Disability in Bangladesh

Impact

Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on access to healthcare among people with disabilities: evidence from six low- and middle-income countries. “Key barriers to accessing healthcare during the pandemic included changes in availability of services due to systems restructuring, difficulty affording care due to the economic impacts of the pandemic, fear of contracting coronavirus, and a lack of human support to enable care-seeking.” (2023, International Journal for Equity in Health)

Spaces of Exclusion and Neglect: The Impact of COVID-19 on People With Disabilities in Bangladesh, Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, and Uganda. (2023, Space and Culture)

The pandemic has exacerbated the challenges faced by persons with disabilities

'16-year-old Eemon, who has a visual disability, said, "We are very ill-fated that our education has come to a halt for the past two years." Eemon had to join a courier service as a worker to support his family, as other members faced income loss as a result of the pandemic. It is highly unlikely that he will go back to his much-loved school, even though schools have reopened.' (2021, The Daily Star)

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Response

Directives to hold special Covid-19 vaccination drive for people with disability (2022, The Business Standard)

Jobseekers with disabilities left out of Covid recovery plans (2021, Dhaka Tribune)

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Boy with disability not spared in wholesale arrest in government crackdown on student protests. (Jul, New Age BD)

Shot in the eyes, victims of Bangladesh protest violence face dark future “Hundreds of protesters and bystanders were hit in the eyes by pellets fired by security forces, and might lose vision forever — a lasting marker of the mayhem that engulfed the nation earlier this month.” (Jul, Aljazeera)

Police intercept disabled people’s demo heading for Prime Minister's Office to demand for a big increase in the disability allowance. (2023, New Age) See also further reaction to the recent budget. (Daily Sun)

Organizations of Persons with Disabilities and Sightsavers launch Equal Bangladesh campaign (2023, The Daily Star)

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Displacement in Bangladesh behind the scenes videos from reporting on disability and climate change. (2023, Lens 15)

Disability-Inclusive Climate Action in Bangladesh: gaps and challenges. (2023, Bill of Health)

Protect People Most At Risk During Monsoon Season International Funding Needed to Ensure Climate Action is Inclusive of People with Disabilities, Older People. “Everyone interviewed said the flooding significantly affected their mental health, with many describing extreme fear, anxiety, and distress, but none had access to psychosocial services.” (2023, Human Rights Watch)

Discussion paper on climate change and disability rights. A study in Bangladesh, Kenya and Nepal. “Lack of transparency of government budgets both centrally and decentralised across different ministries makes it difficult to understand where money is being spent and potentially being re-allocated during times of climate crisis.” See also videos from Malawi and Zimbabwe. (2023, CBM UK)

Missing in Climate Action Stories of persons with disabilities from the Global South combined with exploration of ableism and environmental justice. (2023)

Lessons from the Historic 2022 Flooding In Bangladesh. (2022, HPOD)

Data & evidence missing on the impact of climate change on persons with disabilities. “No data on how persons with disabilities have been affected by the flooding, persons with disabilities are scattered in this area and even getting cash support to these persons takes a bit of time. There are not so many OPDs to support them either.” (2022, CBM Global)

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Sign Languages

New Bangla sign language makes debut at Dhaka disability theatre fest (May, Times of India)

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TV and Film

Country's first wheelchair-bound news presenter makes debut "an initiative to bring people with disabilities into the mainstream to commemorate the golden jubilee of independence." (2021, The Business Standard)

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Preliminary Report on the National Survey on Persons with Disabilities 2021. A cross-sectional survey of 36,000 households finds that in government definitions of disability 2.8% are disabled and in terms of functional difficulty (a preferred measure), 7.1% have a functional difficulty. (link to pdf, 2022, BBS)

Improving disability data in Bangladesh Access Bangladesh Foundation’s leading advocacy. (2022, DRF)

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Overview

Bangladesh adopts digital accessibility guideline After months of dedicated efforts, ICT Division has officially approved the ‘Digital Service and Web Designing Guideline for Inclusive Accessibility 2022.’ (2023, The Business Post)

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Online Accessibility

Web Accessibility is now a reality in Bangladesh, not a dream anymore (a bold description of the important initiatives taken.) (2021, Digital Journal)

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‘I couldn’t carry my son who has physical disabilities, so I left him behind hoping he’ll be safe’: Families in Bangladesh forced to flee homes as floods wreak havoc. (Aug, ActionAid)

Collecting disability disaggregated data in disaster risk reduction: Findings and lessons learned. (Feb, CBM)

