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The microcephaly epidemic, which started in Brazil in 2015, was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by WHO in 2016. Preliminary results of a case-control study investigating the association between microcephaly and Zika virus infection during pregnancy are reported. A case-control study was carried out in eight public hospitals in Recife, Brazil. Cases were neonates with microcephaly. Two controls (neonates without microcephaly), matched by expected date of delivery and area of residence, were selected for each case.

The Lancet Infectious Diseases,  Vol. 16, No. 12, pp. 1356–1363, Dec 2016

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(16)30318-8

This report, produced by the University of Sydney’s Centre for Disability Research and Policy (CDRP),
uses data collected in rounds four and five of UNICEF’s Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys programme (MICS) to describe the wellbeing of young children with and without developmental delay in six Asian countries. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) were used as a framework for identifying indicators of child wellbeing.

The report, authored by CDRP Disability and Inequity Stream Leader Professor Eric Emerson with Dr Amber Savage of the Family and Disability Studies Initiative, University of Alberta, Canada and CDRP Director Professor Gwynnyth Llewellyn, found that children with Developmental Delay in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Laos, Nepal, Pakistan and Vietnam are more likely than their peers to:
• Be living in poverty (SDG1). In five out the six countries children with developmental delay were more likely to be living in poverty than their peers
• Experience hunger (SDG2). In all six countries children with developmental delay were more likely to have experienced persistent severe hunger than their peers
• Suffer poor health (SDG3). On three indicators (poor peer relationships, diarrhoea and fever) children with developmental delay were more likely to have poor health than their peers. On three indicators (obesity, aggression and acute respiratory infections) there was no systematic difference between children with and without developmental delay.
• Experience barriers to quality education (SDG4). On all four indicators (attendance at early childhood education centre, family support for learning, access to learning materials in the home, maternal level of education) children with developmental delay were more disadvantaged than their peers.
• Experience barriers to clean water and sanitation (SDG6). On two indicators (improved sanitation, place to wash hands) children with developmental delay were more disadvantaged than their peers. On one indicator (improved drinking water) there was no systematic difference between children with and without developmental delay.

The authors noted that “Since the development of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in 1998, increased attention has been paid to monitoring the well-being of children. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and UNCRC both contain explicit provisions regarding the rights of children with disabilities. These impose obligations on governments to act to ensure that children with disabilities enjoy the same rights and opportunities as other children. In order to promote the visibility of children with disabilities, enable better policy, and monitor progress, disaggregation of data related to children’s well-being on the basis of disability is needed."

A short review of the literature was carried out which derived some specific recommendations with regards to the needs of people with disabilities in cash transfer programming in the braod categories of: appropriate beneficiary targeting and assessment; accessibility of training and sensitisation materials; physical and sensorial access to markets, vendors and distributions points (including ATM); access to activities in cash for work; accessibility of technology; access to lost goods and services

"To mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (3 December), the International Association of Public Transport (UITP), IRU (World's Road Transport organisation) and EDF jointly publish an 'Accessibility Guide' to improve customer service for persons with disabilities and persons with reduced mobility.

The publication aims to show that service quality and inclusiveness are of paramount importance for the public transport sector.

The guide is one of the initiatives that we are undertaking to raise awareness amongst staff about the barriers still existing to a fully inclusive public transport system and how to best overcome them. It is targeted at public transport staff regularly interacting with passengers and can be used in the context of disability awareness trainings.

Gunta Anca, EDF Vice-President: “With this accessibility guide we want to give simple tips and advice on how to improve service for persons with disabilities. There is really nothing to be afraid of – we are passengers like everyone else, just sometimes we need a little bit more of your support and understanding.”

Thomas Avanzata, Director of the European Department at UITP: “An average person does not know much about persons with disabilities. With this guide, we hope to close the knowledge gap for our bus drivers and be able to offer an improved service to persons with disabilities. We are very happy about the cooperation with EDF and IRU and optimistic that such small initiatives can make a difference on the ground, especially at times where financial resources for costly infrastructure works are scarce.”

Rémi Lebeda, who leads IRU’s work on passenger transport in Europe: “This accessibility guide is an excellent tool to improve the quality of service offered to people with disabilities by drivers and operators. We thank EDF and UITP for their excellent cooperation in working on this important issue. In further recognition of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities the guide will also be available in accessible format.”

