Resources search

Applying market shaping approaches to increase access to assistive technology in low- and middle-income countries

SAVAGE, Margaret
ALBALA, Sarah
SEGHERS, Frederic
KATTEL, Rainer
LIAO, Cynthia
CHAUDRON, Mathilde
AFDHILA, Novia
December 2021

Expand view

Development outcomes are inextricably linked to the health of the marketplace that delivers products and services to people in low- and middle- income countries (LMIC). Shortcomings in the market for assistive technology (AT) contribute to low access in LMIC. Market shaping is aimed at improving a market’s specific outcomes, such as access to high quality, affordable AT, by targeting the root causes of these shortcomings. The paper summarizes the findings of a market and sector analysis that was conducted under the UK aid funded AT2030 programme and aims to discuss how market shaping can help more people gain access to the AT that they need and what are the best mechanisms to unlock markets and commercial opportunity in LMICs.

 

Assistive Technology 
The Official Journal of RESNA
Volume 33, 2021 - Issue sup1: Companion Papers to the Global Report on Assistive Technology

https://doi.org/10.1080/10400435.2021.1991050

Labour Market Assessment: Bangladesh 2021 refresh

INCLUSIVE FUTURES
BROWN, SIMON
August 2021

Expand view

This Labour Market Assessment for Bangladesh is a refresh of the initial assessments done in 2019 for the Inclusion Works programme. The assessment adopts a Markets for Poor (M4P) approach to mapping demand for and supply of labour, supporting functions and regulatory frameworks; recognising that labour markets conditions will have evolved since 2019, especially in light of COVID-19. The perspectives of jobseekers, employers, and organisations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) are also included in this analysis. The report provides insights into market changes and recommendations to enable Inclusion Works programming to adapt and be more effective in their interventions.

Labour Market Assessment: Kenya 2021 refresh

INCLUSIVE FUTURES
BROWN, SIMON
OBOSI, Shikuku
August 2021

Expand view

This Labour Market Assessment for Kenya is a refresh of the initial assessments done in 2019 for the Inclusion Works programme. The assessment adopts a Markets for Poor (M4P) approach to mapping demand for and supply of labour, supporting functions and regulatory frameworks; recognising that labour markets conditions will have evolved since 2019, especially in light of COVID-19. The perspectives of jobseekers, employers, and organisations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) are also included in this analysis. The report provides insights into market changes and recommendations to enable Inclusion Works programming to adapt and be more effective in their interventions.

An AT Innovator case study: Amparo

WILLIAMS, Rhys
OLDFREY, Ben
HOLLOWAY, Catherine
December 2020

Expand view

An interview is reported with Lucas Paes de Melo, the CEO of Amparo, to discuss the journey so far of prosthetics company, Amparo. Rather than focus on the product, this insights paper provides an honest reflection of the journey to establishing an assistive technology company and delves into transferable insights. In doing so, they aim to provide insights to help current and future AT entrepreneurs to see behind the curtain of working in this space.

Empowering Women with Disabilities : moving from charity to right based model

Humanity & Inclusion
2020

Expand view

HI Pakistan has recently completed a UN Women funded project ”Empowering women with disabilities (EWwD)” focusing on the social and economic empowerment of the women with disabilities. The project was implemented at Islamabad capital territory (ICT), Peshawar, Nowshera and Karachi. This project has directly benefited more than 600 women with disabilities , whereas about 30 DPOs and a number of public private departments / institutions have also been engaged and benefitted.

 

HI Pakistan collected the stories of project beneficiaries and published to highlight the impact of the project and to integrate the lesson learnt in program cycle management.

Product Narratives: the challenges of supply and demand-side barriers for priority AT

HOLLOWAY, Cathy
OLDFREY, Ben
END FINEBURG, Alison
SEGHERS, Frederic
SOENDERGAARD, Dennis
September 2020

Expand view

This Disability Innovation Live session, looked at the Assistive Technology (AT) Product Narratives (PNs). The Product Narratives were developed by the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) under the FCDO funded AT2030 programme, led by GDI Hub, in support of the ATscale Strategy.

