Full Coverage: Disability
06/17/2008
Sixteen U.S. congresspeople have asked the prime minister of India to support Bhopal activists, who survived the toxic 1984 explosion of a Union Carbide pesticide plant, by bringing this corporation and its new owner, Dow Chemical, to justice.
Read moreFrom: Bhopal.net Related: [United Kingdom] [Corporations] [Environmental Activism] [Pollution] [Health] [Disease/treatment] [Civil Rights] [Activism] [Civil Society] [Geopolitics] [Governance] [Justice and Crime] [Law] |
06/03/2008
UNICEF”s publication titled It’s About Ability - An explanation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is a learning guide for children, with or without disabilities, towards fighting exclusion and discrimination in society and promoting the Convention's principles.
Read moreRelated: [Children] [Social Exclusion] |
05/29/2008
On Day 5 of an international treaty negotiation, U.S. officials are being charged with spreading "false accusations" to slow down the effort to ban bombs that spread their destruction indiscriminately over a large area.
Read moreFrom: Cluster Munition Coalition via AlertNet Related: [United States] [Human Rights] [Activism] [Codes of Conduct] [Ethics & Value Systems] [Geopolitics] [Conflict] [Arms & Military] [Peace] |
05/26/2008
Karnataka in southern India went to polls without Braille-enabled voting machines and ramps at the polling booths. Despite the Supreme Court directives, the world’s largest democracy has failed to provide accessible conditions for the disabled to exercise their franchise.
Read moreRelated: [South Asia] [India] [Social Exclusion] [Democracy] |
05/22/2008
The Aravind Eye Care System in India has won the $1 million Gates Award for Global Health for its work in preventing blindness and providing affordable, world-class eye care to the poor.
Read moreFrom: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Related: [India] [Disease/treatment] [Activism] Image: "Being blind in a rural village in the developing world leaves a person in darkness and dependence, often unable to earn a living or assist in the duties of their household," said Mr. Gates. © Peter Armstrong
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05/19/2008
Marking the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, the UN's International Telecommunications Union awarded DAISY Consortium for its efforts to enable equal access to information and knowledge by the disabled. DAISY is a worldwide organisation of libraries and ICT companies representing 35 countries including India and Bangladesh in South Asia.
Read moreRelated: [Development] [Capacity Building] [ICT] [Knowledge] |
05/13/2008
UN Secretary General has described the adoption of Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as 'a new dawn'. Though the Convention does not enlist new rights for the estimated 650 million disabled persons worldwide, it certainly paves the way for abolition of discriminatory laws and better implementation of existing rights.
Read moreRelated: [Human Rights] [Law] [United Nations] |
05/08/2008
Freelance journalist and social activist Swagat Thorat in western India publishes a fortnightly called Sparshgyaan in local language for the visually impaired. In view of the limited availability of literature in Braille, this can be described as commendable effort.
Read moreFrom: OneWorld South Asia Related: [South Asia] [Capacity Building] [Education] [Information & Media] |
04/30/2008
A discussion paper by WaterAid, Creating user-friendly water and sanitation services for the disabled, takes a look at the social, technical, financial and policy barriers faced by the disabled in meeting water and sanitation needs in Nepal. The document recommends designing proper technologies to facilitate their access to basic services.
Read moreRelated: [South Asia] [Poverty] [Water/Sanitation] [MDGs] |
04/17/2008
Bowing to the demands of people with disabilities in India, Karnataka’s Election Commission has decided to build ramps at all polling booths and provide Braille-equipped voting machines in the upcoming assembly elections. But this is the fulfillment of just one demand out of many.
Read moreRelated: [South Asia] [Politics] [Governance] |
03/20/2008
Turkin hallituksen ja Kurdistanin työväenpuolueen PKK:n sissien väliset taistelut jättävät jälkeensä tuhansia vammautuneita kurdeja, joilla ei useinkaan ole muuta vaihtoehtoa kuin hakeutua Eurooppaan.
Read moreFrom: Voima Kustannus Oy Related: [Turkey] [Conflict] Image: -
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03/15/2008
Punarbhava, a new interactive website for the disabled, is a one-stop cyber shop for information, aids, appliances, research and employment. The portal was recently launched at the Indian capital, along with the release of a new screen reader software for the blind.
Read moreFrom: OneWorld South Asia Related: [South Asia] [India] [Social Exclusion] [Communication] [ICT] [Internet] |
02/28/2008
There are approximately 60 million persons with disabilities in India. Most of them are poor, living in rural areas. It is pity that only 1.5% of them are the beneficiaries of various poverty alleviation and welfare schemes.
Read moreRelated: [South Asia] [Poverty] Image: Disability sign
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02/15/2008
Even after the ban on its use, the hazardous impact of pesticide Endosulfan sprayed in cashew plantations in Kerala, continues to affect the communities. The state government's relief package of Rs 5 million and other schemes have proved inadequate to rehabilitate the victims.
Read moreRelated: [South Asia] [Environment] [Health] [Disease/treatment] |
02/01/2008
Sharayu Precision is a Pune-based company in western India that believes in providing the first opportunity of employment to those who are physically or mentally challenged. Its founder Subhash Chuttar has been honoured with prestigious Hellen Keller Award for his contribution to the cause.
Read moreFrom: OneWorld South Asia Related: [South Asia] [Capacity Building] [Labor] |
01/22/2008
Landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) have killed and maimed hundreds of people in Afghanistan in 2007, says the UN Mine Action Centre for Afghanistan. These explosive remnants of war left behind by various military factions during the 90s continue to endanger the lives of civilians.
Read moreRelated: [Afghanistan] [South Asia] [Arms & Military] [Conflict] [Landmines] Image: Children and landmines © John Buckley /
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12/26/2007
Only a fraction of the millions of children with disabilities in Bangladesh are able to get basic education, owing to government’s apparent indifference in ensuring their educational rights. However, the country's social welfare secretary says all that may change soon.
Read moreRelated: [South Asia] [Capacity Building] [Children] [Education] |
12/17/2007
For visually challenged people in western Indian state of Maharashtra, the life will become much easier with the setting up of a special resource centre in Pune. The centre will provide them 100 different services and equipment under one roof like medical treatment, walking sticks, audio calculators, braille watches, computer software, etc.
Read moreFrom: OneWorld South Asia Related: [South Asia] [Capacity Building] Image: Blind people sign
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12/08/2007
For decades the Jaipur Foot – not only in India where it is made but also in many other countries – has helped people living a normal life despite losing their limbs. It is now being further improved by using new technology and material.
Read moreRelated: [South Asia] |
12/06/2007
The right to decent work of persons with disabilities, a new report by ILO calls for renewed efforts to support people with disabilities in the world of work. Many among approximately 470 million disabled persons of employable age often face disproportionate levels of poverty and unemployment.
Read moreRelated: [Labor] [Poverty] [Human Rights] [MDGs] Image: ILO logo
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