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Assisted dying legislation puts equality for people with disabilities at risk Guest author CATHERINE FRAZEE “Opinions expressed are her own”

Posted on February 20, 2021 by admin01

Speaking to Disability sausage Maker:

Bill C-7 will amend our current medical assistance in dying (MAID) law by creating a separate pathway to assisted death for persons who are not dying and may have decades still to live, provided such persons have some form of disabling medical condition.
The bill will guarantee their choice for medically-assisted dying when suffering is intolerable, to forfeit whatever years of life remain, and to recruit a willing Canadian physician to cause their death.
As someone who has lived for 67 years with a degenerative medical condition, I am alarmed at how easily, when we are not paying close attention, a human-rights norm can be toppled.
Bill C-7 begs the question: Why us?
Why only us?
Why make medically-assisted dying easier only for people whose bodies are altered or painful or in decline? Why not everyone who lives outside the margins of a decent life, everyone who resorts to an overdose, a high bridge, a shotgun carried out to the woods? Why not everyone who decides that their quality of life is in the ditch?
Surely, loudly and clearly, the answer rises up in each of our throats. That’s not who we are. We dial 911, we pull you back from the ledge and, yes, we restrain you in your moment of crisis, autonomy be damned. We will get to the heart of the problem that drove you out into the woods and we will beckon you back toward a life that is bearable.
Unless, of course, your suffering is medical or disability related. Then, and only then, there will be a special pathway to assisted death. Death on demand, essentially. Universality is the bedrock of our health care commitments. Why then does Bill C-7 depart so radically, dropping the threshold for MAID for one social group already known to bear the risk of suicide at rates well in excess of the non-disabled population, but not for others who suffer and die before their time?
What is it about disability that makes this okay?
And why such breathless confidence that Bill C-7 will bring no harm to disability communities? Honestly, I do not know. But as we marshal our evidence for the legal challenges that will follow if this bill is passed, this is what we hear in reply.
Some say that the suffering of a disabling medical condition is unlike other suffering, somehow more cruel than the overwhelming pain of any healthy, non-disabled person who turns to a premature death by suicide. But there is no evidence to support this ableist stereotype.
Some say that the suffering of disability defies all hope, as it did, they claim, for Jean Truchon, a man with cerebral palsy whose case before a Quebec lower court paved the way for Bill C-7. But the deprivations of institutional life that choked out his will to live were not an inevitable consequence of disability. Nor were the pandemic restrictions that curtailed all time with loved ones in the weeks prior to his final decision to die.
Did we learn nothing from Archie Rolland’s harrowing struggle, and his final cri de coeur, before assisted death: “It’s not the ALS that’s killing me.” Have we not heard the clear-eyed analysis of Scott Jones, who struggles with suicide every day, not because of paraplegia, but because “society disables me, isolates me and cages me in.”
Some say that the suffering of disabling conditions falls strictly in the domain of medicine. But the agonizing quest of Sean Tagert, who died by MAID last August, teaches us otherwise. Mr. Tagert fought to the bitter end against the threat of transfer to an institution four hours away from the home where he cared for his 11-year-old son. He called the bureaucratic denials of needed home care a “death sentence,” just days before his assisted death.
Some fall back on the mantra of choice. They say that not everyone wants to “live that way.” But not everyone wants to live with the indignities of poverty either. No one wants to live under threat of racial or gendered or colonial violence. No one wants to live hungry, incarcerated, abject or alone.
Will our lawmakers carve out other shortcuts to assisted death for those who do live in such conditions or will you rise to the defence of human rights?
Of course you will rise to the defence of human rights.
Now, I respectfully urge that you do the same for persons with disabilities, for with Bill C-7, our equality is – right now – on the line.
We shall get her on disability sausage YouTube channel soon.

Posted in Accessibility, Attitudinal Barrier, Building Partnerships, Communication Barrier, Disability Advocacy, Disability Inclusion, Disability issues, institutional Barrier, Travels, Uncategorized | Tagged • Financing for Development • Social Development • Statistics • Economic Analysis and Policy • Forests, • institutional Barrier, • Population, • Public Administration, • Sustainable Development, Ableism is trashss, Ableism New age for visually impaired, Ableism Radio citizen @LeonardCheshire, Abuja declaration, access to services, accessibility, Accessibility Attitudinal Barrier Building Partnerships Communication Barrier Disability Inclusion Disability issues, Accountability to the affected population, advocacy, and culture. MTBbtbinistry of health, Assistive technology, assumptions, Autonomy, Big four agenda, blind, braille, Braille authority, capacity building, Communication, Communication authority Advocacy Inclusion, Concentration difficulties, Consortium of disabled persons organizations, Corona virus, Coronavirus, Covid-2019 Ableism, Data collection, Depression, Development and advocacy, disability mainstreaming, Disability persons organizations, Disaster risk management, Diversity & Inclusion Exploring disability practices, Diversity and inclusion Chronic illness, Durable Medical Equipment, Empowerment, equal rights, Evolution, gender equality gender equity, health care rationing, Health policy, Hearing difficulties, hot96, Hot96 Radio Maisha, human rights, Humanitarian crises, ILO, inclusion, infantilizing, Innovation to Inclusion, Intergovernmental Coordination, kbc channel 1, Kenya association of manufacturers, Kenya bureau of statistics, Kenya institute of the Blind, Kenya union of the blind, Law society of Kenya, making choices, Medical care, Medical industrial complex, Medical Interventions, Mental illness, milele fm, Ministry of education, ministry of labour and social services, Ministry of public service, Ministry of transport, Ministry of treasury, National council for population, National employment authority., National hospital insurance fund, NCPWD, Non-discrimination, Nonvisual access, NTVKENY, ntvkenya, Open society institute, pandemic, people daily, persons with disabilities, Persons with disability act 2003, Physical Barrier, policy, Politics, Public hospitals, public policy, Public service, Public service commission, Radio citizen, radio jambo, Reasonable accommodation, Removal and identification of barriers, Respect and dignity, Seeing difficulties, Self-care difficulties Indigenous, Sighted world, Social exclusion, social protection, Spice fm, standardmedia, Sustainable development goals, switch tv, Switch tv Discrimination, Systemic ableism, Twin track approach Must do action, UNICEF, Ventilation, Ventilators Emergency response, Water access, World Health Organization, World report ADAPTIV TECHNOLOGY