These PNs set out what we know about the state of the global market for each AT product, and identify global recommendations for how to address some of the barriers to access currently experienced in low and middle-income countries. In this session, we hear from the experts about what the PNs are, how they will inform global policy, and how we hope they will help us reach more people with life-changing AT

Product Narrative: Eyeglasses. A market landscape and strategic approach to increasing access to eyeglasses in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

CHAUDRON, Mathilde
SAVAGE, Margaret
et al
July 2020

Expand view

Increasing access to eyeglasses to eliminate the burden of uncorrected refractive errors in LMICs will require a multisectoral approach that brings together the public and the private sector, multilateral organisations, and donors. This will require an approach that increases demand for eyeglasses, raises the number of access points for screening and provision, and accelerates the availability of affordable products. To achieve this, we propose five strategic objectives that can strengthen the market in both the short and longer term.

Product Narrative: Prostheses. A market landscape and strategic approach to increasing access to prosthetic devices and related services in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

LIAO, Cynthia
SEGHERS, Frederick
SAVAGE, Margaret
FINEBERG, Alison
AUSTIN, Vicki
HOLLOWAY, Catherine
OLDFREY, Ben
April 2020

Expand view

While about 1.5 million people undergo amputations every year, WHO estimates that only 5-15% of amputees who need prosthetic devices in LMICs have access to them. High prices of prosthetic services in lower- and middle-income countries (LMICs), combined with high indirect costs for users (for example to travel to service points), make prosthetic services unaffordable to many of the people who need them. 

Prosthetic services can be made more affordable by: 1) increasing the number of service units (in particular, by leveraging decentralised service models and the innovative technologies that enable them); 2) establishing reimbursement schemes that encapsulate all costs to the user; and 3) leveraging alternative forms of financing for both capacity-building and user financing.

An opportunity exists to transform access to prosthetic services and products in LMICs, but this will require a coordinated effort between: 1) governments to expand service capacity; 2) global stakeholders to provide guidance on products and technologies; 3) suppliers to expand market presence and offerings; and 4) donors to support these activities. 

Five strategic objectives are proposed to accelerate access to prosthetic services in LMIC

I Am EmployAble

BAART, Judith
MAARSE, Anneke
September 2017

Expand view

I am EmployAble walks the reader through the process of vocational training – from enrolment to training to employment – and provides tips based on experience, anecdotes and tools to inspire and support those working with and for disability inclusive technical and vocational training institutes.

The specific aim of this programme was to contribute to quality vocational training for young people with disabilities in Kenya, Rwanda and Ethiopia and create lasting linkages between technical and vocational training institutes and the labour market, thus facilitating decent and sustainable wage or selfemployment for young people with disabilities. This meant not just targeting the young people with disabilities themselves but also local training institutes and private sector actors, in order to work for systemic change.

International development conference : achieving effective delivery of the development agenda|Lessons from the front line|Conference summary

PRICEWATERHOUSE COOPERS (PwC)
2009

Expand view

This report summarises a conference that shared the practical lessons that participants have learned in designing and implementing development projects. The conference provided a forum to share innovative responses to the challenges encountered in the field and to identify ways to achieve more responsive, effective and sustainable development on the ground. Parallel discussions focused on: - Security sector reform in conflict-affected environments; - Placing a spotlight on transparency initiatives: The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), Construction Sector Transparency (CoST) Initiative and the Medicines Transparency Alliance (MeTA); - Managing funds for development impact; - Putting private sector development strategy into practice, and - Climate change

Public and private sector approaches to improving pharmaceutical quality in Bangladesh

KOSTERMANS, Kees
et al
March 2008

Expand view

"Low-cost high-quality drugs benefit society and helps provide pharmaceutical companies a competitive edge. This study presents the issues that must be considered to achieve these common objectives in Bangladesh and explores options that the Government and the local industry could pursue. "Previous efforts to improve the drug quality in Bangladesh focused, without much success, on stricter regulation of the public market. This paper addresses this issue from a more private sector approach. The existing quality and price of pharmaceuticals are analysed and alternative mechanisms are explored to improve the quality and cost competitiveness of Bangladesh’s pharmaceuticals domestically and internationally"

