Day 1

Ensuring access to microfinance services for people with disabilities

-Workshop for Disabled

People’s Organisations and Microfinance Institutions

Workshop rules

• Confidentiality

• Respect for the opinions of others

• Listening

• Speaking freely

• Co-responsibility

• Punctuality

• Photographs

Understanding disability

Definition

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.

(Art. 1 - UNCRPD)

International Convention

• The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities received its 20th ratification on 3 April 2008, triggering the entry into force of the Convention and its Optional Protocol 30 days later.

• This marks a major milestone in the effort to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms of persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity.

Disability is a Human Rights issue

• Disability is an unavoidable and universal part of human diversity

• There has been a change in how the person with disabilities is viewed:

– From being seen as an object of charity and a burden = approach of assistance

– To a subject of law = approach based on the respect of all human beings

– Shift from a charitable to a rights-based approach whereby individual is respected and empowered

• In light of this change, four core human rights values take on particular importance in the context of disability :Dignity: respect for a person’s physical and moral

integrityAutonomy: capacity for self-directed action,

decision and behaviourEquality: prohibition of discriminationSolidarity: social support

Everybody has the same rights and should have the same access to their rights

The problem is within the individual: the disability is the direct result of the person’s impairment

Disability is only a health (thus medical) issue

Solutions are designed by « medical experts » on the basis of a medical diagnosis

Focus: elimination or cure of disability ; normalisation

Reference to people with disabilities as an oppressed minority

The environment of persons with disabilities is a problem

The disability is the result of barriers linked to : physical environment, attitudes, information and communication. This leads to unequal access to opportunities

Focus: elimination of barriers linked to physical space, attitudines and information/communication

Disability viewed as an individual pathology

MEDICAL MODEL

Disability viewed as a social pathology

SOCIAL MODEL

Contrasting disability models

Adapted from Rioux, 1997 - Cité par Interactif déc 2002 - Understanding disability : look, then act

SOCIAL PARTICIPATION

Environmental factors

Interaction

Personal factors

Human development model (RIPPH, 1996)

Intrinsic Extrinsic

HUMAN DEVELOPMENTAL MODEL

Personal factorsPersonal factors

Life HabitsLife Habits

HUMAN DEVELOPMENTAL MODEL

Facilitator - Obstacles

Environmental Environmental FactorsFactors

CapabilitiesAbility – Funct. impairment

Organic systems Integrity - Impairment

Social Participation - Disabling Situation

Interactions

Adapted from Disability Creation Process, Fougeyrollas et al., 1997

A heterogeneous group...

They have different types of impairments of varying degrees of severity

They have diverse combinations of education, skills and experiences

They live in different environments with specific obstacles and facilitators

Organic systems

Capabilities

Environmental factors

…with a lot of potential

Many impairments could be treated or compensated for!

People with disabilities have capabilities and can develop new

ones !

Obstacles could be reduced and facilitators multiplied !

This is the story of Annie, a 23 year old woman from Zambia. Annie Mweemba is a wheelchair-user. Annie has completed a two-year tailoring course. She knows she was lucky to complete this training. After spending some time at home helping her parents with domestic chores, Annie thought of using their old sewing machine to start her own business. She began by advertising her home-based business, but met with negative attitudes, especially from her parents, because of her disability. However, Annie persisted and eventually people began bringing her sewing. Her business was not profitable because she had a lot of competition from other tailors, but she continued to work hard to earn a living. However, her sewing machine was not adapted to her needs and her old wheelchair made it even more difficult for her to work efficiently. She tried to get a loan from a bank to buy a new better-adapted sewing machine, but she couldn’t get into the building with her wheelchair. After much effort she convinced a friend to help her to get inside, but the bank personnel rejected her request outright because of her impairment, without even trying to gauge her skills in business management, her technical expertise or the collateral guarantee. Despite all her efforts, Annie was forced to give up her dream of becoming financially independent and had to go back to being dependent on her family. She is now confined to her home and reduced to doing the domestic chores. She often wonders how different her life would have been if she had had access to information on places that help people like her to realise their aspirations. Annie is just a case in point. There are countless Annies in our society, people who have the skills, determination and aspirations to make it on their own, but are unable to do so…..

What are the personal and environmental factors that affect Annie’s life

habits/situation?

What facilitators would have contributed to Annie’s success?

Annie’s case-study

Participation and inclusion:a cross-cutting issue

Ensuring the participation of people with disabilities involves complementary activities in a variety of sectors…

Healthcare, rehabilitation, assistive devices, public education, barrier-free access, transport, communications, education, social welfare and community development, awareness of the rights of people with disabilities, social security, sport and recreation, and adequate and enforced public policies and legislation.

