The document summarizes Ecuador's efforts to protect and support people with disabilities. It describes how the government established the Technical Secretariat of Disabilities in 2007 to develop policies and programs. Key programs included identifying over 300,000 people with disabilities, providing assistance such as wheelchairs and monthly subsidies, and expanding access to healthcare, education, jobs, and housing. The Secretariat was then institutionalized to coordinate disability policy. The second part announces an upcoming World Meeting on Disabilities in Guayaquil to share best practices globally. It provides details on goals, participants, and themes of the meeting. The third part briefly describes tourism in Ecuador, highlighting attractions in Guayaquil, Galapagos Islands, Cuenc

1. World Meeting of
DISABILITIES
November 25TH - 26TH, 2013
Guayaquil - Ecuador
Secretaría Técnica
de Discapacidades

3. Technical Secretariat of Disabilities
Technical Secretariat of Disabilities
PART I
In Ecuador, the majority of people with disabilities
were unprotected, invisible, abandoned, poor and
excluded from society and the State, mainly due to
the absence of a comprehensive public policy to
ensure their rights.
The Government of Ecuador decided to change
that. In 2007, it declared that the focus on persons
with disabilities would be a State Policy, and joined
and ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities. In 2008, it declared disabilities a
crosscutting state policy.
The Vice Presidency took up this challenge, and
in 2009 deployed in the field the Manuela Espejo
Solidarity Mission, composed of physicians,
geneticists, psychologists, military, social workers,
and volunteers, who visited more than one million
homes. The goal was to know who our brothers
and sisters with disabilities were, where they were,
and what they needed.
The bio-psychosocial study identified and georeferenced 300,000 people with disabilities in
order to meet urgent needs such as the immediate
provision of 466,000 Technical Aids.
In an effort to expand the assistance and provide
comprehensive care, other successful projects
were created: jobs were found for 55,000 people,
18,000 people with severe disability, catastrophic,
rare and/or unusual diseases, and children under
14 living with HIV AIDS were covered by the
Joaquin Gallegos Lara Program, which includes a
conditional subsidy of 240 dollars a month.
Secretaría Técnica
de Discapacidades
1

4. More than 10,000 families have their own homes
equipped with basic furnishings; 20,000 people
received Hearing Aids and Technical Aids for Poor
Vision; and at least 214,000 newborns benefited
from Neonatal Metabolic Screening, a program
that achieved 66% coverage in its first year of
implementation.
Manuela Espejo also helped the country become
a leader in the region after the Vice Presidents’
Summit for a “Barrier-Free America”. Peru,
Guatemala, Uruguay, El Salvador, Dominican
Republic and Haiti now receive our technical
support.
2

5. Technical Secretariat of Disabilities
After creating minimum care conditions in the
country and disseminating this social product
internationally, the Manuela Espejo Solidarity
Mission decided to evolve. No longer a program,
it was institutionalized as the Technical Secretariat
for Disabilities to coordinate the implementation of
Ecuador’s public policy on disabilities.
The Secretariat then developed new processes for
Comprehensive Services, Universal Accessibility
and Technological Development, Educational
Inclusion, Scientific and Technical Research and
the implementation of RBC in the country as a tool
for Intersectoral Management.
Secretaría Técnica
de Discapacidades
3

6. MISSION
VISION
To promote and ensure the full enjoyment of rights
by persons with disabilities in Ecuador through
interagency and intersectoral coordination, policy
monitoring and implementation of plans, programs
and projects, and the promotion of actions for
prevention, care, research and integration.
To be the guiding institution for the coordination,
monitoring and evaluation of the implementation
of public policy for the fulfillment of the rights of
Persons with Disabilities, to be a regional and
global benchmark in the framework of the United
Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities, the Constitution and the Organic Law
on Disabilities.
4

7. Technical Secretariat of Disabilities
INTER-SECTORIAL
MANAGEMENT
INTEGRATION
& INCLUSION
INTEGRAL
SERVICES AND
RESPONSE
UNIVERSAL
ACCESSIBILITY
& TECHNOLOGIC
DEVELOPMENT
SCIENTIFIC
INVESTIGATION,
MONITORING
AND EVALUATION
Secretaría Técnica
de Discapacidades
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
COMMUNICATION
STRATEGIC AXES
5