Girls count : a global investment & action agenda

LEVINE, Ruth
et al
2008

Expand view

"This report is about why and how to put girls at the center of development - to invest in adolescent girls in developing countries. It is about how the health of economies and families depends on protecting the rights of and fostering opportunities for today's girls. It is about how far girls in many developing countries have come over the past two decades - but how far we remain from a world in which girls’ human rights are acknowledged, respected, and protected and in which young women are able to realize their potential to contribute to sustained economic and social progress. "This report calls for a long overdue dialogue among high-level decisionmakers about actions that governments, civil society organizations, development agencies, and the private sector can and should take now"

Humanitarian reform : fulfilling its promise?

COULDREY, Marion
Ed
December 2007

Expand view

This is a special issue of the Forced Migration Review. It includes articles relating to Iraq, Darfur, Colombia, Bulgaria, Bhutanese refugees, accountability protection, profiling internally displaced populations, and the role of the private sector

DFID and the private sector : working with the private sector to eliminate poverty

DEPARTMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (DFID)
December 2005

Expand view

Strong economic growth is key to the elimination of poverty. DFID considers that it has a clear priority in helping developing countries create the conditions which can nurture and sustain economic growth - and the development of the private sector is central to this because it is a major provider of essential services to poor people in developing countries

HIV-related stigma, discrimination and human rights violations: case studies of successful programmes

JOINT UNITED NATIONS PROGRAMME ON HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)
2005

Expand view

This report is a collection of case studies of projects, programmes and activities around the world that have used innovative methods to challenge HIV-related stigma, discrimination and human rights violations. The case studies are grouped under stigma-reduction approaches; anti-discrimination measures; and human rights and legal approaches. They are followed by some cross-project/activity analysis that identifies common elements and a number of key principles of success, each of which offers an entry point for innovative and potentially effective work

Providing antiretroviral treatment in southern Africa : a literature review

HEALTH SYSTEMS TRUST
February 2004

Expand view

This report outlines experience with ART in a number of sub-Saharan countries. ART is provided through a number of different avenues, which include the public sector, the non-profit sector, the corporate sector and the private sector. ART programmes may involve collaboration between two or more sectors with such partnerships being encouraged in recognition that the magnitude of the task may exceed the capacity of any one sector. Particular attention is paid to Botswana, the first sub-Saharan country to provide ART on a wide-scale through the public sector. The report consists of four chapters, focusing on provision of ART in the different sectors, challenges to scaling up ART programmes (including community preparedness and involvement of people living with HIV/AIDS, and issues for further research

The provision of reproductive health services in private hospitals in Amman, Jordan

BANKS, Dwayne
SHAHROURI, Manal
September 2003

Expand view

This survey of the 30 private acute care hospitals in Amman provides baseline information on services and aims to help the Jordanian Ministry of Health (MOH) understand the steps it must take to enhance its contracting with private sector facilities. The survey measured the availability of a broad range of hospital services, focussing on prenatal, delivery, and postnatal services. It also looked at hospital staffing, and it queried the satisfaction of hospitals with existing contracts with the MOH and their willingness to expand contractual relationships, comply with clinical guidelines, and participate in the health information system. The survey found that, among the 25 respondent hospitals, more than 90 percent offered reproductive health services. While all hospitals expressed a willingness to engage in a contractual relationship with the MOH, many described frustrations with current contracting, and less than half were willing to use the clinical guidelines and the information system

Africa's recovery from conflict : making peace work for the poor

ADDISON, Tony
2003

Expand view

This publication is a policy-focused summary of the UNU/WIDER book from conflict to recovery in Africa. As this study makes clear, peace is often elusive and economic policy can play a mojor role in supporting the efforts of those working at the national and international levels to build peace. Above all it is crucial to focus post-conflict policies on the needs of thepoor, so that recovery is broad based in its benefits, and does not simply benefit a narrow elite

Pages

E-bulletin