Disability As Part of the Life Cycle and Inclusive Development

DISABILITY AS PART OF THE LIFE CYCLE AND INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT

Excerpt from the paper Inclusive Development:

a universal approach from the disability perspective

Rosangela Berman Bieler,

Disability and Inclusive Development Team,

Latin America and the Caribbean, World Bank[1].

INTRODUCTION

The various development models adopted thus far by contemporary society have failed to ensure the global community’s well-being. As proof, some groups have been systematically and persistently excluded from full participation in society and from enjoying the benefits of development. Such groups include indigenous peoples, African descendents, women, the elderly, people with disability, and those with other specific characteristics or needs, such as ethnic, religious, sexual, and social minorities in general, so-called groups in situations of vulnerability.

The time has come to reach beyond the limited and compartmentalized scale with which the various social sectors have been approached, and empower what they have in common and that can strengthen them mutually: a global development agenda based on the concept of inclusive development. Such an approach does not attempt to meet the requests of one group or another; its central thrust is to promote a broad, overarching strategy that meets human needs in all their dimensions.

To improve the efficacy of pro-development actions and reach all manifestations of human diversity, public policies (from design to implementation) must take all member communities’ needs into account. The issue is not merely to postulate universal inclusion as a human rights issue and equity principle, but to turn it into an operational approach, proposing alternatives for our human capacities and diversities to be fully utilized in order to improve public policies for everyone.

Since the disability sector defends  among its basic principles  diversity, inclusion, equal opportunities, personal autonomy, and solidarity, the sector is in a privileged position to offer a substantial contribution to the development process. Such knowledge is applied to improve the disability sector’s own condition of exclusion, while implying and acknowledging that this situation will not change as long as the general population’s living conditions do not improve.

This inclusive vision only makes sense if ALL people are included. The approach does not propose specific and isolated responses, but broad, comprehensive ones, encompassing all social segments, from the most privileged to the most excluded, in a crosscutting way that reaches all areas of society.

This strategy, which is still in process and which takes into account the previous and current contributions and approaches by the widest possible range of social sectors and actors, is what we refer to as Inclusive Development. In this article we intend to outline the underlying principles in this new proposal. This is an initial approach to the issue, seeking to outline some agendas that will allow launching the process in favor of a truly inclusive society.

In the article, as our reference, we draw on an approach from the disability perspective, seeking to expand it to contemplate the various segments comprising society, especially the groups in situations of vulnerability.

THE CONCEpTUAl basis for INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT

We view “inclusive development” as the design and implementation of actions and policies for socioeconomic and human development that promote personal autonomy and dignity for all persons, regardless of their social status, gender, age, physical or intellectual condition, race, religion, sexual option, etc., in balance with their environment.

Inclusive development takes into account and empowers the rights and capacities of each dimension of human beings (economic, social, political, and cultural) in all their diversity and specificity, based on the search for (and guarantee of) universal access, equal opportunities, and equity.

The approach does not discriminate, but rather promotes difference, appreciates diversity, and transforms it into an advantage, a value, an opportunity, and a right. In fact, Inclusive Development emerges as an attempt to approach the struggle against poverty and give visibility to groups in situations of vulnerability, placing them within the scenario of public programs and policies in general.

DISABILITY IN SOCIAL PERSPECTIVE

Disability is the result of interaction between physical, sensory, or intellectual limitations with the environment (physical and cultural and with social institutions). When persons have a condition that limits some aspects of their functioning, this only becomes a situation of “disability” if they have to face barriers against access to their physical or social surroundings.

In economic terms, disability is an endogenous variable in relation to social organization. This means that the definition of who has or does not have a disability does not depend so much on the persons’ individual characteristics, but also (and mainly) on the way by which the society in which they live organizes the surroundings to serve the population in general.

