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Inclusive design and accessibility of the built environment in Freetown - an Inclusive Infrastructure Case Study from Sierra Leone

PATRICK, Michaela
MULDOWNEY, A
TURAY, A
KOROMA, B
McKINNON, I
October 2023

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Showcasing findings and recommendations for infrastructure, the built environment and urban development in Freetown, Sierra Leone, the case study provides actions towards creating a more accessible and inclusive city. Building a picture of the current state of inclusive design and accessibility of the built environment, the report sets out the potential for inclusive design to address existing barriers to inclusion for persons with disabilities.  

 

Research conducted in Sierra Leone included interviews, co-design workshops and photo diaries, with 15 stakeholders and 20 persons with disabilities living and working in the city.

 

Inclusive Infrastructure is a sub-programme of UK aid funded AT2030, testing ‘what works’ to improve access to life-changing Assistive Technology (AT) for all. The research demonstrates how access to AT is dependent on an enabling and inclusively designed built environment. The Sierra Leone case study is the fifth of six that help build a global picture of the current state of inclusion and accessibility in our cities through engaging local stakeholders and communities. 

 

How disabled people are leading innovation and systems change in the UK

KANODIA, Kush
September 2023

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The most important part of innovation in systems change is the lived experience.

The successful campaign to eliminate car park charges for people with disabilities at NHS hospitals in the UK is outlined. (Charges from over 200 hospitals are now dismissed).

The ongoing campaign to exempt all people with disabilities who are "Blue badge" holders from charges associated with ULEZ (ultra low emission zones) or the equivalent in cities in the UK is also described. The importance of integrating climate action and disability rights is highlighted.  

Disability inclusion in climate change programming in the Middle East

KETT, Maria
MEANEY-DAVIS, Jessie
January 2021

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This document provides guidance on how to incorporate disability inclusion within climate change programming in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs), Syria, Turkey and Yemen. It is intended to inform the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s (FCDO) climate change programming in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. 

Persons with disabilities in a just transition to a low-carbon economy

HASAN, Maria
November 2019

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Implementing a just transition to a low-carbon economy that aims to leave no one behind will require a context-specific and locally determined mix of legal standards, social protection, skills development and attitudinal transformation that create an enabling environment for green jobs to perpetuate and decent work opportunities for persons with disabilities to proliferate. If done right, a just transition towards environmentally sustainable economies and societies for all can contribute to the goals of achieving social justice, decent work, social inclusion and the eradication of poverty. At this unique time that climate action is accelerating and the transition to green economies has started to take form, a just transition - that is inherently disability-inclusive - represents a unique opportunity to shape a future that works for all.

 

Topics discussed include: Persons with disabilities in a world of work confronted by climate change; Understanding the future of the world of work; Existing frameworks to guide action; An inclusive transition to a low-carbon economy; Key recommendations

Persons with disabilities in a just transition to a low-carbon economy

HASAN, Maria
November 2019

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Implementing a just transition to a low-carbon economy that aims to leave no one behind will require a context-specific and locally determined mix of legal standards, social protection, skills development and attitudinal transformation that create an enabling environment for green jobs to perpetuate and decent work opportunities for persons with disabilities to proliferate.

Disability and climate resilience research project

KETT, Maria
COLE, Ellie
August 2018

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This 14-month exploratory research project aimed to increase the understanding of the links between disability and climate resilience, and in turn to support the delivery of policy and programme work that builds the resilience of people with disabilities to climate shocks and stresses. 