… involving a wide range of stakeholdersHospitals, schools, government bodies, firms, NGOs, media companies…

& financial services

& microfinance institutions

In brief

Disability is a relative situation that results from the interaction between a person’s abilities and a person’s environment.

Disability is not a fixed state but rather an evolving one.

A multi-sector approach addressing the various disabling barriers is required for the successful inclusion of people with disabilities.

Disability, povertyand livelihoods

General figures…

10% - 12% of the world’s population has some form of disabling impairment (over 600 million people)

80% live in low-income countries

82% of people with disabilities live below the poverty line

80% of people with disabilities of working age are unemployed

… & Facts

Women with disabilities are generally worse off than men with disabilities

The majority of people with disabilities in developing countries live in rural areas

There is a higher rate of unemployment among people with disabilities than among the rest of the population

Link between poverty and disability

Sources : DFID

MDG 1 Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

Disability and poverty are mutually reinforcing and disabled people and their families represent a very substantial proportion of the poor, especially the extremely poor.

Millennium Development Goals

Sources : DFID

MDG 2 Achieve universal primary educationThis is the only absolute goal and with 98% of disabled children in developing countries not in school it will be impossible to achieve unless they are explicitly

brought into the equation.

MDG 3 Promote gender equality and empower womenDisabled women and girls face a complex and layered experience of discrimination

and disadvantage. The target of eliminating gender inequality in all levels of education by 2015 will not be reached without taking disability into account.

MDG 4 Reduce child mortality In the developing world, the mortality rate among disabled children under five can be as

high as 80%.

Millennium Development GoalsMDG 5 Improve maternal health

Disabling impairments associated with pregnancy and childbirth affect up to 20 million women a year.

MDG 6 Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases Disabled people are particularly vulnerable to these diseases, which are also a major

cause of disabling impairments.

MDG 7 Ensure environmental sustainability Unsafe water can be the origin of Trachoma which can cause blindness

MDG 8 Develop a global partnership for developmentNational and international organisations in the world community, including Disabled

Person’s Organisations (DPOs), have an important role to play in the raising awareness to disability issues, and empowering people with disabilities

Sources : DFID & ACFID

Millennium Development Goals

“If 20 % of the world’s poorest are persons with disabilities, then the

Millennium Development Goals will only be achieved if explicit and

specific efforts are undertaken to include them in programmes aimed at

reaching the world’s poorest.”

Specific services

Access to mainstream services

Whenever necessary

For an « equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms »

Twin-track approach !

United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities - 2006

Whenever possible

Disability: a dormant factor…

… which does not affect people facing severe and chronic poverty.

Sources : National disability survey in Afghanistan - 2005

The impact of being a person with disabilities is felt when the situation

starts improving

The situation in Afghanistan

Livelihood opportunities

• Employment

• Social security resources / safety net

• Self-employment

Lack of opportunities in the job market

Exist in only some developed countries

Usually the only option available : 80% of people with disabilities who have an economic activity are self-employed

Being self-employed !

Access to capital is now considered one of the main elements of economic

inclusion.

Skills

NetworkMarket opportunities

Conducive legal environment

Experience

Good products & services

Suppliers

Access to capital

Access to capital

Grants

Own capital

Loans

Very costly schemes and not very common

Tend to make away individual responsibility and make

people dependent

Should be limited to specific conditions

Need saving capacity

Access to credit still very limited from formal and informal lenders, despite the demand

For most MFIs, PwDs represent between 0 and 2% of their clientèle

Conclusion ✓ People with disabilities suffer from high poverty levels and high rates of unemployment; yet employment is essential for earning a living, helping to support the family and improve self-esteem.

✓ Self-employment is often the only option open to many people with disabilities. In most cases, it is difficult for disabled people to find a formal job in developing countries. However, self-employment is not an option for everyone, since disabled people are a heterogeneous group.

✓ One of the main obstacles to self-employment is access to capital for start-ups or business enhancement.

Difficulties faced by people with disabilities in being self-

employed

Most people with disabilities…

• Prefer not to apply for microcredit, even if it is available locally

• Are able to adapt and learn quickly• Are risk-averse, afraid to lose what they

have• Consider a loan as a last resort• Do not know how to approach an MFI• Have had unhappy experiences when

approaching officesMersland - 2005

• Are misinformed about MFI and existing MF products

• May wait for specific programmes• Who were denied the access to a loan

believe it is because of their impairment (even if the real reason is business capacity)

• May have higher operational costs in their activity

Most people with disabilities…

Mersland - 2005