FUNCTIONALITY VERSUS ENVIRONMENT

To illustrate the environment’s impact on the relationship between disability and functional limitation from a “mathematical” perspective, I propose to use the following equation:

If we ascribe a “zero” weight to an environment that does not pose any barriers, the result of this equation will always be “zero”, regardless of the weight ascribed to disability; However, if the environment has a heavier weight, we will progressively increase the functional impact of disability on the person’s life.

disability In the life cycle

If we understand that disability is the result of the interaction between persons with different levels of functioning/mobility and surroundings that fail to take these differences into account, it is easy to realize that this situation is part of each and every individual’s life cycle.

Beyond the typical areas of disability (motor, hearing, visual, and mental/intellectual), persons in general face “disabling” conditions in a society that is unprepared to recognize and respond to human diversity.

For example, let us consider the situation of...

• A baby that needs to be either carried in someone’s arms or pushed by someone in a baby carriage;
• a child that cannot reach the top button in the elevator;
• someone who has suffered a temporary accident and is trying to walk up stairs;
• a woman in late pregnancy trying to catch a bus;
• an illiterate citizen who needs information from the Internet;
• a group of foreigners who don’t speak the local language, trying to communicate;
• someone who can’t read the fine print on the package insert from their medication; or
• an elderly woman with arthritis, unable to turn and open a round doorknob…

... all these situations could have happened or could happen in the future to any of us!

The group with the largest increase in disabilities is the elderly, especially those 70 years or older. The increase in population life expectancy does not keep people younger longer, but rather prolongs aging and its natural consequences. The international perspective, at least in populations less affected by poverty, is that people are now living 20 to 30 years in old age, and thus in a situation prone to disability.

THE UNIVERSAL/INCLUSIVE DESIGN APPROACH

The Rio Charter[3] states that the purpose of universal design is to meet the needs and allow social participation and access to goods and services by the widest possible range of users, contributing to the inclusion and development of persons that are prevented from interacting in society. Examples of these excluded groups are: poor persons, persons marginalized by their cultural, racial, or ethnic condition, persons with different types of disability, very obese persons and pregnant women, very tall or very short persons, including children, and others who for different reasons are also excluded from social participation.

Universal Design or Inclusive Design, proposes to generate accessible environments, services, programs, policies, and technologies that are equitably usable in a safe and autonomous way by all persons – to the greatest extent possible – without having to be specifically adapted or readapted, based on the seven underlying principles, namely:

• Equitable use (by persons with different capacities);
• Flexibility in use (for a broad ranges of preferences and abilities);
• Simple and intuitive (easy to understand);
• Perceptible information (communicates the necessary information effectively)
• Tolerance for error (which decreases risks of involuntary actions);
• Low demand for physical effort; and
• Size and space for approach and use.

Sustainable human development is a useful way of understanding social policies, considering the links between economic growth, equitable distribution of the benefits of growth, and harmonious living with the environment.

The situation of poverty and exclusion afflicting millions of persons worldwide prevents human development and a decent life with quality. In Latin America and the Caribbean, this situation affects more than half of the population. This situation of exclusion and poverty, as well as inequality, disease, insecurity, and environmental contamination and degradation and inadequate design, are public hazards that affect countless people and threaten everyone.

From this perspective as well, Universal Design strategies can help ensure the birth of a new society in the future, inclusive and sustainable for everyone.

[1]The World Bank’s Disability and Inclusive Development Team for Latin America and the Caribbean operated from 2004 to 2006, coordinated by Rosangela Berman Bieler, with collaboration by WB members and external consultants. This work is the result of collective production by the team members and collaborators, including: (1) External Consultants: Sergio Meresman, Mario Siede, Luis Fernando Astorga, Marta Gil, and Marcelo Medeiros; (2) WB staff: Catalina Devandas Aguilar, Ricardo Silveira, Judy Heumann, and Daniel Mont.

[2]Presentation on Poverty, Development, and Disability, Marcelo Medeiros, Workshop on Alliances for Inclusive Development, World Bank, Nicaragua, 2005.

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