According to the United Nations (UN), the population of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is estimated to be 112 811 280. There has not been a recent census on persons with disabilities. In the DRC, disability affects an estimated 13 per cent of the population with significant challenges related to poverty, conflict and lack of access to basic services. According to the UNPartnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD), the most prevalent forms of disabilities include: intellectual or developmental disability, hearing disability, visual disability, motor disability, autism, psychosocial disability, degenerative diseases, and albinism. The DRC signed and ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) as well as its Optional Protocol in 2015. The DRC's Constitution (article 49) and the law promulgated in 2022 on persons with disabilities aim to promote and protect the rights of persons with disabilities based on the Convention and the construction of an inclusive society. Although the government has enacted sectoral laws, the DRC currently lacks sufficient mechanisms to facilitate accessibility and full participation for persons with disabilities. Furthermore, the DRC does not have an official body specifically tasked with combating violations of the rights of persons with disabilities. The difficulties and challenges related to the legal and institutional framework have been partly resolved with the promulgation of the new National Disability Law, which relates to the protection and promotion of the rights of persons with disabilities, and also previously by the creation and operationalisation of a dedicated ministry for the sector. The most urgent problems that need to be addressed progressively to ensure the inclusion of persons with disabilities include: lack of awareness of the Convention and the National Disability Act, lack of an appropriate legal/judicial framework in accordance with the Convention and the National Disability Act, lack of political will/interest/capacity, insufficient national budget and budgetary decrees in the provinces, low mobilisation capacity and low level of advocacy of organisations of persons with disabilities.
Public transportation systems across many African countries remain largely inaccessible to persons with disabilities, which critically hinders their social inclusion and economic participation. Despite technological advances significantly improving the quality of life for the majority ofpersons with disabilities, 36 per cent in developing countries, particularly in Africa, still regard public transportation as inaccessible due to inadequate infrastructure and slow adoption of assistive technology (AT). This analysis critically examines how Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can integrate AT into African public transportation, promoting accessibility and inclusion. The paper is grounded in the social and human rights model of disability, reinforced by international and regional standards, including the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the African Disability Protocol (ADP). Case studies from South Africa (MyCiTi), Nigeria (Lagos BRT), and Kenya demonstrate that while progress is evident informal systems through features like audio-visual aids and low-floor buses, these efforts are often limited in scope or undermined by systemic challenges. Key barriers include the pervasive inaccessibility of dominant informal transport networks (matatus, minibuses), the reliability gap caused by inadequate maintenance and non-functional features in existing technology, and the inconsistent enforcement ofprogressive national policies. Deep-seated socio-cultural issues, such as discrimination by transport operators, also impede true inclusion. Achieving equitable transport demands a comprehensive, multi-stakeholder approach. This necessitates decisive government action to enforce robust policy standards, engagement of private and informal operators through training and affordable modifications, and collaboration with civil society in the design process to ensure systems are built 'with them'. Ultimately, only a holistic framework that strategically combines ICT and AT with consistent funding, strong policy frameworks, and vital changes in societal awareness can eliminate all obstacles and achieve a fully inclusive transport system.