8. PART II
INFORMATION ON THE MEETING
6

9. Technical Secretariat of Disabilities
Background
According to World Health Organization (WHO)
estimates, more than one billion people in the
world live with some form of disability, and nearly
200 million experience considerable difficulty in
functioning. 785 million are 15 or older and live
with a disability. Undoubtedly, the most worrying
statistic shows that children have a high degree of
disability and in some cases their disabilities could
be prevented.
The World Report on Disability states that the
situation of people with disabilities in the world
is exacerbated by disabling barriers that involve
inadequate policies and regulations, negative
attitudes, lack of services, problems delivering
services, insufficient funding, lack of accessibility,
lack of consultation and participation, and lack of
data and evidence.
To face these challenges, severfal regional
integration
initiatives
and
international
organizations have promoted mandates and
resolutions that call for an approach that involves
the adoption of specific action plans, the inclusion
of the matter as a cross-cutting theme for
interventions by the States, and inclusion of people
with disabilities in decision-making on issues that
have a positive or negative affect on their lives.
A common recommendation of these mandates and
resolutions is also the implementation of specific
national plans and actions to address disabilities
based on effective programs and appropriate
practices developed in the different regions with
regard to disabilities and inclusion.
In order to provide a meeting place for the different
countries of the world that have developed
successful initiatives, the Government of Ecuador,
through the Secretariat of Disabilities, an agency
of the Vice Presidency, is committed to holding
an International Conference on Best Practices on
guaranteeing the rights of people with disabilities
that can be shared, discussed and implemented in
the different countries.
General Objective
To create a space for discussing several policies,
programs, projects, innovations and technologies
that have been successfully implemented globally
to ensure the rights of persons with disabilities and
identify concrete actions for their implementation
in the different countries.
Main outcomes of the meeting
• Quito Declaration on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities.
Secretaría Técnica
de Discapacidades
7

10. • Signing of Treaties and Bilateral Cooperation
Agreements on disabilities by the participating
countries.
• Identification of potential public - private
partnerships on innovations and technologies
for people with disabilities.
Location:
Guayaquil, Ecuador
Guayaquil Convention Center
Date:
November 25th and 26th, 2013
Participants:
People with Disabilities and their families
Representatives of Governments worldwide
Representatives of International and Multilateral
Organizations
Civil Society Representatives
Academia
Public and private companies
CONTENT
Keynote Addresses
Roundtables
Panel Discussions
Exhibitions
Negotiation tables
Artistic and recreational events
Stands (technology, products, services)
8
THEMES
Situation of disability worldwide
Disability and Development after the High Level UN
meeting
Best practices regarding accessibility
Role of Civil Society and actions involving the rights
of persons with disabilities
Community Based Rehabilitation
Successful experiences in cooperation on disability
Educational Inclusion
Workplace Inclusion
Technological Development
OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF THE MEETING
Thursday October 3 at 10:00 am on www.
encuentromundialdiscapacidades.com
For more information:
Links (beginning with october 3th):
www.encuentromundialdiscapacidades.com
www.setedis.gob.ec
Email contact:
encuentromundial@setedis.gob.ec
Teléfonos:
(593) 2 3933940 Ext. 1130 –1131-1132

11. Technical Secretariat of Disabilities
Part III
Basic Information on Tourism
“Discover Ecuador, Four Worlds, One Destination”
Located in South America on the Pacific coast, it
is one of the most popular tourist destinations of
2013. Quito, the capital, was recognized this year
as the best tourist destination in South America.
Visit Ecuador because “Ecuador loves life.”
Guayaquil
An historic and cosmopolitan city known as “The
Pearl of the Pacific”, it is a well-known financial
and economic center and has one of the largest
ports in maritime trade in Latin America and the
world. Inhabited by enterprising, friendly people,
its attractions include Cerro Santa Ana with its
symbolic lighthouse, the neighborhood of Las
Peñas, and the Malecon and its iconic Rotunda.
This economic capital has excellent hotels that
meet the most demanding needs of its visitors.
Santa Ana Hill, Guayaquil - Ecuador
Secretaría Técnica
de Discapacidades
9

12. Galapagos
Known worldwide as the “Enchanted Islands”, they
are located in the insular region, and constitute
one of the largest and most important ecological
reserves in the world. Puerto Baquerizo Moreno is
the capital and the largest city is Puerto Ayora.
Due to their climate, location and geography, “The
Enchanted Islands” are a true living laboratory
for scientific research, the most important tourist
attraction of Ecuador, and undoubtedly a marvel
for Ecuador and the world.
Tortuga Bay, Galapagos - Ecuador
Fauna, Galapagos - Ecuador
10

13. Technical Secretariat of Disabilities
CUENCA
“Santa Ana of the Four Rivers,” better known as
Cuenca, the capital of Azuay, is located 2550 meters
above sea level. Its historic center decorated with
cobblestone streets, a Cathedral built from pink
marble, and a rich past, won it the title of World
Heritage Site in December 1999.
Main Cathedral, Cuenca - Ecuador
Tomebamba River, Cuenca - Ecuador
Secretaría Técnica
de Discapacidades
11

14. QUITO
The Capital of Ecuador, located at 2800 meters
above sea level, is the second largest city in
the country. In recognition of the architecture,
monuments, and churches of the Historic or
Colonial Center, its history and tradition, it was
declared a World Heritage Site in 1978.
The Plaza Grande, Quito - Ecuador
Panoramic view, Quito - Ecuador
More information: www.turismo.gob.ec
12

16. Secretaría Técnica
de Discapacidades