabilities.
Mainstream vocational education has provisions to include persons with disabilities.
Mainstream entrepreneurship development training and microfinance systems include persons with disabilities.
Policies are in place that facilitate job retention and return to work for persons who acquire a disability, including for persons with mental health conditions.
Support is provided for persons with disabilities in sheltered employment to benefit and enter the mainstream labour market.
Social protection systems are designed to provide income security and support for disability-related needs and extra costs to promote the participation of persons with disabilities in the labour market.
Robust evaluation plans are built for the implementation of programmes to improve the employment of persons with disabilities.
A database of available information and disaggregated data on disability and employment is developed and available in an accessible format.
States should encourage employment of persons with disabilities in the private sector and, where employment quota legislation exists, in the public and/or the private sector, the State should ensure its implementation with an effective evaluation system throughout the career development of employees with disabilities (United Nations, 2018).
What does SDG 8 mean for persons with disabilities? It wants to:
Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services for PWDs,
Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value,
Ensure the elimination of discrimination provisions in labour and labour-related laws,
Ensure the realization for reasonable accommodation and creating more inclusive mainstream initiatives to promote full and productive employment for persons with disabilities,
Ensure access to training and vocational education courses for PWDs,
Ensure access to bank loans and micro-finances for PWDs to start-up businesses.
SDG 9 Target C: Increasing Access to Information and Communications Technology (ICT) for Persons with Disabilities
Persons with disabilities have more limited access to information and communications technology (ICT) than persons without disabilities. There is a significant gap between persons with and without disabilities in the use of the internet. In some countries, only 19% of persons with disabilities compared to 56% of persons without disabilities use the internet. This may be attributed to lack of accessibility of such technology, as well as the lower capacity of households with persons with disabilities to afford internet access. For instance, more than a third of online national portals include features that are not accessible for persons with disabilities. Evidence from some sub-Saharan countries indicates that only 8% of households with persons with disabilities can afford the internet, about half the percentage for households without persons with disabilities. Compared to households without persons with disabilities, households with persons with disabilities are also less likely to own a mobile phone. Although, in some few countries, national policies and programmes have been developed to promote equal access to ICT for persons with disabilities, including captioning or signing of television programmes, ensuring accessible government websites, accessible public electronic kiosks or automated teller machines and provision of telephone services for persons who are deaf and/or visual impaired.
Looking forward, the following recommendations offer guidance on how to strengthen the ICT ecosystem to ensure inclusion and accessibility for persons with disabilities:
Raise awareness and enhance knowledge of ICT accessibility.
Involve persons with disabilities at every stage of ICT development.
Promote the principles of Universal Design in the mainstream ICT industry and the public sector.
Adopt national ICT accessibility policies and regulations.
Create dedicated focal points in relevant ministries or departments dealing with ICT accessibility.
Provide affordable Internet access for persons with disabilities.
Provide funding mechanisms to support the development of open-source software.
Involve all relevant stakeholders and increase funding to support universal design and low-cost ICTs for persons with disabilities.
Develop and publish comparable data on access to and use of ICTs disaggregated by disability as well as on accessibility of ICTs (United Nations, 2018).
What does SDG 9 mean for persons with disabilities? It wants to:
Realize access to credit and establish enabling public policy environments to enhance possibilities for persons with disabilities.
Ensure that built, transport and communications infrastructure and ICT are inclusive and accessible to persons with disabilities,
Provide increased access to public services to promote full and equal inclusion into society through ICTs for persons with disabilities.
SDG 10: Reducing Inequality for Persons with Disabilities
Persons with disabilities face persistent inequality in social, economic and political spheres and are disadvantaged in all areas covered by the SDGs. Although gaps between persons with and without disabilities vary among countries, in some countries the gaps reach more than 20 percentage points in income and poverty, 15 percentage points in the ability to afford a meal with protein every second day, 50 percentage points in experiencing good health, in literacy rates and in employment to population ratios. Persons with disabilities are also at disadvantage in terms of accessing and affording essential services including water and sanitation, energy, and the internet. Besides these gaps, persons with disabilities are under-represented in political participation.