"This publication seeks to support policymakers in promoting accessibility at a policy and practical level. It contains information on relevant global and regional mandates that support and promote disability-inclusive development and accessibility, with a view to demonstrate the multi-faceted value of focusing on disability and accessibility policies to achieve broader development goals. Readers will learn about the core concepts of disability and accessibility, and be empowered with knowledge on standards, tools and means of promoting accessibility. Furthermore, this publication will outline and analyse examples of good practices of accessibility identified in Asia and the Pacific. The majority of the good practices featured in this publication were initially discussed at two international and multi-stakeholder workshops that took place in 2014 and 2015, with a few additional examples drawn from Pacific island member States. The selection of practices for this publication is based on their embodiment of the principles of accessibility, demonstrated success, measurable impact on the community, and their adaptable and replicable nature"

This article explores the significance of disability for social justice, using Nancy Fraser’s theory of justice as a guideline. The article argues that the disability perspective is essential for understanding and promoting social justice, although it is often disregarded by critical thinkers and social activists. The article looks at three prominent strategies for achieving social justice under conditions of capitalism: economically, by decommodifying labour; culturally, by deconstructing self-sufficiency; and politically, by transnationalising democracy. The disability perspective reveals that decommodification of labour requires enhancement of disability support, deconstruction of self-sufficiency requires valorisation of disability-illuminated interdependence, and transnationalisation of democracy requires scrutiny of the transnational production of impairments. The article discusses each of these strategies in theoretical and practical terms by drawing on disability studies and Fraser’s analyses.

In this paper we argue that school toilets function as one civilising site [Elias, 1978. The Civilising Process. Oxford: Blackwell] in which children learn that disabled and queer bodies are out of place. This paper is the first to offer queer and crip perspectives on school toilets. The small body of existing school toilet literature generally works from a normative position which implicitly perpetuates dominant and oppressive ideals. We draw on data from Around the Toilet, a collaborative research project with queer, trans and disabled people (aroundthetoilet.wordpress.com) to critically interrogate this work. In doing this we consider ‘toilet training’ as a form of ‘civilisation’, that teaches lessons around identity, embodiment and ab/normal ways of being in the world. Furthermore, we show that ‘toilet training’ continues into adulthood, albeit in ways that are less easily identifiable than in the early years. We therefore call for a more critical, inclusive, and transformative approach to school toilet research.

This report analyses the situation in the 28 EU Member States with regard to obligations to provide reasonable accommodation outside the field of employment. More specifically, the report outlines the duties contained in Member States’ laws and policies with respect to reasonable accommodation in the areas covered by the 2008 proposal of the European Commission for a directive to protect people from discrimination on the ground of disability, as well as discrimination on a number of other grounds (henceforth 2008 proposal). The 2008 proposal addresses the fields of social protection, including social security, healthcare and social housing; education; and access to, and supply of, goods and services, including housing. It seeks to prohibit six kinds of discrimination including, in the context of disability, an unjustified denial of a reasonable accommodation

DOI: 10.2838/15305

Expanding the Circle is a project undertaken by Disability Rights Promotion International (DRPI) that focuses on expanding the conversation about what access to human rights looks like for Indigenous, First Nations, Aboriginal, Inuit and Métis people with disabilitiesin Canada. DRPI has engaged indigenous peoples in many of its projects including New Zealand and Bolivia. It is important that the Canadian indigenous experience be added to this search for knowledge where the rights of people have been neglected. Indigenous, First Nations, Aboriginal, Inuit and Métis people experience disproportionately high levels of disability compared to other Canadians. Indigenous, First Nations, Aboriginal, Inuit and Métis people with disabilities historically, and at present, experience exclusion and various forms of discrimination. This discrimination may take place at the level of individual interactions, but people may also experience discrimination at a higher, systemic level, by their needs not properly being addressed in laws, policies and budgets. This project uses an intersectional point of view, to understand the experiences of people with disabilities who are also Indigenous, First Nations, Aboriginal, Inuit and Métis and considers the unique challenges and victories this population experiences in accessing rights. 

Expanding the Circle considers the rights outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), in conversation with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP). International human rights legislation not only focuses on specific rights, but also highlights five general human rights principles. These key principles: dignity; autonomy; participation, inclusion and accessibility; non-discrimination and equity; and respect for difference were considered in relation to areas of people’s lives: social participation; health; education, work and privacy and family life, information & communications; access to justice; and income security and support services. This report combines two aspects of this project, first-hand experience through interviews, as well as an analysis that is based on a review of laws, policies, programmes and budgets to have a larger context to understand people’s lived experiences.