BACKGROUND
Persons with disabilities are one of the most vulnerable and marginalized groups in Somalia. Due to limited legislation and policy addressing disability rights and inclusion, persons with disabilities face numerous forms of discrimination, such as physical barriers, negative attitudes from their community, and a lack of access to existing social services. In the context of humanitarian responses, persons with disabilities are often excluded and face additional challenges in accessing services provided by humanitarian partners. To address these issues, significant efforts have been made by both local organizations of persons with disabilities and international organizations. For example, the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the humanitarian response has been prioritized to ensure that no one is left behind. Leaving no one behind not only entails reaching the poorest of the poor but also requires combating discrimination and rising inequalities within and amongst communities and their root causes. Despite these efforts, the situation of persons with disabilities remains poor and requires a full-service mapping to improve their livelihood and remove physical, attitudinal, communication, legal and institutional barriers.
With the support of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) Human Rights and Protection Group, the Somali Disability Empowerment Network (SODEN) conducted an assessment to map and identify the availability of specialized services for persons with disabilities in Somalia with the objective of ensuring the provision of access to services available to them to improve their livelihood and increase social inclusion. It should also be noted that a twin-track approach should be pursued, meaning that mainstreaming disability into existing services should also be a priority.
METHODOLOGY
The mapping assessment took place in Banadir, HirShabelle, Galmudug, South West State, Puntland, and Jubaland from 10 to 30 December 2022. The data was collected by trained enumerators with oversight supervision by two consultants through face-to-face household interviews using an open data kit (ODK).
A total of 101 households were selected through random sampling using beneficiary lists and beneficiaries were divided into smaller groups based on beneficiary location and gender, after which the sample survey was selected through simple random sampling.
For the full report please click this link Specialized Services Avaialable for Persons with disabilties in Somalia 2023
