Jun 17, 2010
MDG 1: Measures to Reduce Poverty and Hunger must include Disability
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have become the overarching focus for poverty reduction work on the international agenda. The MDG’s first goal is to eradicate poverty and hunger. Within this goal there are specific targets, which include halving the proportion of people whose income is less than $1 a day; achieving full and productive employment and decent work of all including women and young people and finally halving the proportion of people who suffer from hunger. While progress towards these targets is being made, stark figures such as World Bank latest estimates show that 1.4 billion people in developing countries were living in extreme poverty in 2005. Poverty remains one of the greatest social injustices and not just because of the deprivation it brings through denial of access to basic rights such as food and clean water, but also the limitations it places on people achieving their potential to provide for themselves and their families.
Included in this estimate of more than a billion people are people with disabilities yet disability and poverty has remained a silent issue within the MDGs. It is estimated that 1 in 5 of the worlds poorest has a disability. While no accurate figures exist on disability, it is widely quoted that there are about 650 million disabled people, 82% of whom live below the poverty line. It is also widely acknowledged that there is a two -way link between poverty and disability, that poverty is associated with disability and that disability may aggravate poverty risk.
‘There is a definite and inextricable link between poverty and disability. Symptoms of poverty such as inadequate medical care, unsafe environments and malnutrition are all causes and exacerbators of disability’ [1]
From a policy perspective , the deprivation faced by people with disabilities can be described as complex and cyclical. While inadequate basic services contribute to an increase in preventable impairments, disabled people face a number of barriers (including inaccessible environments, discriminatory attitudes); which limit opportunities for income and they find themselves and their families vulnerable to an increased risk of poverty. This in turn creates a cycle of lack of access to food causing malnutrition, which further compounds the issues and creates a greater risk of acquiring impairments. For example, DFID the UK donor agency estimates that malnutrition causes 20 per cent of impairments.[2]
Responses to these complex issues require a balanced approach, on one side investment in programmes which target preventable impairments are vital. For example, NGOs such as Christian Blind Mission and Sightsavers Ireland implement programmes to reduce preventable impairments such as river blindness and trachoma. However, this cannot be the only policy response, addressing barriers that prevent disabled people accessing opportunities for income generation is fundamental to inclusive and sustainable development for all. For example, programmes implemented by NGOs such as International Service Ireland which focus on building disabled peoples capacity to develop entrepreneurial and income generating skills are important to both disabled people and their families and wider communities.
As the negotiations continue in advance of the UN September summit, it is important that disability is included in on-going campaigns and discussions. The Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPD) requires all government to ensure that their international co-operation development policies and plans are inclusive of disabled people. Ireland is a signatory of this Convention and the EU has ratified the Convention, it is imperative now the governments mindful of their commitments to the CRPD ensure that disability no longer remains invisible in MDG negotiations and is included in monitoring mechanisms that measure the progress of each goal.
[1] United Nations Commission for Social Development at the Economic and Social Council
E/CN.5/2005/5 Report of the Special Rapporteur on Disability of the Commission for Social Development (2005)
[2] DfID ( 2000) Disability, Poverty and Development, DFID, UK.
nice presentatin and argumentation