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Part 3
of 3
Formulation of national
policies, programmes and implementation guidelines aimed
at:
(a) Information, education
and communication:
- Identification,
through a variety of means, of the relative
proportion of different types of disability and
their social and economic dimensions;
- Promotion of public
awareness of individual, corporate and state
responsibilities concerning the prevention of
accidents (including road and industrial
accidents), violence against persons, abuse of
drugs (including alcohol and nicotine), as well
as the control of communicable and endemic
diseases and malnutrition;
- Promotion of public
awareness of disability associated with child
abuse, neglect, exploitation, and victimization
in situations of armed conflict;
- Promotion of public
awareness of mental disability;
- Development of media
and campaign activities on the prevention of
causes of disability that support the right of
people with disabilities to live;
- Dissemination of
information on disability-related aspects of
environmental and public health issues to lay
persons, technicians, administrators and
decision-makers;
(b) Promotion of health
and safety through measures that include:
- Improvement in ante-,
peri- and neonatal care;
- Training of
traditional birth attendants and midwives in the
prevention of obstetric trauma and the prevention
and management of infections in the newborn, as
well as the early detection of congenital
anomalies and referral for treatment;
- Development of skills
for prevention of disability in the training of
health care personnel, including traditional
healers;
- Expanded provision of
safe drinking water, water management and
sanitation systems;
- Encouragement of
community sanitation and personal hygiene
practices;
- Expansion of
immunization coverage with special emphasis on
the control of measles and poliomyelitis;
- Strict control of the
use and management of hazardous substances;
- Adherence to
established safety criteria for the disposal of
garbage;
- Increase in the
availability of low-cost protective devices and
promotion of healthy and safe working conditions
for workers in the industrial, agricultural and
construction sectors;
- Noise control;
- Emphasis on transport
safety;
- Encouragement of
rational use of drugs;
- Emphasis on safety
concerns in product design;
- Urgent attention to
respect for international law, to control of the
production, sale and use of weapons that maim and
kill even in times of peace, and to the
neutralization and total removal of
anti-personnel mines in affected countries;
(c) Special attention to
the production and consumption of foods through measures
such as:
- Promotion of school
and family food gardens to ensure adequate food
supply to social groups at risk of being disabled
as a result of deficiencies in total food intake
and in micro-nutrients;
- Distribution of
iodized salt;
- Reduction of the risk
of toxicity in the food chain (production
processing, preservation, storage);
(d) Strengthening of
assessment, management and referral covering, inter
alia,:
- Early detection and
management of congenital anomalies, infections,
conditions and injuries that can lead to
disability;
- Maintenance of
records of children at risk of disability due to
pre-, peri- and post-natal causes, and follow-up
of those records for early detection and
management of disability;
- Development of
routine screening programmes for children;
- Conduct of eye and
ear camp programmes for low-income groups;
- Provision of training
in testing, analysis of results and referral to
health workers, school teachers and volunteers;
(e) Improvement of access,
particularly in rural areas, to timely surgical
interventions through, e.g.,:
- Development of basic
surgical facilities using inter-disciplinary
teams with delegation, where appropriate, to
trained clinical personnel;
- Support for mobile
teams to provide services to people with
disabilities in remote communities;
(f) Support for the
control of leprosy through long-term public education
combined with improved access to multi-drug therapy,
training, counselling, and protective aids to prevent
progressive disability from nerve injuries and injuries
to limbs and eyes.
(a) Development of
rehabilitation services that are:
- Based on reliable
data on the magnitude and nature of demand for
those services;
- Time-bound for
individuals;
- Accessible by
economically marginalized persons with
disabilities, including those living in remote
areas;
- Responsive to mental
as well as physical disabilities;
- Integrated into main
development programmes such as those for primary
health care and maternal and child health;
(b) Strengthening and
expansion of rehabilitation services through, inter
alia,:
- Inclusion of
rehabilitation as a specific component of
national policies on human resources development,
social development, health and disaster
preparedness;
- Coordination of the
rehabilitation services provided by different
organizations;
- Continuous review of
the level of demand for rehabilitation services,
taking into consideration that the benefits of
such services may not be well known or accepted;
- Promotion of the
participation of people with disabilities in the
planning and implementation of rehabilitation
policies and programmes;
- Development of
awareness programmes for district and local
officers and community leaders to strengthen
their role in facilitating the improvement of
rehabilitation services;
- Training of trainers
at national, provincial, district and
sub-district levels;
- Upgrading of the
professional capabilities of formally-trained
rehabilitation service personnel through the
regulation of national standards governing
qualifications, quality of service and
professional codes of conduct;
- Promotion of the
capacity of hospitals, health centres and clinics
to provide rehabilitation services;
- Development of
rehabilitation activities, to the extent
possible, in the context of everyday social and
economic life;
- Selective use of
local cultural resources (e.g., relevant
traditional practices) to enhance rehabilitation
services;
- Documentation of
national experience on the development of
rehabilitation skills for replication purposes;
(c) Preparation and
dissemination of information on rehabilitation resources:
- Through the mass
media and other public service channels;
- In formats that are
appropriate for users with disabilities;
(d) Development of
community-based approaches as a means of improving access
to rehabilitation services, including through:
- Provision of policy,
institutional and financial support;
- Adaptation of
existing manuals to meet the needs of communities
in diverse cultural, linguistic, and economic
contexts;
- Increase of training
of field workers for work in slums and rural
areas;
- Strengthening of the
referral system, focusing on the first referral
level;
- Support for people
with disabilities and their advocates to initiate
and develop community-based rehabilitation (CBR)
activities;
- Training of advocates
and household members in basic rehabilitation
techniques;
- Use of experience
gained from the self-help movement of people with
disabilities to extend CBR services to persons
with mental disabilities;
- Conduct of research,
evaluation and information exchange;
(e) Expansion of the role
of existing rehabilitation service delivery centres as
resource centres to support the development of CBR
through, inter alia,:
- Training of CBR
trainers, field workers and volunteers;
- Dissemination of
low-cost tools, including manuals, for training
purposes;
- Organization of
specialized follow up as required;
- Assistance in meeting
demand for assistive devices;
- Research and
networking.
