Global context
There are about 1 billion people with disabilities in the world today, of which 80% lives in Asia and the Pacific. Wherever they live, people with disabilities generally have a low social status and are discriminated against when they try to find paid employment.
In addition, women with disabilities or people affected by leprosy are particularly marginalised. The World Health Survey results for 51 countries highlighted that employment rates for men with disability and women with disability were 52.8% and 16.9% respectively, highlighting the discrimination faced by people with disabilities, particularly women. About 50% of all disability cases are preventable and directly linked to poverty. Malnutrition, infectious diseases, non-infectious diseases, and congenital conditions, all relating to poverty, make up about 71% of all cases of disability worldwide. Accidents, trauma, and war make up about 15% of all cases. The remaining 13% of disability causes fall into the “other” category, covering old-age related factors.
Disability causes
1. Malnutrition, infectious diseases, non-infectious diseases, and congenital conditions causes. 2. Accidents, trauma and war causes. 3. Other causes.
Myanmar context
According to the 2014 Myanmar Population and Housing Census, about 2.3 million people in Myanmar (4.6%) live with a disability, with a higher percentage of women being identified as disabled compared to men.
In addition, women with disabilities or people affected by leprosy are particularly marginalised. The World Health Survey results for 51 countries highlighted that employment rates for men with disability and women with disability were 52.8% and 16.9% respectively, highlighting the discrimination faced by people with disabilities, particularly women. About 50% of all disability cases are preventable and directly linked to poverty. Malnutrition, infectious diseases, non-infectious diseases, and congenital conditions, all relating to poverty, make up about 71% of all cases of disability worldwide. Accidents, trauma, and war make up about 15% of all cases. The remaining 13% of disability causes fall into the “other” category, covering old-age related factors.
In the table below you can find specific examples of the types of barriers that people with a disability face in the livelihood-area of farming, (farmers-)markets and micro-finance.
People with disabilities and leprosy are regarded as unfit for agricultural labour.
People without limbs can’t easily access farm land far from the home.
People with disabilities and leprosy are often illiterate, making it difficult to learn of job opportunities or to learn from written manuals.
People with disabilities and leprosy are not included in farmers’ groups.
People don’t want to buy produce from people living with leprosy because their products are seen as unclean.
People in wheelchairs cannot access the muddy and uneven terrain of the marketplace.
People with visual impairments cannot read policies and procedures on how to obtain a selling-stall in the market.
People with disabilities and leprosy are often excluded from schools, resulting in illiteracy and innumeracy.
People with disabilities and leprosy are not invited to join loan groups as they are seen as incapable of contributing to loan repayment.
People with disabilities and leprosy struggle to access loan offices, due to lack of ramps and accessible transportation.
People with hearing impairments struggle with verbal communication with loan officers while discussing loan options.
Most MFIs require personal recommendations to qualify for loans, making it very difficult for people with disabilities and leprosy to qualify for their loan programmes.
Law and Legislation
The Government of Myanmar ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) on December 7th, 2011, which means Myanmar officially agreed to implement measures that better guarantee the rights of persons with disabilities. In addition to ratifying the UNCRPD, the government has taken several steps towards addressing the needs of people with disabilities:
- Article 32 of the 2008 current Constitution of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar states that the Union shall care for mothers and children, orphans, fallen Defence Services personnel’s children, the aged and the disabled.
- The Department of Social Welfare (DSW) aims to promote the contribution of persons with disabilities to fully participate in the developmental tasks of the nation as a supportive force. It aims to:
- Protect the rights of persons with disabilities;
- Alleviate the discrimination based on the ground of disability;
- Promote dignity, ability and capability of Persons with Disabilities;
- Enhance equal and full participation of Persons with Disabilities in the national development tasks;
- Upgrade the socio-economic status of Persons with Disabilities.
- The municipal law has made it a requirement that new buildings and parks must be accessible for persons with disabilities.
- Some measures were taken by the government in collaboration with NGOs to help ensure polling stations were accessible to better ensure that persons with disabilities could vote in the 2015 elections.
The Myanmar Law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was enacted on June 5, 2015 and was written with input from Disabled Persons Organisations (DPOs), disability-specific NGOs and consultants in the field of disability inclusion.
The Leprosy Mission Myanmar TLMM) has a good working relationship with the the Department of Social Welfare and the Myanmar Federation of People with Disabilities (MFPD). TLMM has partnered with those groups to influence items such as the 2014 Population and Housing Census and the 2015 Rights of Persons with Disabilities Law. Despite the positive steps, there are several key constraints that relate to the legal and political framework of the country, as well as other serious barriers that should be fully acknowledged and need to be directly addressed if the rights of persons with disabilities are to be realised in Myanmar. The next step in regards to legislation and legal frameworks supporting the rights of people with disabilities is in the implementation of those laws.
Economic Empowerment Project Myanmar
People with disabilities and people affected by leprosy, especially women, face many problems in Myanmar. Their human rights are often violated, and businesses and decision-makers consistently do not take into consideration the challenges and concerns faced by households affected by disability (meaning one or more household member has a disability).
Most people with disabilities live in rural areas where agriculture is the main source of income. However, people with disabilities encounter many barriers to work as farmers or labourers in agricultural value chains, as well as access to marketplaces and finance. These barriers take shape in the form of attitudinal, physical, communication, and institutional barriers.
This online platform is focussed on the 3-year Economic Empowerment Project, funded by DaNa.
The purpose of the project is to strengthen the economic position of disabled people and people affected by leprosy in Myanmar.
The Leprosy Mission Myanmar (TLMM), BRAC, and Enablement work together, also with private and public stakeholders and relevant government actors, to lower the barriers for people with disabilities to find meaningful employment and to protect and empower the affected households.