Combating discrimination is key to reducing inequality for persons with disabilities. Discrimination is a major cause of exclusion of persons with disabilities. In some countries, more than 50% of persons with disabilities have experienced discrimination. Even though most countries have ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), and enacted disability laws and also policies still exist in some countries, especially in the areas regulating right to marry, legal capacity and political participation.
Furthermore, ensuring access to assistive technology is crucial to enable independent living of persons with disabilities and their ability to fully participate in society. Efforts have been made by some countries to make this technology more available and affordable for persons with disabilities by developing national plans. However, available evidence shows that in several developing countries more than half of the persons with disabilities who need assistive devices are not able to receive them, mainly because available devices are inadequate, unaffordable or no transport is available to the providers of these devices.
Similarly, social, economic and political inclusion of persons with disabilities will also require deinstitutionalization. Persons with disabilities living in institutions remain excluded from society and are often unable to obtain education, to exercise the right to vote and to make their own decisions. In some countries, more than 20% of persons with disabilities still live in institutions and special homes for persons with disabilities.
In addition, among persons with disabilities, persons with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities are even more disadvantaged. They are more likely to experience forced institutionalization, poor living conditions and abuses occurring in psychiatric hospitals as well as harmful and coercive treatment practices. Likewise, they are less likely to be literate and employed and are more likely to find health facilities hindering and to be excluded from family and community activities. Only in a few countries does legislation promote the social, economic and political inclusion of persons with psychosocial disabilities (United Nations, 2018).
To address the current inequality gaps and achieve SDG 10 for persons with disabilities, States should ensure that:
Enact ani-discriminatory laws or review national laws and policies to identify and eliminate discriminatory provisions against persons with disabilities and ensure their equal opportunities to participate politically, economically and socially without discrimination. Guarantee the participation of persons with disabilities in the revision process to ensure that their needs and perspectives are considered.
Raise awareness about persons with disabilities through public campaigns to combat negative stereotypes against them. Engage persons with disabilities and organizations of persons with disabilities in such outreach activities. These campaigns should focus on raising awareness among the population on the needs and abilities of persons with disabilities.
Develop mechanisms for reporting on discrimination. Approaches to developing such mechanisms include the creation of a public service, where persons with disabilities can file or report incidences of discrimination, or the carrying out of periodic surveys and collection of feedback from persons with disabilities regarding how anti-discriminatory laws are being implemented in practical terms.
What does SDG 10 mean for persons with disabilities? It wants to:
Empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of disability,
Ensure persons with disabilities participate equally in political activities,
Ensure all national laws and policies are disability inclusive and seek to eliminate discrimination and provide for reasonable accommodation,
Ensure persons with disabilities have equal access to all social, cultural, economic and political opportunities and can access all services on equal basis with others,
Achieve social protection and essential public services for persons with disabilities.
SDG 11: Making Cities and Communities Inclusive and Sustainable for Persons with Disabilities
Transportation systems, public spaces and facilities and businesses are not always accessible for persons with disabilities. Available data indicates that in some countries more than 30% of persons with disabilities find transportation and public spaces not accessible. Persons with disabilities also experience difficulties in accessing adequate housing. Barriers include lack of physical accessibility, discrimination and stigmatization and lack of social housing or community support. Limited access to employment can also pose challenges in securing the financial conditions for renting or financing adequate housing. As a result, a disproportionate number of persons with disabilities are homeless. Furthermore, those who find a home may not be able to afford modifications to make their home accessible. In some countries, more than 15% of persons with disabilities find their dwelling hindering. However, many countries have taken measures to improve physical accessibility in public transportation, public playgrounds, cultural facilities, and sidewalks and pedestrian crossings. Some countries also have guidelines for accessible housing.
To make cities and communities inclusive and sustainable for persons with disabilities, more efforts are needed to:
Ensure that national policies and laws on accessible housing, public infrastructure, transport, and services are in place and implemented.
Develop national policies and laws that guarantee access to adequate and affordable housing for persons with disabilities.
