The International Centre for Evidence in Disability

The International Centre for Evidence in Disability (ICED) at LSHTM presents:
Disability and Social Protection Discussion Forum
Thurs 26th March 2015
09:00 – 13:30
Manson Lecture Theatre, LSHTM
Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT
Meeting Outputs
Session 1: Setting the Scene on Disability and Social Protection
Chair session 1: Hannah Kuper
Full Audio-Visual Slides for Session 1 (1hr 20 minutes) available here:
Session Includes:
o Armando Barrientos: Introducing Social Protection (slides attached)
o Alex Coates/Ola Abu Alghaib: Feedback from ILO/IDA meeting (slides
attached)
o Uwe Gehlen: Social protection and disability – a German perspective (no
slides – see Audio Visual)
o Matt Walsham: Research on social protection and disability (slides
attached)
o Armando Barrientos: Advice on inclusion of disability in social protection
(no slides – see Audio Visual)
Session 2: Building the Evidence on Social Protection and Disability: Priorities
and Opportunities
Participants divided into two groups to discuss:
Group 1:Research
-
Key research questions
Sources of information
-
Recommended study designs
Potential case studies
Research partners and funders
Group 2: Evaluation
- Key evaluation questions
- Types of social protection programmes to evaluate
- Potential country case studies
- Potential evaluation partners and funders
Group 1 Summary Feedback:
There is a need for mapping of:
- Existing databases
- The amount and kind of social protection schemes that take into consideration the issue
of disability-inclusion (either mainstream schemes or specific ones)
- Existing and on-going research projects
- Piloted systems: where do experiences with pilot schemes exist (e.g. Uganda) and what
kind of approaches/inclusive social protection schemes are/were implemented?
Approaches to gather further evidence:
- Develop an “inclusiveness index”
- Conduct expert interviews/consultation meetings to collect the knowledge of
practitioners/policy-makers working in this field
Concrete research questions:
- What can we learn from including/considering (other) vulnerable groups and
minorities in social protection programmes?
- What experiences from the fields of gender and HIV/Aids might be used/adapted?
- What are the intersections between different sectors and even within sectors?
(Example: an inclusive & accessible health insurance vs. a health system which is not fully
inclusive & accessible)
- Do the demand-side and the needs-side correspond?
- What definition/understanding of disability/impairment is used or prevalent?
- What is the “cultural approach” to disability/diversity issues?
- How accessible are the application procedures for social protection mechanisms?
- Do persons with different forms of impairment have equal access to and information
about existing social protection programmes?
- What does it costs to implement inclusive social protection and what kind of (other)
resources are needed?
- What does it cost to have systems in place that are exclusive/not inclusive and what
consequences result thereof?
- What environment and structures are needed for/facilitate the implementation of
inclusive social protection?
Group 2 Summary Feedback:
Evaluation needs to focus on:
1. Impact (outcome) evaluation – what is the impact of Social Protection on People
with Disabilities
2. Process evaluation – how best to include People with Disabilities in Social
Protection
Opportunities for evaluation:
The following may produce opportunities to evaluate the inclusion of people with
disabilities in social protection:
1. Existing data for Social Protection Programmes:
o World Bank Database of Social Protection exists (ASPIRE) but may not
include relevant disability markers
o TASAF in Tanzania has collected data on inclusion of People with Disabilities,
but not yet analysed. Other databases are also likely to exist that could be
analysed
2. Existing databases of Social Protection
o Stephen Kidd from Development pathways has established a database of
social protection programmes for people with disabilities. This is in the
process of being updated
o Armando Barrientos from Manchester University has established a database
of social assistance programmes in developing countries
3. Interesting Case Studies
o Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi and Nepal – the social protection
programmes in these countries include disability as an entrance criteria.
This would offer an opportunity to evaluate how inclusion is best achieved
and the impact of inclusion. Within these countries, Mozambique and Nepal
may be most relevant as they have made the most efforts to include people
with disabilities.
o Rwanda –national health insurance has been rolled out in a bid to move
towards Universal Health Coverage. This programme could be evaluated to
assess the inclusion of people with disabilities.
o Palestine – the initial policy of giving disability benefits to the person with
disability has now shifted towards giving funds to the household level. The
impact of this change could be evaluated
Other questions that are important to evaluate include:
1. How best to undertake disability assessment, and what is the impact of different
methods used?
2. What impact does the political economy have as a driver of inclusive social
protection?