According to 2024 World Bank data, the Kingdom of Eswatini (Eswatini) has a total population of 1 242 822, of which 610 191 are male and 632 631 are female. According to Eswatini's 2017Population and Housing Census (PHC), an estimated population of 146 554 individuals, representing approximately 13 per cent of the total population, faced one form of disability or difficulty in performing certain functions. The most prevalent form of disability is visual disability, with 47 812 persons with visual disabilities representing 32,6 per cent; followed by mobility 38 905 representing 26,5 per cent; hearing 22 054 representing 15,6 per cent; cognition 17 591 representing 12 percent; self-care 13 268 representing 9,1 percent; and communication 6 924 representing 4,7per cent. The Kingdom of Eswatini signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the Optional Protocol to the CRPD in 2007 and ratified both documents in 2012. The signing and ratification of the CRPD in 2012 resulted in significant domestic legal effects, which include the enactment of the Persons with Disability Act 2018, which formally enshrines the rights of persons with disabilities and obligations in national law. The Constitution of Eswatini contains provisions that directly and indirectly recognise and address disability. Section 30 of the Constitution provides that persons with disabilities have a right to respect and human dignity, and the government and society shall take appropriate measures to ensure that those persons realise theirfull mental and physical potential. Section 14 of the Constitution contains the Bill of Rights and provides for the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms of everyone, including persons with disabilities. Eswatini also has policies and programmes that directly address the plight of persons with disabilities. This includes the National Disability Policy 2013; National Disability Plan of Action (NDPA) (2018-2022; 2024-2028); National Deployment Strategy 1999; National Population Policy (2002); National Education Policy and Special and Special Education Policy (1999); Broadcasting Content Guidelines 2017, revised 2022; and Infrastructure and Technological Access Programmes. At the time of drafting this report, Eswatini does not have specific official bodies other than courts or tribunals that are established to address the rights of persons with disabilities. However, there are bodies, although not specifically established to address the rights of persons with disabilities, that can address violations of such rights. A key example is the Eswatini Commission on Human Rights and Public Administration (ECHRPA). Disabled people's organisations (DPOs) are both nationally organised and regionally coordinated and are actively involved in engaging with the government of Eswatini on issues relating to persons with disabilities. This research report reveals that DPOs have contributed to the implementation of the CRPD, Disabled Persons Act, and other legal frameworks, as well as policies that will promote their rights; therefore, there is a need to train DPOs on disability rights and human rights programmes. The Department of Social Issues is embedded within the Deputy Prime Minister's Office; this department and other bodies lead disability inclusion by coordinating national policy development, overseeing the National Disability Plan ofAction, and engaging with DPOs. Despite policy advancement in the country, persons with disabilities continue to face cultural and structural challenges, such as access to education, access to quality healthcare, discrimination, and otherforms of challenges. While the Kingdom of Eswatini has made significant strides in terms of legal and policy advancement, implementation remains a challenge. There must be a concerted effort to ensure that legislation and policy are translated into concrete action that will impact on the lives of persons with disabilities on the ground.
This paper examines the legal challenges affecting financial inclusion for persons with visual disabilities in Tanzania, assessing its role in poverty reduction and the realisation of socio-economic rights. It specifically analyses how the absence of accessible assistive technologies (AT) within FinTech platforms compromises the privacy and security of persons with visual disabilities, thereby limiting their safe participation in digital financial services. Tanzania has ratified the United Nations' Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and its Optional Protocol and has domesticated disability rights through the National Policy on Disability, 2004, the Persons with Disabilities Act, 2010, and article 13(4)-(5) ofthe Constitution, which guarantees equality and non-discrimination. Notwithstanding these commitments, existing legal frameworks remain inadequate in addressing financial inclusion as a core component ofeconomic empowerment. Although policy initiatives such as the National Financial Inclusion Framework (NFIF) aim to expand access to financial services, they lack explicit measures to ensure the accessibility of FinTech platforms for persons with visual disabilities. Using doctrinal and comparative legal methodologies and drawing on international best practices, this study critically evaluates Tanzania's laws and policies governing digital finance. The research identifies substantial legislative and regulatory gaps in safeguarding accessibility, privacy, and security for persons with visual disabilities. It argues for the development of specialised policies and enforceable legal standards mandating inclusive FinTech design and technological accommodations to enable the meaningful participation of persons with visual disabilities in Tanzania's digital economy.
According to the United Nations (UN), the population of Guinea-Bissau is estimated to be 1.8 million. There has not been a recent census on persons with disabilities. In Guinea-Bissau, disability affects an estimated 0,94 per cent of the population (a significantly underreported figure compared to global estimates) with significant challenges related to poverty, conflict and lack of access to basic services. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the most prevalent forms of disabilities include deep-seated prejudice and negative social norms (linking disability to curses), limited access to essential services (for example, 59 per cent school non-attendance among youth with disabilities), poverty, and exposure to harmful traditional practices and ritualistic violence. Guinea-Bissau signed and ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and its Optional Protocol in 2014 and 2018, respectively. The Guinea-Bissau Constitution (articles 15, 16, 24) addresses disability indirectly through provisions on equality and access to health/ education and directly references incapacity for work in social security (article 46(3)). However, the Draft Basic Law for the Protection, Promotion, and Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities is currently pending. Furthermore, Guinea-Bissau does not have an official body specifically tasked with combatting violations of the rights ofpersons with disabilities, but the National Commission for Human Rights and Citizenship (CNDHC) can indirectly address these issues. The difficulties and challenges related to the legal and institutional framework have been partly resolved with adoption of the National Strategy for the Inclusion of People with Disabilities (2023) and the National Strategic Plan for Inclusive Education (2023), and also by the creation and operationalisation of a department for the sector in the Ministry for Women, Family and Social Solidarity (MFMSS). In addition, Disabled People's Organisations (DPOs) are critical in advocacy and filling service gaps. The most urgent problems that need to be addressed progressively to ensure the inclusion of persons with disabilities include lack of awareness of the Convention and the National Disability Act, lack of an appropriate legal/judicial framework in accordance with the Convention; and lack ofpolitical will/interest/capacity.
