Attachments
Protecting the rights and equality of vulnerable and marginalised groups must be central to humanitarian and development assistance. The needs of persons with disabilities are different, and often these differences are amplified during crises. The Asia Foundation Model Disability Survey of Afghanistan, 2019 indicates a 13.9% of people in Afghanistan have severe disabilities. Despite an increased awareness within the aid unity about the issues facing persons with disability, there is growing evidence indicating that inclusion measures are still inconsistently integrated within response and organisational make-up and increased work is needed to improve outcomes.
According to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)1: 'Persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others'.
Due to low awareness and limited disability specific services in the country, mostly persons with disabilities cannot access disability services which negatively affect their wellbeing and social life. Therefore, the DIWG (Disability Inclusion Working Group) initiated mapping of disability services in Afghanistan.
The purpose of disability services mapping exercise is to map the services available for person with disabilities that can help to improve coordination among disability actors and enhance access of persons with disabilities to services through referral.
To collect the data on disability services in the country, the disability inclusion working group developed an online data collection form and shared the final version with DIWG members and clusters to populate the form. As a result, 38 partners (INGOs and NNGOs) from 32 provinces filled out the online form and provided details of their services in the mentioned provinces which are summarized within this report. However, DIWG didn’t receive any feedback from the partners in Farah and Parwan provinces.
The disability service mapping report can help humanitarian actors, service providers, OPDs, and other stakeholders to refer persons with disabilities to the right services in a specific province. Furthermore, this document can also help in preventing duplication of services in different provinces of Afghanistan.