Disability at a Glance 2015 focuses on barriers to the employment of persons with disabilities in the Asia-Pacific region, and offers solutions to
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strengthen their employment prospects. Employment is not only the primary means of livelihood generation; it also provides individuals with the purpose and meaning of playing a productive role in society. Equal access to employment is therefore vital, and barriers to work faced by persons with disabilities must be removed.
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VADEMECUM | This Vademecum is intended to provide a benchmark for aid workers—whether working in the field or at a strategic level—in particular concerning the formulation and implementation of
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programmes of prevention or response to humanitarian crises. It is not solely a theoretical document because, in addition to guiding principles, it also provides concrete examples of how to ensure protection of the rights of people with disabilities, including in terms of humanitarian aid. This Vademecum has been drafted in adherence to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which has been in force since 2006 and which reaffirms the importance of protecting the safety of people with disabilities in dangerous situations.
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The health and socioeconomic crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic has hit the countries of Latin America hard and laid bare the profound inequ
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ities about which numerous international, regional and national reports have sounded warnings in recent decades. In this context, the historical political and economic exclusion and marginalization of the more than 800 indigenous peoples in the region has been accentuated as a result of insufficient State responses to the crisis, which have not adequately considered the collective rights of these peoples and have had little cultural relevance.
This document provides an overview of the situation of indigenous peoples in the region in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. It analyses both the State’s and indigenous peoples’ own responses to the crisis, as well as offering a set of recommendations to rectify the neglect of these peoples in the management of the pandemic, centring on their collective rights.
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Unchecked inequality and failure to protect the rights of poorest women could undermine peace and world’s development goals, new UNFPA report war
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ns:
- Only about half of the world’s women hold paid jobs
- Globally, women earn 77 per cent of what men get
- Three in five women worldwide lack maternity leave, many pay "motherhood penalty"
The report is also available in French: https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/sowp/downloads/UNFPA_PUB_2017_FR_swop_Etat_de_la_population_mondiale.pdf; in Spanish: https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/sowp/downloads/UNFPA_PUB_2017_ES_SWOP_Estado_de_la_Poblacion_Mundial.pdf; in Russian: https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/sowp/downloads/UNFPA_PUB_2017_RU_SWOP_NARODONASELENIE_MIRA_V_2017_GODU.pdf and in Arabic: https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/sowp/downloads/UNFPA_PUB_2017_AR_SWOP_Hl_skn_llm_.pdf
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Gender-based violence is a life-threatening, global health and human rights issue that violates international human rights law and principles of ge
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nder equality. It is also a threat to lasting peace and an affront to our common humanity. United Nations Member States have called for urgent action to end GBV in emergencies, recognizing that in crises, the risk of GBV is heightened, particularly for women and adolescent girls.
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The State of the World’s Children 2013: Children with Disabilities examines the barriers – from inaccessible buildings to dismissive attitudes, from invisibility in official statistics to vicious discrimination – that deprive children with dis
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abilities of their rights and keep them from participating fully in society. The report also lays out some of the key elements of inclusive societies that respect and protect the rights of all children, regardless of disability, and progress in helping all children to flourish and make their contribution to the world.
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Health is routinely considered in strategic environmental assessment (SEA) and environmental impact assessment (EIA), following requirements of European Union directives
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and the Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment to the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context (Espoo Convention). Policy-makers and other sources report that these assessments mostly adopt a biophysical perspective and that few cases consider or define health in a manner which is consistent with the WHO Constitution, by considering the wider social, economic, behavioural and institutional aspects of health. This systematically conducted review of over 333 SEA and EIA cases in the WHO European Region shows that while about 80% of assessments pursue a narrow, biophysical interpretation of health, around 10% consider wider determinants when defining health, and another 10% consider wider determinants of health in the actual assessment. Twelve case studies are presented, literature is reviewed and implications for practice are considered.
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Assessment of the quality of institutional care for adults with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities in the WHO European Region.
The specifi
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c objectives of the project were to address gaps in knowledge about the number and characteristics of such long-term institutions and to identify deficiencies in current care standards through the lens of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This publication examines and rates the quality of care and protection of human rights in selected institutions in over 20 countries in the Region using the WHO QualityRights toolkit. It identifies steps to take to continue progress toward deinstitutionalization and to ensure respect for the rights of people with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities.