Why bread crumbs are not enough for the disability sector! Can we have the cake too? Author Mugambi Paul “Opinions expressed are my own”

Posted on February 20, 2021 by admin01

The moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and persons with disabilities.
Depending who you might ask you will get a unique response.
Most importantly a decade ago in a music track “never, never give up”
I jotted some lyrics
“society inakuwa judged na vile inatreat the minority “check out the track here and be the judge.

in other words, changes for any particular course will never take place if you just live with normalcy.
Do not fear to ask pertinent issues.
Be the change that you may want generations to generations to have a legacy.
Sometimes it’s a painful process but mint to make you strong and be the diamond that abstains pressure.
Do you sometimes feel all alone in the world? Like you’ve been forsaken by the same persons whom you had the same expectation, vision or even to be in the journey?

In the disability sector of many low-income countries, we have lost heroes and heroines on the journey.
Rest in peace Rachael Gachache, geocache, Robert, Karanja, babra, and those who have gone to the table of judgement.
Never the less, those who have abandoned the revelation will be punished heavily.
Key lessons learnt:
When you have been invited in the table do not forget those who you left behind.
We can’t be on the table at the same time. But this is not to say you can’t spread a helping hand to the largest minority.

Most importantly, a person with disability one is forced by the society to perform more than four times than the persons who is yet to be disabled.
If you may not perform your goose is cooked.
On the other hand, persons with disabilities will also have higher expectations of you and believe you will open greater doors for them.
The new sharif in the disability sector is here with us.
All eyes, ears, legs and mind are now on the new sharif in town.
Will the services targeting the majority persons with disabilties be easily, effective and accessible in a timely manner?
For instance, acquiring the disability card, exemption certificate etc.
As a public policy scholar, I opine execution of regulations,
policies and legislation will require a consultative effort and all stakeholders should maximize and ensure they play their roles.
As stipulated in the UNCRPD, PWD act 2003 for the sharif in town to succeed he will need to ensure greater engagement and participation of persons with disabilities and the organizations of persons with disabilities.
The message to the sharif “you hold the disability lock and there are many keys to open the gate “let it not be business as usual.

Secondly, for organizations of persons with disabilities you have to live with the promise of ensuring accountability and transparency of the duty bearers and ensuring unity of purpose.
A day will come when 5 % of appointments by government will be automatic and many of persons with disabilities will get a fair chance to show their abilities.
All what we need is actualization of affirmative action for social justice to be achieved.
Many have qualified but those we sent to represent us have eaten the fish and the rod. The disability movement should stop celebrating the bread crumb of 2013 we are in 2021 where disability has become a cross cutting agenda.
Fortunately, the opening up of mainstream and social media has greatly enhanced the vital voices of persons with disabilities.
This is not like during our days when we were being chased away another story of another day.
So, when the current crop of persons with disabilities appears easily in the media know that sacrifices were made.
What can be done?
With the robust increase of the disability public spaces more strategic advocacy and advisory efforts should be put in place. There is nothing wrong by the civil societies, national gender commission, the 2 umbrella organizations call on the government to ensure representation counts!

For example, it’s on record in the recent appointments by president Uhuru no single person with a disability has been appointed as the cabinet administrative secretary!
What is the message the disability sector is sending by the deep silence?
Do you mean we are not visible enough?
When is the next press conference on this?
As an inclusive communication specialist and owner of disability sausage YouTube channel we haven’t received any invite!
For this and much more soon to be aired in your houses,
You can join as we interrogate what works and why it’s not working.
will prepare to join the chewing of disability sausage in your favorite TV channel.

