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Background
Disability is rooted in high-risk factors from which the poor have little
protection. These poverty-related factors include malnutrition, disease,
accidents and exposure to hazardous substances. Most people with
disabilities are poor. The greatest concentration of poor people with
disabilities in the UNESCAP region is in its rural areas.
There has been considerable emphasis on the crucial importance of
people’s participation in rural development. In the past decade, attention
has focused on the development of participatory processes and the role of
women in those processes. Rural poverty alleviation in the UNESCAP region
has now reached a stage where there is a need to design programmes that can
benefit all social groups, including those who have been overlooked.
By focusing on people with disabilities, as a particularly marginalized
and disempowered social group, the proposed workshop will identify issues
and strategic approaches of wider relevance to the strengthening of poverty
alleviation policies and programmes in terms of enhancing their overall
impact on marginalized groups.
The poor as a social group are the least represented in decision-making
processes. Among them, those with disabilities are even further
marginalized. In addition to being oppressed by poverty, the human
development potential of rural persons with disabilities is stifled by the
discrimination and ignorance that characterize their social environment.
Poor rural disabled persons are likely to be deprived of rehabilitation
services, to be illiterate and they lack the skills for remunerative
employment or self-employment. In general, it is those who are less
disadvantaged who take maximum advantage of the benefits of poverty
alleviation programmes, leading to the further marginalization of more
vulnerable social groups. While, in principle, rural poverty alleviation
programmes do not exclude people with disabilities, in practice, the absence
of specific means of promoting their participation, especially through
removing physical and attitudinal obstacles, effectively excludes them.
In the light of the above-mentioned concerns, the Commission, at its 50th
session in April 1994, had urged that the pressing issue of poverty among
people with disabilities be addressed. The Committee on Socio-economic
Measures to Alleviate Poverty in Rural and Urban Areas, on its first session
held at Bangkok from 15 to 17 September 1998, had urged the inclusion of
disabled persons in the secretariat's poverty alleviation activities, in
consonance with Commission resolution 54/1 on “Strengthening regional
support for persons with disabilities into the twenty-first century,” and
the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, 1993 2002. Furthermore,
the Committee had requested the Secretariat to develop a project focusing on
diverse approaches to poverty alleviation among rural disabled persons,
including support for their formation of self-help groups, social
mobilization for their active participation in rural development, and skills
enhancement for their economic self-sufficiency.
In close collaboration with the Government of India, UNESCAP organized
the Field-study-cum-regional Workshop on Poverty Alleviation among Rural
Persons with Disabilities in Hyderabad, India from 6 to 15 December 1999.
The field-cum-workshop was hosted by the National Institute of Rural
Development, Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India. The
participants from 10 developing countries of the region formulated
recommendations, which focused on the promotion of the direct participation
of disabled persons in rural poverty alleviation programmes. The workshop
participants agreed to mobilize funds, in consultation with UNESCAP, to
convene again in China in the year 2004 to review the outcome of follow-up
actions.
In May 2002, UNESCAP members and associate members adopted resolution
58/4 on promoting an inclusive, barrier-free and rights-based society for
people with disabilities in the Asian and Pacific region in the twenty-first
century, by which it proclaimed the extension of the Asian and Pacific
Decade of Disabled Persons, 1993-2002, for another decade, 2003-2012.
In October 2002, Governments at the High-level Intergovernmental Meeting
to Conclude the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons 1993-2002,
adopted the “Biwako Millennium Framework for Action towards an Inclusive,
Barrier-free and Rights-based Society for Persons with Disabilities in Asian
and the Pacific,” as the regional policy guideline for the new decade. The
framework identifies seven priority areas for action, in each of which
critical issues and targets with specific timeframes and actions follow.
“Poverty alleviation through capacity-building, social security and
sustainable livelihood programmes” is one of the priority areas.
At the 59th commission session (in 2003), UNESCAP members and associate
members adopted two resolutions: namely, 59/1 ”Regional Implementation of
the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action towards an Inclusive,
Barrier-free and Rights-based Society for Persons with Disabilities in Asia
and the Pacific during the Decade of Disabled Persons, 2003-2012 (BMF)” and
59/3 “Strengthening Social Safety in the Asian and Pacific Region”, by which
poverty alleviation among people with disabilities was singled out as an
important priority action.
To respond to follow-up action recommended by the workshop in 1999 and
these resolutions, the China Disabled Persons’ Federation (CDPF), China’s
focal point on disability matters, informed UNESCAP in August 2003 of its
strong wish to host a follow-up workshop in China in 2004. Our counterpart,
the China Disabled Persons’ Federation (CDPF) and the Government of China
have been among UNESCAP’s best partners on disability issues, and they been
among major contributors to the activities of the Decade of Disabled
Persons.
China is proud of its success in reducing poverty among people with
disabilities. The law on the protection of persons with disabilities
stipulates that an employment quota system should be in place (i.e., all
enterprises should recruit a certain percentage of workers with
disabilities). The employment rate of urban disabled persons has reached 84
% through various employment incentives. Persons with disabilities without
financial resources can receive relief allowance and other services. Also,
the Chinese Government has established specific preferential loans for
persons with disabilities. Nearly 10 million persons with disabilities have
been able to obtain sufficient food and clothing with such assistance. Poor
urban disabled persons have been included in the bottom line life security
to guarantee their basic living. Other countries with low GDP per capita may
learn lessons from China, for replication of some elements.
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