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Disability and Poverty: the need for a more nuanced understanding of implications for development policy and practice

2011; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 32; Issue: 8 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/01436597.2011.604520

1360-2241

Nora Groce, Maria Kett, Raymond Lang, Jean‐Francois Trani,

Healthcare innovation and challenges

Abstract The international development community is beginning to recognise that people with disabilities constitute among the poorest and most vulnerable of all groups, and thus must be a core issue in development policies and programmes. Yet the relationship between disability and poverty remains ill-defined and under-researched, with few studies providing robust and verifiable data that examine the intricacies of this relationship. A second, linked issue is the need for—and current lack of—criteria to assess whether and how disability-specific and disability ‘mainstreamed’ or ‘inclusive’ programmes work in combating the exclusion, marginalisation and poverty of people with disabilities. This article reviews existing knowledge and theory regarding the disability–poverty nexus. Using both established theoretical constructs and field-based data, it attempts to identify what knowledge gaps exist and need to be addressed with future research. Acknowledgements This article has been funded by UK aid from the Department for International Development (DFID). The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the department's official policies. Published by the Cross-Cutting Disability Research Programme, the Leonard Cheshire Disability and Inclusive Development Centre, University College London. Notes 1 RC Riddell, ‘Poverty, disability and aid: international development cooperation’, in T Barron & J Manombe Ncumbe (eds), Poverty and Disability, London: Leonard Cheshire Disability, 2010, pp 26–80. 2 P Coleridge, Disability, Liberation and Development, Oxford: Oxfam Publications, 1999, p 64. 3 M Kett, R Lang & J-F Trani, ‘Disability, development and the dawning of a new convention: a cause for optimism?’, Journal of International Development, 21(5), 2008, pp 649–661. 4 J-F Trani & M Loeb, ‘Poverty and disability: a vicious circle? 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