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IMPROVING ACCESS TO SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SERVICES FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITY IN LAO PDR

Associate Professor Angela Fielding

Director Research Training, School of Occupational Therapy and Social Work, Curtin University

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THE PROJECT

• Australian Aid funded research project to enhance

economic and social inclusion through disability-inclusive

development in Lao PDR

• Research team at Curtin University

• NGO Partner: Lao Disabled People’s Association (LDPA)

• Lao PDR Government Partner: National Committee for

People with Disability and Elderly, Ministry of Labour and

Social Welfare

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Objectives

• Work with key stakeholders in Lao PDR to identify barriers

and facilitators to social and economic participation for

people with disabilities

• Build capacity of local stakeholders in research,

monitoring and evaluation, and good practice for disability-

inclusive development

• Share research findings, which will support relevant

ministries and DPOs’ work in designing and implementing

disability-inclusive development policies and programs.

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We know…• People with disability face many challenges: health,

education and training, employment, social inclusion, social relationships, valued social roles

• Disability is ‘complex and controversial’ (WHO and the World Bank 2011)

• Shift away from a medical model of individual impairment towards a social model and ICF

• …. Recognising disability along a continuum (of functioning and support need), not a binary condition (no disability or disabled)

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However …

• Policy responses require:

• Quantifiable estimates of needs (e.g. number of people

with disability, associated costs)

• Evidence base of what works within specific contexts

• Targeted and generic interventions (e.g. specialist and

inclusive education)

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SCOPING REVIEW

• Formal research on disability in Lao PDR

• Three scientific databases and Google Scholar• 1,946 titles reviewed but seven articles selected as

disability research studies that included Lao PDR

• Findings

• Disability classification (including UXO)

• Inclusive education

• Community based rehabilitation

• Lack of lived experience

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Disability classification

• Current classification of individual types of

disabilities is limited and may lead to obscuring

the nature of disability

• Lao Population and Household Census (2005)• Arm or leg handicap, deaf, dumb, visually impaired,

other disabilities, multiple disabilities

• Excludes intellectual disability and mental illness

• Prevalence rates vary - 0.7%, 1.3%, 8.0%, 12.7%

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Inclusive education

• 16 year inclusive education project (1993-2009)

• Potential to facilitate disability-inclusive

development on a broad scale

• Requirement to include monitoring and evaluation • Not included until the last year of the project (data

collected retrospectively)

• Part of the broader inclusive education strategy in

the region (e.g. UNESCO APEID)

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Community based rehabilitation (CBR)

• Internationally recognised community based

strategy for people with disability

• Evidence of CBR introduced in the early 1990s• Absence of reference to CBR in Lao PDR (formal and

grey literature) since the turn of the century

• CBR projects currently being developed and

implemented at different sites

• Potential to facilitate inclusive development and

the principles of CRDP

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EMERGING/COMPELLING ISSUES

• Few empirical studies related to disability-inclusive development in Lao PDR

• Differences in measuring and classifying disability

• Coordination

• Differing interests

• Representation of lived experience

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DISABILITY-INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT

• Disability is a development issue, because of its

bidirectional link to poverty

• Social inclusion is a process which can be

measured against specific indicators e.g.

improved educational achievement, improved

employment prospects, improved health

• Capacity to respond• Developing stronger and broader leadership in the

disability advocacy sector in Lao PDR

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Improving access to social and economic services for people with disability in Lao PDR

Research Phases:

Phase 1: Scoping and consultation with stakeholders

Phase 2: Establish an Expert Reference Group (ERG)

Phase 3: Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Workshop

Phase 4: Data Collection

Phase 5: Data Analysis

Phase 6: Dissemination of Findings

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Summary

• Limited research available on Lao PDR context

• Focus on capacity building and social inclusion can result in a fairer society

• The voices and lived experience of those living with disability are needed in all assessment and planning processes

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Relevance to policy and practice

• Discussion of relevance and need for disability

measures

• Inclusion of PWD in design and implementation of

research

• Monitoring and evaluation training for Ministry

staff and DPOs

• Participatory action research model has longer

lasting effect

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Thank You

This research project - ‘Improving access to social and economic services for people with disability in Laos’ has been funded by the Australian Government, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australian Development Research Award Scheme (ADRAS). The views and opinions expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Australian Government or the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Email: A.Fielding@curtin.edu.au

ADRAS@curtin.edu.au