Raise-awareness on disability among communities and decision-makers and create the enabling environment where persons with disabilities are included without discrimination and can participate equally in the communities.
Share knowledge and good practices and build capacity to implement measures promoting accessibility and inclusion.
Improve research and data collection to monitor, evaluate and strengthen urban development to be more accessible and inclusive for persons with disabilities (United Nations, 2018).
What does SDG 11 mean for persons with disabilities? It wants to:
Ensure access for all PWDs to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums,
Provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all PWDs, improving road safety, notably by expanding public transport, with special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities and older persons,
Provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities,
Ensure cities and human settlements are livable, inclusive, accessible with universal design principles that can lead to a safer, more resilient world for all PWDs,
SDGs 1.5, 11.5 and 13: Building Resilience of Persons with Disabilities and Reducing their Exposure to and Impact from Climate-related Hazards and other Shocks and Disasters
Persons with disabilities are particularly vulnerable during natural disasters, extreme climate events, conflict and humanitarian emergencies. They are often unprepared as 72% have no personal preparedness plan for disasters and 79% would not be able to evacuate immediately without difficulty in the event of a disaster. Persons with disabilities tend to be left behind during evacuations, are disproportionately affected by adverse impacts of disasters and suffer higher death rates. Moreover, they are often under-identified in humanitarian and post-disaster contexts. The needs of persons with disabilities are often overlooked in the early phases of response to humanitarian emergencies and difficulties are often faced in accessing services and assistance, including rehabilitation and assistive devices which are critical for recovery. Refugees with disabilities are often exposed to discrimination in the places where they seek to live.
Therefore, the needs of persons with disabilities should be factored into disaster risk reduction planning and response. Many countries are taking measures to do so, for example, by incorporating the needs of persons with disabilities in national policies, laws, and plans on humanitarian actions and in post-disaster reconstruction
processes and by engaging persons with disabilities in disaster risk analysis and assessment. In addition, guidance on disability-inclusive humanitarian responses have been developed and are available for humanitarian actors to ensure the needs of persons with disabilities are met.
The following steps can contribute to ensure disability-inclusive disaster risk reduction and response as well as disability-inclusive humanitarian action:
Ensure that persons with disabilities participate in decision-making processes and are active stakeholders at all stages of disaster response and humanitarian action from planning to implementation, evaluation and monitoring.
Ensure that national policies and programmes include operational standards and indicators for the inclusion of persons with disabilities in emergency preparedness, planning and response.
Ensure that emergency information, commodities, infrastructures and services are inclusive and available in accessible formats.
Mobilize adequate, timely and predictable resources to operationalise commitments for inclusive emergency preparedness and response.
Raise-awareness amongst persons with disabilities on disaster management plan at the local level.
Enhance the capacities and knowledge of aid workers on the needs and strengths of persons with disabilities in humanitarian actions.
Undertake evidence-based research and develop a data collection system on persons with disabilities relevant to conflicts and disasters.
What do SDG, 1.5, 11.5 and 13 mean for persons with disabilities? It wants to:
Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries,
Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning,
Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning,
Promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-related planning and management which will focus on PWDs, women, local and marginalized communities,
Ensure there is inclusion and meaningful participation of persons with disabilities in all disaster risk reduction and disaster risk management programmes,
Reduce the number of deaths caused by disasters, including water-related disasters, with a focus on protecting the disable poor and those in vulnerable situations,
SDG 16: Ensuring Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions for Persons with Disabilities
Goal 16 sets ambitious targets to reduce all forms of violence, to ensure access to justice for all, to build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions and to ensure responsive, inclusive, accountable and representative decision-making leaving no one behind, among others. Yet, for persons with disabilities, various barriers continue to hinder access to justice, to information, to public services and to decision-making: discrimination and stigma, lack of access and of accessibility, limited representation of persons with disabilities in decision-making, insufficient legal protection and remaining discriminatory laws and policies, particularly electoral laws and laws regulating access to justice and to information. Negative attitudes from society also make persons with disabilities more vulnerable to violence.
