2.0 Situation Analysis
2.1 Socio-Economic Analysis
2.1.1 Economic
The majority of people with disabilities live in an economic quagmire and constitute a big segment of those who live below the poverty line and unable to afford the basic necessities of life. It is clear that poverty and disability are closely linked. Disability is both a cause and a consequence of poverty. Disability in majority of cases exposes people to limited livelihood opportunities, which consequently lead them into a state of chronic poverty and vulnerability.
Many times PWDs are excluded or unable to benefit from socio-economic programmes that would otherwise alleviate their poverty.
2.1.2 Social
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Bank estimates of 2011, Persons with Disabilities constitute at least 15% of the global population. In the context of the EAC region, this percentage would translate into at least 18 million persons with disabilities. However, this average percentage could in fact be higher in Africa because of conflict-induced disability. More acutely for Africa, people with disability tend to belong to the poorest strata in society. It is estimated that on average, less than 2% of People with Disability in Africa enjoy primary school education and that there are no real opportunities for rehabilitation.
As a consequence, people with disabilities are invariably marginalized and excluded from both the formal and informal job market. At the same time, women with disabilities are particularly vulnerable to gender based violence. In this light, the challenge confronting policy and law formulation to promote, protect and safeguard the rights of persons with disabilities needs to be viewed in a broader context beyond a single piece of legislation. The AU was able to appreciate this fact when it adopted the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa which came into force in November, 2006. The Protocol provides a legal basis for broad protection for women’s human rights including sexual and reproductive rights.
Persons with Disabilities are usually assumed not to have any legal rights. There are themselves ignorant of the existence of such rights. Others purport to act on behalf of PWDs, which at times lead to exploitation, abuse or misrepresentation of their interests. In fact, the judiciary and law enforcement Agencies are insensitive to the needs and concerns of PWDs due to lack of training. Therefore, there is a need to sensitize and educate the public, especially the Judiciary, Law Enforcement Agencies and Legal practitioners on the rights of PWDs
2.1.3 Environment
A person’s environment has a huge impact on the experience and extent of disability. Inaccessible environments create disability by creating barriers to participation and inclusion. Examples of the possible negative impact of the environment include:
- a Deaf Deaf individual without a sign language interpreter
- a wheelchair user in a building without an accessible bathroom or elevator
- a blind person using a computer without screen-reading software
Health is also affected by environmental factors, such as safe water and sanitation, nutrition, poverty, working conditions, climate, or access to health care. As the World Health Organization (WHO) Commission on Social Determinants of Health has argued, inequality is a major cause of poor health, and hence of disability.
The environment may be changed to improve health conditions, prevent impairments, and improve outcomes for persons with disabilities. Such changes can be brought about by legislation, policy changes, capacity building, or technological developments leading to, for instance:
- accessible design of the built environment and transport;
- signage to benefit people with sensory impairments;
- more accessible health, rehabilitation, education, and support services; and
- more opportunities for work and employment for persons with disabilities.
Environmental factors include a wider set of issues than simply physical and information access. Policies and service delivery systems, including the rules underlying service provision, can also be obstacles to PWDs.
2.2 The Continent and Beyond
Whilst the EAC has lagged behind in promoting a regional policy and law to govern people with disability, both United Nations and the African Union have made significant headway in the direction. It has been recognized internationally and within the African Union framework that persons with disabilities have equal human, civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights. “People with disability” have also received an extensive definition covering disability by physical, intellectual and sensory impairment, medical conditions and mental illness. These conditions may be either permanent or transitory in nature.
In this context the United Nations General Assembly in 1975 adopted a Declaration, which defined the term “disability” and conferred social, economic, civil and political rights on people with disability. In addition, the UN has adopted several Declarations and Conventions which encapsulate disability rights and protection of persons with disabilities against discrimination. The UN Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities was adopted in December, 2006.
At the level of the African Union, the 1981 African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights provides under Article 18(4) that disabled persons have the right to special measures of protection, and under Article 16(1) the Charter spells out that every individual shall have the right to enjoy the best attainable state of physical and mental health.
On December 3rd, 1999 the then OAU declared the African Decade of Persons with Disabilities (1999 – 2009). A Continental Plan of Action was drawn up in Addis Ababa in 2002 to serve as a guideline for African Union Member States in the formulation of their programmes on disability issues. The Action Plan outlined 12 objectives which the African states’ governments in cooperation with civil society were to implement during the decade.
In 2003, the Secretariat for the Decade of Persons with Disabilities was established by the AU the African Rehabilitation Institute and a number of continental disability organizations and hosted by the South African Government, with a mandate of facilitating the AU Continental disability organization for the disability decade. The mission of the Secretariat is to empower governments, Disability Steering Committees, Disabled Peoples’ Organizations and development institutions to work in partnership to include disability and persons with disabilities into policies and programmes cutting across all sectors of societies in Africa. The Decade was recently extended for another ten years (2009 -2019).
Additionally, it is significant to note that African Ministers responsible for Social Development met in Windhoek on 31st December, 2008 and adopted the Windhoek Declaration, which extended the AU Continental Decade of Persons with Disabilities that calls upon all AU Members States to empower and provide persons with disabilities with equal opportunities, safeguarding their rights and enlisting their participation and mainstreaming them in all development programmes.
2.3 Regional Analysis
While all the Partner States have either a policy or law on the rights of PWDs, the EAC and the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), both recognize the importance of developing a regional policy and law to promote and protect the rights of PWDs. This is also in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of PWDs (herein referred to as the Convention) at the international level. The interests of the PWDs have also been taken into consideration at the Africa regional level by the Organization of African Union (OAU) declaration of the African Decade of Persons with Disabilities (1999-2009). This was followed by the development by the African Union (AU) of the Continental Plan of Action in 2002, to serve as a guideline for AU Member States in the formulation of programmes on disability issues.