Improving access to justice for the enforcement ofrights of children with disabilities remains arduous for the Nigerian Government. This constitutes a drawback to the actualisation of the purpose and objectives of the global international human rights standards on disability rights, to which Nigeria is a state party. Despite the enactment of the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, 2018, the inability of the country to effectuate the provisions of the law, has continued to widen the scale of rights abuses of children with disabilities. Children with disabilities continue to be pervasively abused and, in many instances, used as catalysts for the invocation of pity in alms begging. The increasing number of children with disabilities roaming the streets of major cities across Nigeria underscores the importance of this paper. At the hub of these implementation challenges are a lack of infrastructural, technological and manpower assistive devices to assist children with disabilities to wit: disability curb cuts, lifts, ramps, braille, screen readers, switch devices for accessibility to court rooms, police stations and otherjustice buildings; and a lack oftechnical and qualified expertise to handle disability cases. The aim of the research is to examine the barriers to access to justice for children with disabilities, in doing so, the work adopted a mix of doctrinal and empirical approaches to discussing these barriers faced by children with disabilities. The doctrinal approach reviewed the extant law on disability in Nigeria, whilst the empirical approach involved the distribution of online surveys and questionnaires to participants across the six geo-political zones in Nigeria to get their views on the way forward in addressing these challenges. Lastly, the work advocates for concerted collaborative efforts by key stakeholders through action plans, policy strategies, efficient institutional mechanisms, and effective monitoring and accountability for these implementation gaps to be effectively addressed.
There are an estimated240 million children worldwide with disabilities, with many in sub-Saharan African countries lacking access to education, healthcare, transportation, and public facilities. Nigeria, a signatory to the Convention on the Rights ofPersons with Disabilities (CRPD), signed the African Disability Protocol in October 2023. The CRPD and its Optional Protocol provide for equal rights for children with disabilities. The African Disability Protocol, in addition to the aforementioned, obliges states to respect and promote the rights of children with disabilities. Nigeria enacted the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act in 2019 to address barriers faced by persons with disabilities. The Disability Act provides free and inclusive education, accessible healthcare, and equal access to the physical built environment. Yet, children with disabilities still face barriers in accessing their rights on an equal basis with other children due to several challenges such as systematic exclusion and discrimination ofpersons and children with disabilities, lack of enforcement and political will to implement disability inclusive policies, funding etc. More so, not all states in Nigeria have adopted the Disability Act into their state's legislation, creating non-existence of disability rights in some states and lack of uniformity in the provisions of specific rights for children with disabilities in Nigeria. The foregoing underscores the need for further ways to entrench the rights of children with disabilities and ensure equal access of their rights. Accordingly, this paper examines the specific international, regional and national laws for the protection ofchildren with disabilities in Nigeria, particularly provisions on free and inclusive education, accessible healthcare, and equal access to the physical built environment. It highlights several challenges on the access to these rights ofchildren with disabilities in Nigeria. Finally, some proactive measures, chief among which is a constitutional rights-based approach through amending the Nigerian Constitution to specifically include the rights ofpersons and especially children with disabilities, are recommended to increase and entrench access to children with disabilities' rights on an equal footing with others.
