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Bangladesh, Part 2

SITUATION OF DISABLED PEOPLE OF BANGLADESH
AS PER RNN GUIDELINE

September 25, 2002

Shahidul Haque, Founder General Secretary, SARPV

Preface

Bangladesh is a country of 113 million and if there 10% population is disabled, then 11 million disabled people are there. Great question mark is looming over, what the percentage of education among the disabled people is what the employment situation of the disabled people is what the facilities are in favor of the disabled people in this country if policy makers think about the disabled people while developing programs

Now in Bangladesh only for one disease named RICKETS 9% of the children in one region in the coastal-belt are going to be disabled and gradually it is increasing whole over the country. If only one disease creates 9% children disabled then what about the rest while there are several other disabling diseases of endemic nature. It demands an answer to all.

Summary & Future Directions and basic Data of PwDs

[a] Please describe the following questions based on your evaluation of the decade

[a-1] Please cite and describe three most significant changes for the life of PwDs in your country over the A/P Decade.

• Few People with Disability have been aware about their role & rights.

• Media groups have started taking up good role to publish the news and stories about abilities of the PwDs.

• Policy makers have also become interested in this issue.

Please attach the documents and possible audio-visual materials.

• Attached video on Disability by Rickets.

• Attached audiocassettes on Bangla for the visual impairments.

[a-2] Please cite and describe the three most undeveloped issues concerning your PwDs compare with non-disabled people in your country

• Lack of Accessibility (mainly physical infrastructure) of the Persons with Disability in all spheres of their life;

• Lack of educational facility for the Persons with Disability;

• Lack of job opportunity for and positive social attitudes towards disabled persons.

[a-3] What are the three priority measures, which you want, your government takes for your PwDs?

• To ensure the accessibility of the person with disability in every sphere of their life;

• To ensure education of the Persons with Disability;

• To create job environment for the Person with Disability so that people can think positively about the PwDs.

[a-4] What are the three priority programs of regional co-operation for your PwDs ?

• Inter regional dialogue with Disability issue with different NGO/ Government department.

• Exchange program on disability issue within the region.

• Social charter of the Disabled people should be developed within the region for common understanding for all.

[b] Basic Data

[b-1] Please cite and describe the basic data of PwDs in your country:

• It is not possible from any government-source to cite but from NGO sector it is stated that 8.9% percent are the disabled people in our country.

1. Number of PwDs with your classification and nature of the source and legal definition.

   It is estimated that total population of Kulkandi is 11802, male population is 6094 and female 5708. The male-female ratio is 1.07:1. The number of disabled persons is 1037 giving the percentage of disability to be 8.79. The male disabled people number 487 amounting the percentage of disability to be 7.99 for male population. The female disabled people number 550 and for female population the percentage of disability is 9.64.

   Over the entire population of Kulkandi the maximum number of people comprise the group within age limit 6-10 years (numerically the figure is 2141, and as percentage of population 18.1). The percentage occurrence of disability within this group of population is 8.4 while they comprise 17.6% of the total disabled population. 45.3% people of the population are of age below 15 years. 6.3 is the percentage occurrence of disability within this below 15 years population and they represent 32.5% of all disabled population. 5.2% people of the entire population are of age of over 55 years. The disability prevalence rate in this group is 32.9%, comprising 19.5% of disabled population.

   The prevalence of single disability that of visual is the highest, the percentage of prevalence is 24.2%. Other than single disability, multiple disability amounts 33.7%, and Leprosy only 0.2% in prevalence. According to the rate of prevalence other disabilities are in ascending order hearing (22.4%), orthopedic (10.2%), speech (5.2), mental retardation (3.1%), mental illness (0.6%) and epilepsy (0.5%) respectively. Before the age of 5 years orthopedic disability is most prevalent (). And within the age of 15 years the prevalence of hearing (), visual () and orthopedic () disabilities are generally higher than other types of disabilities.

   The prevalence of disability irrespective of gender rises with the increase of age after 35 years. But after the age of 20 years the prevalence rate is higher in females than in males. And the prevalence of disability among females is much higher for ages over 55 years than among males.

   The distribution of disabled persons in Kulkandi is found to be among 882 families out of total families surveyed, 2453. The percentage of families having disabled member is found to be 35.95%. The average size of families having disabled persons and of all families of Kulkandi are respectively found to be 5.1 and 4.8 (and average family-size of families without any disabled member is 4.7). 67.5% of all families consist of 3-6 members.

   Out of a total of 2,453 households, 1,661 households were found to have members with IDD. In absolute figures 3,291 people were detected to have IDD (goiter and palpable goiter), who comprises 27.9% of the population. Out of a total male population of 6094, 1084 males were found to have IDD, the percentage is 17.8. For the female population these figures are 5,708, 2,152, and 37.7% respectively. The highest prevalence of IDD for male and female is 272 (25.1%) and 482 (22.4%) within the age ranges of 8-14 years for males and 22-27 years for females as the table of distribution says.

   It was found that 54.5% of the families with members affected by IDD have average monthly income of Tk. 1000 or below. It has also been found that 57.1% - 70.1% of the families belonging to each economic status group have IDD affected members.

   Definition:

   • It is any restriction or lack of ability (resulting from impairment) to perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being. This temporary or permanent, reversible or irreversible, and progressive or regressive excess or deficiency of customarily expected activity, performance and behaviour may arise as a direct consequence of impairment or as a response by an individual, particularly psychologically, to an impairment (physical, sensory or other).

2. primary finding and demographics concerning PwDs

   (type, cause of disability, gender, literacy level, education, employment and etc.)