(a) National support for
the development of regional cooperation on assistive
devices through:
- Identification of
national resources employed for the production of
assistive devices;
- Development of a
roster of national experts on assistive devices,
including low-cost ones;
- Inventorization of
items produced within the country to facilitate
the promotion of intra-regional trade in
appropriate assistive devices;
(b) Formulation of a
national plan on assistive devices covering overall needs
assessment, appropriateness and sustainability,
production, import needs and export potential,
innovation, distribution, repair and maintenance, and
training;
(c) Improvement of the
availability of services and equipment for field
assessment of needs for assistive devices, as well as
expertise for the correct fitting of assistive devices;
(d) Provision of policy
and programme support for research and development (R and
D) activities emphasizing the application of new
technologies to improve the availability of assistive
devices that are durable, repairable by local
artisans/technicians, and attractive;
(e) Development of
information exchange among R and D institutions,
personnel (e.g., rehabilitation engineers, applied
science researchers), consumers (i.e., people with
disabilities), production workshops (e.g., artisans,
mechanics, prosthetic/orthotic/orthoptic technicians) and
distribution channels (e.g., non-governmental
organizations, business firms, schools, social welfare
departments, hospitals and health centres);
(f) Documentation of user
experience with locally-produced and imported assistive
devices and materials (e.g., appropriateness, local
adaptations, costs, factors pertaining to production and
distribution) to facilitate R and D, and the promotion of
intra-regional trade in appropriate assistive devices;
(g) Organization of a
programme for the training of a national corps of
trainers in the production of assistive devices;
(h) Support for training
through, inter alia, the establishment of national
standards of technical expertise, conduct of refresher
courses and examinations, issuance of technical diplomas,
as well as maintenance of a national roster of
experienced trainers;
(i) Establishment of
programmes (e.g., observation and dissemination of
graphic materials and models) to encourage mechanics,
technicians and artisans in the use of their skills for
the production, maintenance and repair of assistive
devices at the local level;
(j) Assistance to
community-level bodies and groups, especially low-income
groups, to obtain assistive devices (e.g., through the
provision of revolving loan funds, use of donated funds
to provide partial subsidies), in recognition of the
additional costs of disability to the individual.
(a) Provision of policy,
programme and resource support for the establishment and
strengthening of self-help organizations of people with
disabilities, including associations of advocates and
families of persons with disabilities;
(b) Establishment and
strengthening of those organizations to provide a means
for:
- Exploration, through
joint effort by those directly affected by
disability, of ways to enhance the economic
independence and social integration of persons
with disabilities;
- Collective
self-representation by persons with disabilities
in policy and programme development;
(c) Conduct, by self-help
organizations of persons with disabilities, of, inter
alia, programmes to:
- Build self-confidence
among members, through such means as peer
counselling, positive role modelling, and skills
development to meet individual needs;
- Strengthen their
members' expertise for effective participation in
national policy and programme development,
especially on organizational management, public
relations work, and technical knowledge for
advocacy on specific issues;
- Facilitate access for
people with disabilities to information, in
appropriate formats, on resources available to
the general population as well as specifically
for people with disabilities;
- Strengthen
understanding of gender issues;
- Provide training on
rights and responsibilities attached to different
roles in society (e.g., as organization members,
citizens, voters, employees, entrepreneurs and
consumers of services);
- Provide an avenue for
cultural expression by people with disabilities;
- Increase grass-roots
membership;
- Enhance the increased
role to be played by persons with disabilities in
decision-making on disability matters;
(d) Encouragement of the
leadership potential of girls and women with
disabilities;
(e) Support for
self-advocacy by persons with developmental disabilities;
(f) Advancement of peer
counselling approaches to help meet the needs of people
with emotional and mental problems;
(g) Formation, by
self-help organizations of people with disabilities, of a
national forum representing all disability groups, with
the assistance of national organizations and government
funding;
(h) Participation in
efforts to improve national disability statistics,
through the collaboration of the forum with:
- Government agencies
to develop a national definition of disability
that incorporates, in addition to clinical
perspectives, consideration of functional
limitations, for various stages of life, in the
performance of major life activities (e.g.,
hearing, seeing, moving, speaking, cognitive
processing, school attendance, working);
- Consumer research
entities to conduct surveys of the prevalence
rates of disability from a functional
perspective;
(i) National forum action
to:
- Conduct research and
disseminate information on the issues that people
with disabilities consider significant in their
daily lives, as an instrument for policy
enhancement;
- Represent forum
constituents in a national coordination committee
on disability matters and in other bodies as
required;
- Undertake advocacy;
- Mobilize resources
for activities that directly benefit people with
disabilities;
- Facilitate contact
between concerned agencies and organizations and
various disability groups;
- Organize programmes
for meeting the training needs of member
organizations;
- Forge intra- and
interregional links with similar self-help
organizations;
- Establish links with
consumer protection groups and market research
agencies to encourage the design of products and
services that accommodate the needs of consumers
with functional limitations;
- Involve experienced
members in improving the production and quality
control of assistive devices;
(j) Establishment of
mechanisms for consultation between government agencies
and organizations of people with disabilities on
disability matters.
