Bangladesh

This page features the news on disability from Bangladesh in the Debrief Library. See also news from other countries.

Contents

COVID-19

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Impact

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.' (Dec, The Daily Star)

Response

Vaccination

Climate Crisis and Environment

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Lessons from the Historic 2022 Flooding In Bangladesh. (Sep, 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.” (Jul, CBM Global)

Culture, Entertainment and Media

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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." (Dec, The Business Standard)

Data and Research

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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, Jun, BBS)

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

Digital Accessibility and Technology

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Overview

The Accessible Revolution: Vashkar Bhattacharjee and the Birth of an Inclusive Digital Bangladesh (Dec, The Datekeepers)

Online Accessibility

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

Disaster Risk Reduction and Crisis Response

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

Economics and Social Protection

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Overview

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

Social Protection

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

Education and Childhood

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Overview

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.” (Jan, The Daily Star)

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, Asian Development Review)

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] (Feb, Dhaka Tribune)

Higher Education

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

Employment, Business and Work

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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.” (Jul, Journal of International Development)

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

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

Health

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Overview

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

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

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. (Oct, Spinal Cord)

Humanitarian, Migrants and Refugees

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Short video of Tagari's Story from Cox’s Bazar. (Jan, 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.” (Dec, 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. (Jul, 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” (Jun, 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.” (Mar, OHCHR)

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

International Cooperation

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

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

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

Policy and Rights

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Situation Analysis of the rights of persons with disabilities. (Nov, 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. (Jul, Human Rights Watch)

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

Violence and Harassment

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Water and Sanitation (WASH)

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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.” (Oct, LSHTM)

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

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