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This monograph presents 12 reports of successful programs serving children with special needs in various nations. The program locations and the pro
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gram report titles and authors are as follows: (1) Austria: "Integration Models for Elementary and Secondary Schools in Austria" (Volker Rutte); (2) China: "Integrated Education Project, Anhui Province" (Janet C. Holdsworth); (3) Ghana: "The Community-Based Rehabilitation Programme in Ghana" (Lawrence Ofori-Addo); (4) Guyana: "Involvement of Volunteers, Parents and Community Members with Children with Special Needs" (Brian O'Toole); (5) India: "Teacher Development Initiative To Meet Special Needs in the Classroom" (N. K. Jangira and Anupam Ahuja); (6) Jamaica: "Early Intervention and Education Initiatives in Rural Areas" (M. J. Thorburn); (7) Jordan: "The Role of Institutions in Community-based Rehabilitation and in Community-based Special Education" (Andrew L. de Carpentier); (8) Jordan: "The Resource Room at the Amman National School" (Hala T. Ibrahim); (9) Netherlands: "Individual Integration of Children with Down's Syndrome in Ordinary Schools" (Trijntje de Wit-Gosker); (10) Norway: "In Harmony We Learn" (Marna Moe); (11) International: "INITIATIVES for Deaf Education in the Third World" (Andrew L. de Carpentier); and (12) Sri Lanka: "The Integrated Education of Visually Impaired Children in Sri Lanka" (B. L. Rajapakse).
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As countries aim to progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and achieving universal health coverage, health inequities driven by racial discrimination and intersecting factors rema
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in pervasive. Inequities experienced by indigenous peoples as well as people of African descent, Roma and other ethnic minorities are of concern globally; they are unjust, preventable and remediable.
Health systems themselves are important determinants of health and health equity. They can perpetuate health inequities by reflecting structural racism and discriminatory practices of wider society. For instance, systemic racism, implicit bias, misinformed clinical practice, or discrimination by health professionals contributes to health inequities. However, health systems can also be a leading force for tackling the inequities faced by populations experiencing racial discrimination.
Primary health care (PHC) is the essential strategy for reorientating health systems and societies to become healthier, equitable, effective and sustainable. In 2018, on the 40th anniversary of the Declaration of Alma-Ata, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) renewed the emphasis on PHC with their strategy,
WHO outlines 14 strategic and operational levers for policy-makers to strengthen PHC. Within each lever, there are multiple potential entry points for targeted actions to address racial discrimination, foster intercultural care, and reduce health inequities experienced by indigenous peoples as well as people of African descent, Roma and other ethnic minorities.
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Mental disorders impose an enormous burden on society, accounting for almost one in three years lived with disability globally. •In addition to their health impact, mental disorders cause a significant e
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conomic burden due to lost economic output and the link between mental disorders and costly, potentially fatal conditions including cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, HIV, and obesity.•80% of the people likely to experience an episode of a mental disorder in their lifetime come from low- and middle-income countries.• Two of the most common forms of mental disorders, anxiety and depression, are prevalent, disabling, and respond to a range of treatments that are safe and effective. Yet, owing to stigma and inadequate funding, these disorders are not being treated in most primary care and community settings.
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Thirty years ago, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child at a moment
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of rapid global change marked by the end of apartheid, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the birth of the World Wide Web. These developments and more brought momentous and lasting evolution, as well as a sense of renewal and hope for future generations. In a reflection of that hopeful spirit, the Convention has since become the most widely ratified human rights treaty in history.
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The report provides the much-needed evidence to design interventions for children in Kenya and as such we urge partners to use this report as a document for planning for children.
The 2021 Financing for Sustainable Development Report responds to the request made by Member States to review the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on nancing for sustainable development, and to prop
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ose recommendations to rebuild better. The report underlines the need for policy actions to ensure e ective support until the recovery is rmly underway. Its thematic chapter discusses the systemic and interlinked nature of risk in a tightly intertwined world, and the importance of providing nancing for risk reduction and resilience and nancing that is risk-informed and resilient. With the collaboration of more than 60 agencies of the United Nations system and partner international organizations, the report provides much needed guidance to Member States to take action towards a more resilient future.
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The adoption and the entry into force of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and
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its Optional Protocol challenge such attitudes and mark a profound shift in existing approaches towards disability.
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