While the focus of the
implementation of Commission resolution 48/3 and the
agenda for action is at the national level, the countries
and areas of the region would benefit from sharing their
experience and expertise.
1.
Networking
Regional cooperation may
take the form of building up a network of agencies and
organizations concerned with supporting national
pursuance of the agenda for action and undertaking
specific activities in selected areas through the
proposed network. The Asia-Pacific Inter-organizational
Task Force on Disability-related Concerns, of which ESCAP
serves as the secretariat, would assume responsibility
for initiating the formation and functioning of the
network subject to the availability of funds and absence
of legal barriers for the establishment and operation of
the network and its activities. The Task Force may be
strengthened and may consider setting up a special
working group to undertake this function.
The network would operate
on a decentralized basis. Agencies and organizations
whose work focuses on particular areas of concern could
organize themselves into a sub-network. It is envisaged
that networking could evolve in response to emerging
needs for exchange in the priority areas for action
listed in section II above. The totality of the
sub-networks would constitute the information and
technical exchange network for the implementation of
resolution 48/3.
Furthermore, a number of
ESCAP members and associate members have made notable
progress in particular disability-related areas (e.g.,
the empowerment of self-help organizations of persons
with disabilities, the production of assistive devices)
over the past Decade. They would be in a position to
serve as lead entities in the development of the
sub-networks by providing secretariat infrastructure and
support required for the operation of the sub-networks.
Each sub-network would
assume responsibility for facilitating advancements in
its particular area during the Asian and Pacific Decade
of Disabled Persons, especially concerning the:
(a) Increase in the
availability of resources (e.g., technology, techniques,
skills, materials) in the ESCAP region for the
implementation of resolution 48/3 with respect to the
particular priority area;
(b) Facilitation of the
exchange of information on that area;
(c) Support for the
strengthening of research and development methodologies
for that area to improve the relevance of the techniques,
technology and material generated to conditions in the
developing countries of the region.
Each lead entity would, in
turn, assume primary responsibility for undertaking
activities such as:
(a) Development of a
regional information and data base on technical
cooperation needs, resources, potential, on-going
activities, implementation experience and key contact
persons;
(b) Initiation of
networking arrangements among all agencies and
organizations interested in furthering that particular
priority area;
(c) Ensuring the
accessibility of current information on resources and
needs concerning that particular area;
(d) Development of a
roster of experienced persons whose services could, upon
request, be called upon to assist countries, particularly
to promote technical cooperation among developing
countries (TCDC) in the implementation of resolution
48/3;
(e) Formulation and
implementation of specific technical cooperation
activities that will have a tangible and positive impact
on persons with disabilities in the respective area.
The decentralized nature
of the network would facilitate the funding of its
activities through the sharing of the responsibility
among the participants. The lead entities in particular
would bear a major part of the cost of the activities of
their respective sub-networks, as a part of their
contribution to regional cooperation. The possibility of
mobilizing adequate supplementary funding to promote the
effective functioning of the network as a whole may be
explored.
2.
Monitoring and review
The ESCAP secretariat
should establish, subject to the availability of
resources, an advisory panel of representatives of
organizations of persons with disabilities, and other
experts, to monitor and review the implementation of the
agenda for action and to advise on means of attaining the
aims and objectives of the Decade as enshrined in the
Proclamation on the Full Participation and Equality of
People with Disabilities.
The Commission resolution
on an Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons calls
on the Executive Secretary to submit biennial reports to
the Commission until the end of the Decade on progress
made in its implementation. ESCAP should conduct biennial
regional surveys of progress achieved by the countries
and areas of the region, and to convene biennial meetings
of national coordination committees on disability matters
to review achievements and to identify action that may be
required to maintain the momentum of the Decade. At those
meetings, the representatives of national coordination
committees on disability matters would be invited to
present country papers detailing national experience in
pursuance of this agenda for action. Meetings of the
Asia-Pacific Inter-organizational Task Force on
Disability-related Concerns should be convened to review
the endeavours of its members in support of the
resolution.
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Priority Areas 
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