The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development aims to eradicate poverty and promote greater equality. Poverty eradication (Goal 1) provides an opportunity to address issues facing disabled persons, as the majority live in poverty. However, the disabled community brings valuable assets that are often overlooked, such as wisdom from navigating adversity and developing coping strategies. For poverty to be successfully eliminated, the consultative process must directly involve disabled persons in development and implementation of strategies to draw on their expertise regarding barriers they face and how to overcome them.

1. Agenda for Sustainable Development:
Can It Benefit the Disabled Community?
Marlene Le Roux
AHS4117S CPDD
Lecturer Judith Mckenzie
Marlene Le Roux LRXMAR016
CPDD Exam November 2015

2. Presentation Outline
1. Introduction
2. Poverty Eradication and Resilience
3. Consultative Processes
4. Assets that Disabled Persons Bring
5. Conclusion
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3. Introduction
• 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
calls for greater equality (UN 2015)
◦ Presents comprehensive development path for
the world to follow
◦ Seeks to strengthen universal peace through
greater freedom for all
◦ Is based on eradicating all forms of poverty,
everywhere
◦ Targets the disadvantaged, e.g., disabled persons
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4. • Poverty Eradication (Goal #1) is a key element
of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda
◦ to end hunger and malnutrition
◦ to systematically improve the deplorable
conditions under which many live
• Furthermore, ending poverty provides an
opportunity to expand our scope to
◦ eliminate the impacts that being poor can
have on disabled persons
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5. Eradication of Poverty
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Model Components
1. Improving access to sustainable livelihoods, entrepreneurial
opportunities and productive resources;
2. Providing universal access to basic social services;
3. Progressively developing social protection systems;
4. Empowering people living in poverty and their organizations;
5. Addressing disproportionate impact of poverty on women;
6. Working with donors to allocate increased funding; and
7. Intensifying international cooperation for poverty eradication.
Source: 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD)

