ESRC/DFID Poverty Alleviation
Research
Bridging the
Gap
Examining Disability and Development in
four African Countries (Kenya, Sierra Leone,
Uganda, and Zambia)
Presented by : Global Head of Influencing , Impact and
Learning ,Ola Abu Alghaib
BACKGROUND

DFID/ESRC Poverty Alleviation Scheme-funded research project, with £2
million pound funding (2015-2018)

Lead organisation: Leonard Cheshire Disability and Inclusive Development
Centre, UCL.

Builds on previous research undertaken by the Centre – in particular the
DFID-funded Cross-cutting Disability Research Programme

Emergence of a ‘disability and development gap’ (Groce and Kett, 2013)

Building on a growing body of evidence around multidimensional poverty
particularly as it applies to persons with disabilities (e.g. Groce et al,
2011; Mitra et al, 2013: Palmer, 2011; Mizunoya and Mitra, 2013; Eide and
Ingstad, 2013; Munsaka and Charnley, 2013; McConkey, 2012.)
2
RESEARCH AREAS
 The grant specified four domains of focus:
 Health
 Education
 Labour Market/Livelihoods
 Social Protection
 We selected four countries to represent a range of socio-economic
concerns related to persons with disabilities:
 Kenya
 Uganda
 Zambia
 Sierra Leone
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
 Production of new evidence leading to sustained
awareness of, and interest in, persons with disabilities
and their families, policymakers, governments, bilateral
and multilateral donor agencies, disabled people’s
organisations, and other researchers
 Policymakers in the four domains are influenced by key
aspects of the research outcomes which ‘bridge the gap’
in their field and incorporate outcomes into poverty
alleviation policies
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES CONT.
 A sustained, long-term positive impact on changing the attitudes
of donors, policy-makers and development practitioners on
disability issues;
 South-South dialogue is facilitated and maintained between
research partners and other stakeholders, including DPOs, in
knowledge exchange and promoting genuinely inclusive policy and
practice; and
 Effective engagement with the media, at global, regional,
national and local levels to communicate key research messages
RESEARCH
CONSORTIUM: LCD
BACKGROUND

Kenya: University of Nairobi, School of Public
Health, African Centre for Science and Technology;
United Disabled Persons Kenya

Uganda: Makerere University, Department of
Social Work and Social Administration; National Union
of Disabled Persons of Uganda

Zambia: Institute of Economic and Social
Research, University of Zambia; Zambia Agency for
Persons with Disabilities

Sierra Leone: University of Sierra Leone,
Department of Sociology and Social Work; Sierra Leone
Union of People with Disabilities

South Africa: Stellenbosch University

International Experts: Dr D, Mont; Professors T.
Shakespeare, S. Mitria, M. Schneider, L. Swartz
RESEARCH QUESTION:
1. How do current national policies, programmes and strategies in
health, education, labour market and social protection address
poverty, inequality and access to services of disabled adults and
children in the four selected countries?
2.What implementation strategies are currently in place/ being
developed to implement these policies, programmes and strategies?
What monitoring and evaluation strategies are currently in place and
how can they become more effective?
3. What information can currently be obtained through the analysis of
secondary data to compare disabled and non-disabled persons in censuses and
national surveys in order to better understand the links between disability,
multidimensional poverty and barriers to accessing initiatives to alleviate
poverty?
3. What educational, health economic, and social protection interventions
by state and non-state actors make a difference to persons with disabilities
to ensure they benefit equally compared to their non-disabled peers and how
can these be replicated?
4. How can the hypothesised disability and development gap be assessed to
understand the multidimensional poverty and barriers faced by persons with
disabilities in comparison to non-disabled persons?
RESEARCH ACTIVITIES
Years 1-2
 Policy analysis: WHAT SHOULD BE
 Disability-specific policies
 3 national policies in the four domains (e.g. education acts; health, livelihoods and
social welfare legislation) selected for analysis to assess disability inclusion
 Regional analysis: review of regional policies in the four domains (e.g. African Union)

Secondary data analysis: WHAT ‘IS’ – reflected in growing body of data
 Partners developed analytical frameworks to reanalyse existing national data sets
 Identified variables that enable disaggregation of data by disability status over the
four domains and other aspects of multidimensional poverty measures.
 National data sets reanalysed to generate new information/ identifying gaps in the
data sets where disability-focused information is missing
 Year 2-3:
 Household Survey based on the results from policy/secondary data
analysis - 1,200 households to be randomly sampled in each country
 In-depth Interviews (Levers of Success project); Qualitative focus
groups/ follow up interviews.
*
Follow up series qualitative series of small projects
INITIAL FINDINGS: HEALTH – POLICY ANALYSIS
 Range of policies with varying amounts of
disability inclusion
 No consistency
 Little accountability in terms of implementation
plans and data collection or analysis in health
domains for disability issues
 Health policies do not coherently address the
barriers to healthcare or lack of additional
services for persons with disabilities (e.g.
delivery beds in health facilities) - Uganda
INITIAL FINDINGS: HEALTH DATA
 Secondary data analysis
 Collection of disability data of health and
disability is improving through the inclusion of
Washington Group questions, and specific
disability surveys, but not consistent
HOWEVER: Analysis of disability data collection is
less consistent
USE of data once analysed to make a difference, is
even more problematic
INITIAL FINDINGS: EDUCATION
Inclusion of disability in Educational
Policies.
Review of secondary data however clearly
show that gaps remain
INITIAL FINDINGS: EDUCATION
 Significantly, MAJOR Gaps in terms of what information
is being collected
 Education beyond the class room : we have even less
information about/ fewer mechanisms in place to
collect and analyse data regarding people with
disabilities and educational opportunities.
Next steps
 Better understanding of what this means to persons with disabilities
and their households. (Household Survey/ Levers of Success)
 While there are still many gaps, IMPROVING POLICY and IMPROVDING
DATA collection are creating new opportunities specifically under the
Sustainable Development Goals
 BUT : without implementation plans, there is a critical GAP in
development CYCLE
 NEED for ADVOCACY: There is a need for a consortium of
government/ civil society – DPOs/NGOs/ media – to use linked policy
(what should be) and existing data (what is) to push for
implementation/ monitoring and evaluation over time.
Possible actions on how to take the analysis further to influence ongoing
policy development – combine all domains
 The findings of this analysis be consolidated into different products
for dissemination to various stakeholders (e.g. policy briefs for
policymakers, research summaries ,awareness brochures and
pamphlets for public at grassroots, blogs for the general public
etc.).
 There are also regular in-country dialogue through face-to-face
meetings, as well as other outputs during the course of the
research to ensure continued engagement.
 These are continues dissemination activities taking place through
national and international forums, as well as through a dedicated
webpage.
 An end of programme conference will be held to showcase key
research findings, lessons learned and policy recommendations.
Research Team




Prof. Nora Groce Leonard Cheshire Disability and Inclusive Development
Centre
Dr. Maria Kett Leonard Cheshire Disability and Inclusive Development Centre
Professor Tom Shakespeare, Norwich Medical School University of East Angelia
Ellie Cole, MSc. Leonard Cheshire Disability and Inclusive Development Centre
Thank you!