 

The research comprises: an extensive literature review to identify the current evidence and gaps; a global online survey to identify current practices being implemented in the field around climate change and climate-related disasters, and the extent to which disability issues are addressed in programming; policy analyses, complemented by key informant interviews with policymakers and practitioners; and focus group discussions with people with disabilities in climate-impacted areas of Bangladesh and Kenya. This report synthesises the results of the desk- and field-based research, and outlines implications of the findings for policy and programming and identifies recommendations for further action. It is hoped that the findings highlighted in this report can be extrapolated to develop more disabilityinclusive practice and will also be applicable for other contextually marginalised people

Strengthening environmental sustainability and inclusion in health and other development programs. Practical guidance for environmental sustainability, accessibility, gender, safeguarding and disaster risk reduction

CBM
2018

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The purpose of this booklet is to promote discussion and innovation for strengthening environmental sustainability and inclusion in health and other development activities. The case studies and checklists are designed to foster creative thinking and the ongoing gathering of evidence related to these topics. The booklet will be useful to anyone seeking high quality outcomes from health and other development programs. The information was first compiled for CBM’s engagement in the General Assembly of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness 2016, however will be useful for advancing sustainable development with inclusion in any context.

The case sutdies are: Environmental Sustainability in Eye Health, Caritas Takeo Eye Hospital (CTEH), Cambodia; and  Strengthening Accessibility and Inclusion in Eye Health. UMC Kissy Eye Hospital, Freetown, Sierra Leone, West Africa

New Earth Disability Newsletter - December 2017

Alex Ghenis
December 2017

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New Earth Disability is a groundbreaking project looking at how climate change will affect people with disabilities. NED is now a major initiative at the World Institute on Disability, a leading nonprofit focusing on disability research, education and partnerships.

Making migration accessible: Inclusive relocation for people with disabilities

GHENIS, Alex
February 2016

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Factors associated with complex and specific needs of people with disabilities who become migrants owing to climate change are discussed and rights of disabled migrants as covered by  UNCRPD Article 11: Situations of Risk and Humanitarian Emergencies and UNCRPD Article 18: Liberty of Movement and Nationality are highlighted. The challenge of disability-inclusive planning to incorporate migrants with disabilities in a way that maintains health, physical access and necessary support throughout the migration or relocation process and once at their destination is reported. This involves maximizing accessibility of transit and infrastructure (namely temporary camps, long-term housing and public spaces); maintaining personal care and communal support networks; and guaranteeing vital health-care and social services.

Migration, Environment and Climate Change: Policy Brief Series: Issue 6 | Vol. 2 | June 2016

WORLD ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL SURVEY - 2016 Climate Change Resilience: an opportunity for reducing inequalities

United Nations Secretariat, Department for Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA)
2016

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This survey contributes to the debate on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In addressing the specific challenge of building resilience to climate change, the Survey focuses on population groups and communities that are disproportionately affected by climate hazards, whose frequency and intensity are increasing with climate change. It argues that, in the absence of a continuum of policies designed to reduce the exposure and vulnerability of people to climate change, poverty and inequalities will only worsen. To the extent that the differential impact of climate hazards on people and communities is determined largely by the prevalence of multiple inequalities in respect of the access to resources and opportunities, policies aimed at building climate resilience provide an opportunity to address the structural determinants of poverty and inequality in their multiple dimensions.

Transforming our world : the 2030 agenda for sustainable development

UNITED NATIONS (UN)
October 2015

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This document presents the finalised text for adoption of the UN’s 2015-2030 Sustainable Development agenda, a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity.  The Agenda seeks to strengthen universal peace in larger freedom and recognises that eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development. It calls for countries and all stakeholders, acting in collaborative partnership, to implement this plan and  pledges that no one will be left behind. It seeks to build on the Millennium Development Goals and complete what these did not achieve, and it is anticipated that the Goals and targets will stimulate action over the next fifteen years in areas of critical importance for humanity and the planet

 

The document provides an introduction and vision, shared principles and commitments, the world today and the new agenda, the means of implementation, the follow up and review, and a call for action to change our world. It then specifically outlines the new agenda of 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the associated 169 developmental targets, the means of implementation and global partnership, and the expected follow-up and review over the next 15 years at national, regional and global levels

 

The 17 SDGs include: 

  • 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

Climate change’s role in disaster risk reduction’s future : beyond vulnerability and resilience