6. • Direct link between poverty eradication and
the UN-established rights of disabled persons
◦ Majority of persons with disabilities lives in
conditions of poverty (UNCRPD 2007)
◦ Critical need to address the negative impact of
poverty on persons with disabilities
• Through Goal #1, we can begin to tackle
issues of inequality confronting the disabled
◦ Poverty is a principal factor preventing persons
with disabilities from improving their situations
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7. • UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities recognised a number of key areas
(UNCRPD 2007), including:
◦ dignity and worth of disabled persons
◦ rights and freedoms of disabled persons
◦ guarantee of full employment for disabled persons
◦ importance of mainstreaming disability issues
◦ active involvement of disabled in decision-making
◦ importance of mainstreaming disability issues
◦ access to the environment
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8. • While UNCRPD directly addressed disability,
the 2030 Agenda
◦ proposed 17 overlapping goals, none of which
directly addressed disability
◦ provided foundation for addressing overlapping
inequalities facing disabled persons, such as:
- gender equality and empowerment (SDG #5)
- equitable quality education (SDG #4)
- inclusive and resilient settlements (SDG #11)
• Collectively, many goals seek to enable,
empower, mainstream disabled persons
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9. Poverty Eradication and Resilience
• In eradicating poverty, it is essential to focus
on the most vulnerable groups:
◦ Poor Women◦
◦ Children Aged◦
◦ Disabled Persons Rural-based Persons◦
• 2030 Agenda seeks to target these groups,
which are most affected by economic and
political instability
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10. • As a vulnerable group, disabled persons are
regularly forced to deal with adversity:
◦ They have become resilient
• A recent study offered further insights into
disabled persons (Abbott & Porter 2013):
◦ Many possess wisdom in relation to risk mgmt.
◦ They have had to adjust to severe restrictions
◦ They have developed insights from unjust and
more positive experiences
◦ Insights could significantly contribute to the wider
debate on sustainability
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11. • However, little research has focused on the
potential contribution of persons w disabilities:
◦ Society has forced disabled persons to be
dependent, ignoring their potential role as experts
◦ Ignoring the contributions of disabled persons
perpetuates the “medical model” approach
• Thus, in order to end poverty and achieve
equality, society must draw off the experiences
and wisdom of disabled persons.
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12. Consultative Processes
• The consultative process is essential to any
eradication strategy (Gorgens 2015), as it
◦◦ sees everyone assees everyone as important and a contributor;important and a contributor;
◦◦ requires the full participation and contributionrequires the full participation and contribution
of persons with a disabilityof persons with a disability;;
◦◦ is a relationship-driven, building capacity andis a relationship-driven, building capacity and
developing unique solutionsdeveloping unique solutions
◦◦ is internally-focused, taking advantage of localis internally-focused, taking advantage of local
resources and opportunitiesresources and opportunities
◦◦ creates citizen space and a sense of ownershipcreates citizen space and a sense of ownership
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13. • Through the consultative process persons with
a disability will be directly contacted and
involved in specific strategies
◦◦ persons with disabilities (and disability advocates)persons with disabilities (and disability advocates)
are most familiar with the poverty-related issuesare most familiar with the poverty-related issues
central to their survivalcentral to their survival
◦◦ the disabled community is most familiar with whatthe disabled community is most familiar with what
is needed in the near-term and long-termis needed in the near-term and long-term
◦◦ seeks to identify the issues central to social andseeks to identify the issues central to social and
economic inequitieseconomic inequities
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14. Assets that the Disabled Community Brings
• Persons with a disability bring key assets to
the discussion (Abbott & Porter 2013)
◦◦ havehave navigated within an environment that
favours able-bodied
◦◦ have hadhave had to exert greater effort than most
able-bodied to merely survive
◦◦ have learned to do more with less, a key skill,
particularly in times of emergency
◦◦ cancan play important role in disseminating
info. and developing practical strategies
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15. • Disabled persons bring five key types of
livelihood assets to the community table:
◦◦ natural capital - available local resources;
◦◦ social-political capital - social relationships;
◦◦ human capital - adaptation to ongoing change;
◦◦ physical capital - community infrastructure
enabling persons to pursue their livelihood; and
◦◦ financial capital - monetary assets ( e.g., grants)
• Also, disabled persons are interdependent,
valuing collaboration (Abbott & Porter 2013)
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16. • In eliminating poverty, need to involve the
disabled persons in sustainable planning
◦◦ work with gov’t and community leaders in the
development of new strategies
◦◦ achieve greater equity with the rest of society
◦◦ increase awareness of disabilityincrease awareness of disability
• EEfforts should highlight fact that vulnerable
groups can contribute to survival strategies
◦◦ role of government and other agencies inrole of government and other agencies in
encouraging dialogue and coping strategiesencouraging dialogue and coping strategies
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17. • Thus, strategies for eradicating poverty must
involve the wisdom of disabled persons to
◦◦ work with government and local agencies in the
development of new strategies
◦◦ increase universal awareness of disabilityincrease universal awareness of disability
◦◦ achieve greater equality between disabled
persons and able-bodied persons
• Experience negotiating barriers has provided
disabled persons with insights on environ.environ.
policypolicy (Priestly & Hemingway 2007)
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18. Conclusion/Recommendations
• Poverty eradication has a direct link toPoverty eradication has a direct link to
disability issues and breaking down barriersdisability issues and breaking down barriers
• In eliminating poverty, agencies must include
disabled persons
• ◦◦ work with agencies and community leaders in
the development of viable strategies
◦◦ tap into the practical strategies developed bytap into the practical strategies developed by
persons with disabilitiespersons with disabilities
◦◦ increase greater awareness of disabilityincrease greater awareness of disability
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19. • Disability is not only a health issue, but a
societal mindset that needs to change
◦◦ For mainstreaming to bFor mainstreaming to be successful, groups must
work towards eliminating barriers to disability
inclusion (Albert & Hurst 2004).
◦◦ For example, the disabled and associated
agencies should support inclusive planning
• Persons with disabilities must be involved in
this learning process by sharing experiences
and providing perspective.
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20. • Participation of disabled persons in local
planning will effectively empower this group
◦◦ implementation of coping strategies
◦◦ new opportunities for community engagementnew opportunities for community engagement
◦◦ part of a wider effort to create a more diversepart of a wider effort to create a more diverse
planning environment (e.g., involvingplanning environment (e.g., involving
vulnerable groups)vulnerable groups)
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21. References
Abbott, D. & S. Porter (2013). Environmental hazard and disabled people:
from vulnerable to expert to interconnected. Disability and Society.
28:6, 839-852.
Albert, B. and R. Hurst (2004). Disability and human rights approach to
development. Disability KAR.
Alcabes, P. and A.B. Williams. (2002). Human Rights and the Ethics of Care:
A Framework for Health Research and Practice, Yale Journal of Health
Policy, Law, and Ethics 2: 2.
Gorgens, T. (2015) Lecture: Asset Based Community Development,
Postgraduate dipl. in disability studies, UCT.
International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) (2003).
Livelihoods and Climate Change. IISD: Winnipeg.
Kittay, E. (2011). The ethics of care, dependence and disability. Ratio Juris.
24:1, 49-58.
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22. References (continued)
Mckenzie, J. & C. Macleod (2012). Rights discourses in relation to
education of people: towards an ethics of care that enables
participation. Disability and Society. 27:1, 15-29.
Palmer, M. Disability and Poverty: A Conceptual Review (2011). Journal of
Disability Policy Studies 21:210.
Priestly, M. and L. Hemingway (2007). Disability and disaster recovery.
Journal of Social Work in Disability and Rehabilitation 5:3-4, 23-42.
Steynor, A. (2015). Lecture: Impact of Climate Change on Development in
South Africa, Postgraduate diploma in disability studies, UCT.
United Nations (2007). Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities
(UNCRPD). Viewed 23 Oct. 2015
http://www.un.org/disabilities/convention/conventionfull.shtml
United Nations (2015). Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development. Viewed 27 Oct. 2015.
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworldhttps://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld
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