   Causes and influencing factors for occurrences of disability

   Recently one alarming cause of disability is RICKETS particularly in the coastal-belt, nearly 9% children are going to be physically disabled due to RICKETS only.

   To the question inquiring the age of on-set of disability, it is found that maximum disability (22.5%) occurred among children within 1 (one) year of birth. The second major disability occurrence (13.1%) is observed to happen after the age of 55 years. The cause of disability is found to be diseases in most cases (42.3%). Cumulatively birth-defect, diseases and malnutrition accounts for 66.4% occurrences of disability as the cause. Other than these, accident (14.7%), old age (8.1%), wrong treatment (1.4%), social unrest (0.2%), natural disaster like river-erosion (0.4%) were mentioned as the causes of disability. Here may be the time of occurrence of disability just after river-erosion were interlinked with river-erosion as the causing factor. Some straight answers were got significantly (8.9%)- the cause were mentioned as one unknown; why the disability occurred to their family member, the respondent expressed helplessness to identify that.

   Irrespective of gender, the over-all occurrence of disability due to accident was found to be high within the age range of from 2nd year of birth to below 15 years. For male disabled the percentage out of the total male disabled is 33.9% and that for female is 26%.

   It was observed that 15.4% of the disabled persons had their blood relatives with the same type of disability. Here 9.9% had relatives as parents, brothers/sisters or issues. The inheritance is more significant among males. For males and females the inheritance was observed as 17.7% and 13.5% respectively. It was found that hearing disabilities have maximum inheritance. While leprosy, epilepsy has no inheritance record, other disabilities have that in ascending order 17% (visual), 15.1% (speech), 10.1% (orthopaedic) and 0.6% (mental illness). It has been observed that parental inheritance of disability mostly occurred within the age of 15 years or in later years especially after 45 years.

   It was found that though people were able to identify certain causes of disability but at the same time people liked to advocate that disability mainly was occurred due to God's will; 66.3% of the all respondent households (2453) answered in favour of this. Also some people (24.4%) argued that disability occurred mainly because of wrong doing. Besides, 2.4% of the respondents termed that disability as a curse for some previous sin of family-members of the particular disabled person. Interestingly 0.7% of the respondents said that disability is occurred as a mercy in disguise considering that the family might escaped some major mishap in future due to this disability. Apart from these, 5.7% of the respondents argued for some causing factors like diseases and malnutrition. Some 0.1% of the respondents declined to answer.

   Here also it was assessed specifically by the family having disabled member/s (882) that disability mostly was happened because of poverty, unawareness and simultaneously lack of treatment (cumulatively the percentage of these responses is 91.7) in terms of their expressions like lack of access to available treatment and being unaware of the probable treatment. The last one was, as were ascribed, due to inability of the family in economic strength and also non-availability of proper treatment at near vicinity. Some particular causes were also assessed here by the respondents (4.9%) like wrong treatment, birth defects, accident and some diseases and 3.4% respondents did not respond.

[b-2]How many people in your country do you guess to be aware of the followings?

1. A/P Decade of Disabled Persons 1993-2002:

   [a. almost none b. less than 1 % c. about 3 % ].

   Dose your government informed the nation about the decade?

   (Yes, No)

2. UN's Declaration of Disabled Persons 1975

   [a. almost none b. less than 1 % , c. about 0.02 % ].

3. International Year of Disabled Persons 1981

   [a. almost none b. less than 1 % c. about 0.1 % ].

4. UN's Decade of Disabled Persons 1983-1992

   [a. almost none b. less than 1 % , c. about 1.5 % ].

Basic Information concerning PwDs

[a] Please inform national organization of/for PwDs in your county with name in English, address, phone& fax numbers, e-mail address and name of the contact person

• ABC ADD- Bangladesh

• BPKS BPF

• CDD CRP

• CSID IMPACT foundation

• SARPV-Bangladesh SWID Bangladesh

• Hi-Care

[b] Please cite and describe well-known persons with disability among your nation as a good model or leader of PwDs.

• Khandaker Jahurul Alam-CSID

• Abdus Sattar Dulal-BPKS

• Mosharaf Hossain-ADD Bangladesh

• Monsur Ahmed Chowdhury-IMPACT Foundation,

• Tasnim Siddiq- WDD (Women with Disability and Development)

• Tahmina Rahman- WDD (Women with Disability and Development) & Abilis Foundation

• Lina Parveen Chowdhury-HKI

• Ms. Mohua Paul-CRP

• Abdus Salam-Hi Care

• Saidul Haque Chunnu-BERDO

• S. M. Mayeen Ahmed- SARPV

[c] Please introduce name of the future leaders of PWDs in your county with a contact address

S. M. Mayeen Ahmed, SARPV-Bangladesh

sarpv@bangla.net, sarpv2000@yahoo.com

[d] Please introduce the foreign organizations who are doing significant co-operation programs in the field of disability in your country with contact address

• ACTION-AID ADD

• OXFAM INTERNATIONAL SAVE THE CHILDREN SWEDEN

• CORDAID AEM-France

• SHAHIDUL ASSOCIATION- France ABILIS FOUNDATION- Finland

• CBM-Germany SKN-Netherlands

• Okinawa Colony & Ashahi Shimbun of Japan

[e] Please introduce those who are the expert of disability policy, study and research in your county with contact address.

• Dr. Shirin Zaman Munir of BPF

• S. M. Mayeen Ahmed of SARPV

• Syed Tamjidur Rahman

• Dr. Sanchay Kumar Chanda