Furthermore, persons with disabilities experience a heightened risk of violence, in part as a result of stigma, discrimination and exclusion from society. Evidence from some developing countries shows that about one in five persons with disabilities has been beaten or verbally abused because of their disability. In many developing countries, persons with disabilities are more likely to live in a household or area of residence where crime, violence and vandalisms are common. Persons with psychosocial disabilities experience even more violence than persons with other forms of disabilities. Likewise, women and girls with disabilities experience higher exposure to sexual violence compared to women without disabilities and men with and without disabilities.
Therefore, equal recognition before the law and legal protections that guarantee the rights of persons with disabilities are fundamental for equal access to justice for all PWDs. While some countries explicitly guarantee the rights of persons with disabilities in their constitutions, some allow for exceptions. Issues that prevent persons with disabilities from accessing justice also include lack of accessibility in courts and of legal documents, and limited disability awareness amongst those who work in the justice system. In some countries, more than 30% of courts and police stations are not accessible and more than 90% of persons with disabilities who need legal advice are not able to receive it (United Nations, 2018).
The following actions should be taken to achieve SDG 16 for persons with disabilities:
Raise awareness at various levels, among families and parent groups, service providers, policy makers and legislators. Public awareness and advocacy campaigns need to be targeted at changing mindsets and social norms directed at persons with disabilities, especially children with disabilities.
Offer trainings for persons with disabilities to enhance their knowledge on safety and ability to present themselves at police stations and in courts in the event of violence. The capacity of service providers of victims with disabilities should also be strengthened to enhance the quality of services. All training and information should be provided in formats accessible to persons with disabilities.
Establish mechanisms to report violence which are accessible for persons with disabilities and provide appropriate and sufficient support to report violence. Accessible formats, sign language interpreters, services for victims with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities should be established.
What does SDG 16 mean for persons with disabilities? It wants to:
Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere,
End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of persons with disabilities,
Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all PWDs,
Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels for PWDs,
Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels,
Provide legal identity for all, including birth registration,
Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements,
Promote and enforce non-discriminatory laws and policies for sustainable ddevelopme,
Ensure persons with disabilities are included in public services, are represented in key decision-making bodies and processes,
Ensure significant reduction of instances that persons with disabilities are subjected to violence and discrimination. All persons with disabilities must be registered at birth,
End forced sterilisations of persons with disabilities,
Ensure justice institutions are accessible to persons with disabilities to protect and defend their rights and participate in justice system (including as judges, administrators, jurors etc),
Ensure justice system actors understand and implement disability rights consistent with UNCRPD.
Conclusion
The SDGs are integrated and indivisible, global in nature and universally applicable. Each government will decide how the SDGs should be incorporated into national planning processes, policies and strategies. One size does not fit all; there are different approaches, visions, models and tools in each country to achieve sustainable development Goals (SDGs). There is emphasis on the importance of strengthening data collection and capacity building by Member States of United Nations to better measure progress in implementing the SDGs.
More importantly, implementing the SDGs must be in line with and build upon existing international and national commitments and mechanisms. The SDGs draw particular attention and commitment to empower persons with disabilities under a number of Goals and Targets that are also found in several Articles of UNCRPD. Therefore, the UNCRPD should serve as a guiding framework for implementing the SDGs in order to realize the full inclusion and empowerment of persons with disabilities. Only by utilizing the UNCRPD to implement the SDGs will it be ensured that exclusion and inequality are not created or perpetuated, such as institutional, attitudinal, physical and legal barriers, as well as barriers to information and communication technology (ICT), among other barriers to the inclusion and participation of persons with disabilities. Finally, the 2030 Agenda of Sustainable Development Goals can be achieved by, for, and with persons with disabilities.
References
International Disability Alliance (2022). The 2030 Agenda: The Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities. Retrieved from www.IDDCconsortium.net on 23 November, 2023.
United Nations (2006). Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Geneva: UN Press.
United Nations (2008). Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Optional Protocol. Geneva: UN Press.
United Nations (2018). Realization of the Sustainable Development Goals by, for and with Persons with Disabilities: UN Flagship Report on Disability and Development 2018. Geneva: UN Press.