‘They forgot about me’: a powerful photo-essay exploring the stories of people with disabilities and the risks they face during natural disasters. “Which child should I carry, this one or that one?” (Jan, The World)

Volunteers evacuate people with disabilities ahead of Cyclone Mocha. (2023, Relief Web)

Interview with CBM Programmes director on how peer groups have enabled disabled people to participate in disaster risk reduction (2022, CBM Australia)

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Overview

On the Debrief: Losing what we've achieved exploring the impact of cost-of-living crisis on disabled people. (2023, Disability Debrief)

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Financial Inclusion

How can the financial industry address digital accessibility? (2023, Dhaka Tribune)

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Social Protection

People with disabilities demand Tk 2,000 a month (2022, New Age Bd)

Deal inked to introduce ‘Bangabandhu Suraksha Bima’ for people with disabilities
a health insurance introduce for people with neurodevelopmental disabilities. (2022, Business Insider BD)

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Overview

Insights from Fieldwork with Learners with Deafblindness and Women with Disabilities in Bangladesh. (2023, IDS)

Majority of children with disabilities in Bangladesh not enrolled in formal education. A national survey shows that “60 percent of children with disabilities aged 5-17 years are not in education.” (2023, The Daily Star)

Deaf children and mental health: The challenges and how we’re tackling them. (2022, Global Partnership on Education)

Over 500,000 special needs children affected by school closure "As many as 1,700 private and 77 government special needs schools were closed all over Bangladesh, impeding the mental and physical growth of special needs children. " [Since March 2020] (2022, Dhaka Tribune)

Disability and Intrahousehold Investment Decisions in Education: Empirical Evidence from Bangladesh:

“we find the existence of disability bias on the part of parents, especially with regard to the enrollment decision for their children. Results from the direct method using the individual child dataset suggest that there is also a possibility of disability bias in investment decisions even for children who are already enrolled.” (link to pdf, 2022, Asian Development Review)

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Higher Education

A shot in the dark: The state of higher education for persons with disabilities (2023, TBS)

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Process evaluation of a disability-inclusive employment programme: examining the design and implementation of BRAC's STAR+ programme. (Jul, Oxford Development Studies)

Small and medium-sized enterprises policy brief and disability-inclusive guidelines. (Link to pdf, Feb, Futuremakers by Standard Chartered)

Short video on the Inclusion Journey of Domino's Pizza Bangladesh (2023, Bangladesh Business and Disability Network)

Creating new opportunities Interview with Murteza Khan of Bangladesh Business and Disability Network. (2023, Ice Business Times)

Learning Document: Towards inclusion of persons with disabilities within BRAC’s Skills Development Programme. (2023, Light for the World International)

Capability-sensitive principles for assistive technology to support young graduates with disabilities in Bangladesh and Kenya into employment. “In Bangladesh, innovation hubs, SMEs and enterprise units are increasingly building new assistive technology solutions to strengthen capacity and assist young disabled graduates.” (2022, Journal of International Development)

Bangladesh expands tax incentive for employers of persons with disabilities and third-gender people (2022, BD News)

Conquering the challenges in employment: a film made by Bangladesh OPDs (2022, i2i)

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Overview

“We bear it and accept our fate”: Gorgeous illustrations and perceptions of healthcare access from people with disabilities in Cox’s Bazar. (2022, Relief Web)

Government launch of health insurance for persons with (some?) disabilities. (2022, Asia News Network) Also on the daily star.

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Rehabilitation

An assessment of disability and quality of life in people with spinal cord injury upon discharge from a rehabilitation unit. Unfortunately, post-discharge quality of life decreases and disability level increases. (2022, Spinal Cord)

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How one Rohingya refugee persevered over his disability to help his community (Jun, International Rescue Committee (IRC))

Robi’s journey a young boy with disability's daily life in the refugee camps and experience at a Norwegian Refugee Council learning centre. (May, European Commission)

Disability and women and girls in displacement from Myanmar: A factsheet on refugees and asylum seekers. (May, Relief Web)

‘Life is meaningless’: despair in Cox’s Bazar as chronic illness blights camps. (Mar, the Guardian)

Our lessons: A report on AHP III on a disability inclusion journey in the Rohingya crisis. “Substantial progress was seen in the development of Self-Help Groups and the increase in accessible services and uptake of the Washington Group Questions.” (2023, CBM Australia)

Work to include Rohingya Refugees with disabilities in humanitarian response. (Short video, 2023, AHP III Bangladesh Consortium)

Short video of Tagari's Story from Cox’s Bazar. (2023, CBM UK)