KELMAN, Ilan
GAILLARD, J C
MERCER, Jessica
March 2015

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A seminal policy year for development and sustainability occurs in 2015 due to three parallel processes that seek long-term agreements for climate change, the Sustainable Development Goals, and disaster risk reduction. Little reason exists to separate them, since all three examine and aim to deal with many similar processes, including vulnerability and resilience. This article uses vulnerability and resilience to explore the intersections and overlaps amongst climate change, disaster risk reduction, and sustainability. Critiquing concepts such as “return to normal” and “double exposure” demonstrate how separating climate change from wider contexts is counterproductive. Climate change is one contributor to disaster risk and one creeping environmental change amongst many, and not necessarily the most prominent or fundamental contributor. Yet climate change has become politically important, yielding an opportunity to highlight and tackle the deep-rooted vulnerability processes that cause “multiple exposure” to multiple threats. To enhance resilience processes that deal with the challenges, a prudent place for climate change would be as a subset within disaster risk reduction. Climate change adaptation therefore becomes one of many processes within disaster risk reduction. In turn, disaster risk reduction should sit within development and sustainability to avoid isolation from topics wider than disaster risk. Integration of the topics in this way moves beyond expressions of vulnerability and resilience towards a vision of disaster risk reduction’s future that ends tribalism and separation in order to work together to achieve common goals for humanity.

Human Rights

www.macao-tz.org
December 2014

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Malezi AIDS Care Awareness Organization (MACAO) is a non-profit organization reaching out to neglected Indigenous people in Ngorongoro District, Arusha Region of Northern Tanzania.  Macao founded in 2003, Macao is a humanitarian organization that provides assistance to approximately 200,000 Indigenous Maasai community in Ngorongoro district for addressing needs of water and sanitation, food security, health Care Research, Education, Research environment, Maasai Traditional Research, Human Rights and sustainable economic development by strengthening their livelihoods.  In addition to responding to major relief situations, MACAO focuses on long-term community development through over 4 Area Development Project. We welcome the donors and volunteers to join us in this programs, we are wolking in ruro villages.

Climate change and persons with disabilities

LOCKWOOD, Elizabeth
September 2014

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This blog follows the UN Climate Summit on Tuesday, 23 September 2014 in New York City. Due to this high-level event, climate change has been a pervasive topic at the UN and in NYC and this theme will continue to be important as the post-2015 development agenda progresses. With this increased emphasis on climate change – and related disaster risk reduction (DRR) – in the post-2015 process, this blog outlines why it is crucial that persons with disabilities are included in these conversations, debates and initiatives, and presents a number of recommendations

Open working group proposal for sustainable development goals

UNITED NATIONS (UN)
2014

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This UN report sets out the proposed 17 Sustainable Development Goals and accompanying targets, developed for consideration and appropriate action by the General Assembly at its 68th session. These goals were developed by the Open Working on Sustainable Development Goals as a result of the mandate set out in the Rio+20 outcome document

Note: Open Working Group of the General Assembly on Sustainable Development Goals is issued as document A/68/970

Towards resilience : a guide to disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation

TURNBALL, Marilise
STERRETT Charlotte L
HILLEBOE, Amy
2013

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The guide provides information for the application of an integrated, rights-based approach to disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. It features introductory information, principles of effective practice, guidelines for action in a range of sectors and settings, case studies and links to useful tools and resources. It is a resource for staff of development and humanitarian organisations working with people whose lives and rights are threatened by disasters and climate change

Building resilience : integrating climate and disaster risk into development

THE WORLD BANK
2013

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This report presents the World Bank’s experience in climate and disaster resilient development, and contends that such development is essential to eliminating extreme poverty and achieving shared prosperity by 2030.  Case studies are used throughout this report to illustrate promising approaches, lessons learned and remaining challenges.  Vulnerable populations are discussed within the report

Realising the future we want for all : report to the secretary-general

UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM TASK TEAM
June 2012

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"The report begins by reflecting on the experience of the UN system in supporting the implementation of the MDG framework. Building on the lessons learned, the report provides an assessment of the key development challenges to which the global development agenda should respond. It proposes a vision of people-centred, inclusive and sustainable development and initial ideas for possible contours of a post-2015 UN development agenda. It concludes by laying out a possible road map for the process of defining the agenda, including ways of bringing different voices of people around the world into the consultations"

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