The 2024 Population Census in Sao Tomeand Principe (STP) reports a total population of 209 607, with 48 per cent male and 52 per cent female. The census data, however, inadequately represents persons with disabilities, estimating a prevalence of 2-4 per cent, similar to the 2012 Census. While the 2024 Census focuses on visual, hearing, and motor disabilities, it lacks data on other disabilities, hindering a comprehensive understanding of the situation. Sao Tomeand Principe ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), but its practical implementation remains limited. While the CRPD automatically becomes part of the national legal system upon ratification, specific legislation and policies are needed to ensure its full application. The existing Basic Law for the Protection of People with Disabilities, enacted in 2012, needs to be updated to align with the CRPD's standards and obligations. A review of disability rights in STP reveals a lack ofprogress towards a human rights-based approach, ten years after ratifying the CRPD. Existing laws still favour substitution decision-making over supported decision-making forpersons with disabilities. Persons with disabilities face numerous challenges across various domains, including inadequate government support, and barriers to education, employment, and justice. A Disability Strategy is currently being drafted, and if approved, it will provide a useful framework for addressing these challenges. This process presents also an opportunity for broader legal reforms to ensure that other national laws align with the CRPD. STP's government has not designated a CRPD monitoring body (article 33), and the responsible ministry lacks capacity. While women and youth are represented in parliament, persons with disabilities are not, and disability rights are rarely addressed. The disability movement in STP is relatively small and nascent, with three dominant disabled people's organisations (DPOs), representing physical, visual and hearing disabilities. The umbrella DPO, Federacao das Associac & otilde;es de pessoas com Deficiencia de Sao Tomee Principe (FADSTP), was recently established. There is a need to invest in the expansion and diversification of the movement with a view to include emergent and marginalised groups and infuse youth leadership and ideas.
This paper offers a historical overview of the perception and treatment of persons with disabilities in Zambia, focusing on the pre-independence era. It begins with an examination of cultural understandings of disability prior to British colonisation and then explores how colonial rule influenced these perspectives. A significant finding is the enduring impact of colonial mental health legislation on mental healthcare and support for individuals with cognitive disabilities. By tracing disability narratives through this pivotal period, the paper provides insights into how socio-cultural attitudes have shaped the real-world experiences of persons with disabilities over time.
Global statistics indicate that 15 per cent of the world's population experience some form of physical, sensory, developmental, intellectual or psychosocial disability. Over 12 per cent of Uganda's population lives with some form of disability. Disability is an evolving concept that requires adequate attention if barriers, including access to maternal, sexual and reproductive health (MSRH) services, are to be overcome. The interface ofMSRH rights and disability rights highlights the intersectionality of discrimination in terms ofgender; SRH-as a discourse under the second generation of rights; and women with disabilities as a marginalised group. Hence, this paper positions disability rights as the individual right of a woman with disability requiring specific attention, and as a collective right that must be mainstreamed in all legal and policy frameworks. Although experiencing the same maternal healthcare needs as non-disabled women, women with disabilities face different challenges in both the seeking ofand the delivery ofMSRH services. Reproductive health laws and policies guiding MSRH planning and budgeting, have poorly acknowledged women with disabilities' voices and lived experience. Consequently, barriers continue to manifest themselves, not only in social attitudes but also in women with disabilities' priorities, environmental access to, and appropriately formatted information on MSRH services. This paper provides a critical analysis of existing laws and policies on MSRHR for women with disabilities. It identifies gaps and provides recommendations to promote inclusive MSRHR services for women with disabilities. It presents a qualitative study of literature on existing policies, frameworks, laws and reports, benchmarking them against global commitments and international human rights instruments. It is also enriched by in-depth interviews ofkey stakeholders in the central region of Uganda.
This paper investigates the often-neglected topic of disability-inclusive climate action, focusing on the recommendations from the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities for African countries. The author's analysis reveals a consistent emphasis by the Committee on climate change in its Concluding Observations, particularly in relation to adaptive capacity for climate-related disasters. Key recommendations typically encompass emergency and disaster risk reduction strategies, the provision of information in accessible formats, and the establishment of engagement channels with disability representative organisations. However, the Committee's climate change discussions fail to adequately address the unique attributes of the African region and its individual countries, leaving several crucial issues unresolved. These issues encompass the need for improved international cooperation and a focus on disability sub-groups with climate-related concerns. The paper advocates for the Committee to intensify its efforts to address disability-inclusive responses to climate change, including general recommendations for the inclusion and recognition of the diversity of persons with disabilities and a strategy for international collaboration on climate change.