Threadbare disability support faces uncertain future in Bangladesh refugee camps. “The limited support available to Rohingya refugees with disabilities in the country’s sprawling camps is at risk as humanitarian budgets face cuts.” (2022, UNHCR)

5 Years After The Genocide: Rohingya refugees’ needs are higher than ever. Report calls for international actors to pay more attention to needs of persons with disabilities. (2022, MedGlobal)

Providing a dignified life for refugee children with disabilities. “In the Rohingya refugee camp, an accessible latrine is making a difference in Irfan’s life” (2022, UNICEF)

The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar visited the facilities at Bhasan Char island, where Rohingya refugees are to be relocated:

“Structures, including residential housing, appear well constructed and are considerably stronger and more durable than those in Cox’s Bazar. Unfortunately, accessibility for persons with disabilities was clearly not factored into the planning and construction process.” (2022, OHCHR)

Tip sheet on inclusion in the Rohingya Refugee Response (2022, Relief Web)

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Empowering Voices: Advocating for indigenous people with disabilities worldwide, a submission to the UN. Focused on case studies from Kenya, Brazil, Nepal and Bangladesh:

“Persons with disabilities within indigenous communities experience disproportionate disadvantages because of the intersectional discrimination they face on account of multiple axes of oppression. Many disability activists from indigenous communities stress the importance of analyzing the historical context and its ongoing impacts, specifically slavery and colonialism. Within indigenous communities, disability cannot be extricated and analyzed outside the context of psychosocial disabilities and intergenerational trauma caused by colonial violence and oppression.” (Feb, Minority Rights Group)

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Case Studies on Disability Inclusion in JICA Projects Features projects from Bangladesh, Mongolia and Uganda. (Link to pdf, 2023, JICA)

Prayer to failure Debrief feature with reflections 10 years after the Rana Plaza building collapse. (2023, Disability Debrief)

Workshop on building Donor Investment in OPDs at the Country Level (2022, IDA)

How Sadia became a strong advocate for people with disabilities (2021, CBM Australia)

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Participation of People with Disability Program resources for disabled people's organizations to implement the UNCRPD. (2022, Disability Bangladesh)

Mobilizing Disabled Peoples’ Organizations to Implement Bangladesh’s Disability Law (Yes, the Journal of Human Rights Practice has a paywall oh dear, 2022, Journal of Human Rights Practice)

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State of Mental Health Rights in Bangladesh a review of legislative frameworks. (Mindful Rights)

Prevalence and factors associated with depression, anxiety, and stress among people with disabilities during COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh: A cross-sectional study.

“The prevalence was found to be 65.7% for depression, 78.5% for anxiety, and 61.4% for stress, respectively. Several factors were identified as associated with these mental health issues, including gender (male), marital status (being married), low education levels, multiple impairments, comorbid medical illnesses, poor sleep quality, rural residency, hearing disability, disability onset later in life, and testing positive for COVID-19.” (2023, Plos One)

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Is the metrorail disabled friendly? Video feature demonstrating accessibility features. (2023, Human Development Media)

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Bangladesh falling behind on disability rights disabled groups protested limited supports in the new budget. “The monthly allowance for people with disabilities is still Tk 850, which is nothing but a mockery of their deepening vulnerability.” (2023, The Business Standard)

Situation Analysis of the rights of persons with disabilities. (2022, UNPRPD)

Input to the UN Committee highlights areas of concern that Human Rights Watch hopes will inform the Committee’s consideration of the government’s compliance with its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. (2022, Human Rights Watch)

Inclusive development needs disability-friendly budget. (2022, The Daily Star)

Advocacy on Disability Inclusive National Budget 2022-23 (2022, The Daily Star)

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Adviser from persons with disability demanded “The Bangladesh Pratibandhi Kalyan Samity and the National Alliance of Disabled Peoples’ Organisations on Monday demanded the inclusion of an adviser representing the persons with disabilities in the interim government.” (Aug, New Age)

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Mother kills physically challenged daughter (2023, New Age)

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Assessment of WASH and incontinence situation of people with disabilities and older people. (Link to pdf, 2023, LSHTM and icddr,b)

Translating disability-inclusive WASH policies into practice: lessons learned from Bangladesh. “Few people with disabilities could access or use WASH services independently at home, meaning they did not bathe or use the toilet as often as required and relied on caregivers. [...] WASH and disability are considered and implemented in silos, so many people with disabilities fall through the gap and remain unserved.” (2022, LSHTM)

Exploring the implementation of disability-inclusive WASH policy commitments. (2022, The Daily Star)

Accessible latrines supporting independence in Cox's Bazar camps (2022, Relief Web)

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