The views expressed here are for the author and do not represent any agency or organization.
Mugambi Paul is a public policy, diversity, inclusion and sustainability expert.
Australian Chief Minister Award winner
“excellence of making inclusion happen”

Posted in Accessibility, Attitudinal Barrier, Building Partnerships, Communication Barrier, Disability Advocacy, Disability issues, institutional Barrier, Travels, Uncategorized | Tagged • Financing for Development • Social Development • Statistics • Economic Analysis and Policy • Forests, • institutional Barrier, • Population, • Public Administration, • Sustainable Development, Ableism is trashss, Ableism New age for visually impaired, Ableism Radio citizen @LeonardCheshire, Abuja declaration, access to services, accessibility, Accessibility Attitudinal Barrier Building Partnerships Communication Barrier Disability Inclusion Disability issues, Accountability to the affected population, advocacy, and culture. MTBbtbinistry of health, Assistive technology, assumptions, Autonomy, Big four agenda, blind, braille, Braille authority, capacity building, Communication, Communication authority Advocacy Inclusion, Concentration difficulties, Consortium of disabled persons organizations, Corona virus, Coronavirus, Covid-2019 Ableism, Data collection, Depression, Development and advocacy, disability mainstreaming, Disability persons organizations, Disaster risk management, Diversity & Inclusion Exploring disability practices, Diversity and inclusion Chronic illness, Durable Medical Equipment, Empowerment, equal rights, Evolution, gender equality gender equity, health care rationing, Health policy, Hearing difficulties, hot96, Hot96 Radio Maisha, human rights, Humanitarian crises, ILO, inclusion, infantilizing, Innovation to Inclusion, Intergovernmental Coordination, kbc channel 1, Kenya association of manufacturers, Kenya bureau of statistics, Kenya institute of the Blind, Kenya union of the blind, Law society of Kenya, making choices, Medical care, Medical industrial complex, Medical Interventions, Mental illness, milele fm, Ministry of education, ministry of labour and social services, Ministry of public service, Ministry of transport, Ministry of treasury, National council for population, National employment authority., National hospital insurance fund, NCPWD, Non-discrimination, Nonvisual access, NTVKENY, ntvkenya, Open society institute, pandemic, people daily, persons with disabilities, Persons with disability act 2003, Physical Barrier, policy, Politics, Public hospitals, public policy, Public service, Public service commission, Radio citizen, radio jambo, Reasonable accommodation, Removal and identification of barriers, Respect and dignity, Seeing difficulties, Self-care difficulties Indigenous, Sighted world, Social exclusion, social protection, Spice fm, standardmedia, Sustainable development goals, switch tv, Switch tv Discrimination, Systemic ableism, Twin track approach Must do action, UNICEF, Ventilation, Ventilators Emergency response, Water access, World Health Organization, World report ADAPTIV TECHNOLOGY

38 Interesting & frightening predictions for the future.

Posted on February 16, 2021 by admin01

1 — Auto repair shops will disappear.

2 — A petrol/diesel engine has 20,000 individual parts… An electrical motor has 20… Electric cars are sold with lifetime guarantees and are repaired
only by dealers… It takes only 10 minutes to remove and replace an electric motor…

3 — Faulty electric motors are NOT repaired in the dealership but are sent to a regional repair shop that repairs them with ROBOTS…

4 — Your electric motor malfunction light goes on … so you drive up to what looks like a car wash, and your car is towed through while you have a cup
of coffee… Then your car comes out on the other side with a new electric motor or component…

5 — Petrol stations will go away…

6 — Street corners will have meters that dispense electricity… Companies will install electrical recharging stations … in fact, they’ve already started
in the developed world…

7 — Smart major auto manufacturers have already designated money to start building new plants that build ONLY electric cars.

8 — The “Coal Industries” will go away… Petrol/oil companies will go away… Drilling for oil will stop… So, say goodbye to OPEC… The Middle East
is in trouble…

9 — Homes will produce and store more electrical energy during the day than they use… It will be sold back to “The Grid”… The Grid will store and dispense
it, to the industries that are high electricity users. Has anybody seen the Tesla roof??

Tesla’s Solar Roof vs. Traditional Solar Technology

10 — A baby of today will only see “personal cars” in museums. The FUTURE is approaching faster than most of us can even handle…

11 — In 1998, Kodak had 170,000 employees and sold 85% of all photo paper worldwide… Within just a few years, their business model disappeared and they
went bankrupt… Who would have thought of that ever happening??

12 — What happened to Kodak and Polaroid will happen in a lot of industries in the next 5–10 years … and most people don’t even see it coming…

13 — Did you think in 1998 that 3 years later, you would never take pictures on film again? With today’s smartphones, who even has a camera these days??

14 — Yet digital cameras were invented in 1975… The first ones only had 10,000 pixels but followed Moore’s law… As with all exponential technologies,
it was a disappointment in the beginning … before it became superior and mainstream in only a few short years…

15 — It will now happen again (but much faster) with Artificial Intelligence (AI), health, autonomous and electric cars, education, 3D printing, agriculture
and jobs…

16 — Forget the book, “Future Shock,” welcome to the 4th Industrial Revolution…

17 — Software has disrupted and will continue to disrupt most traditional industries … (in the next 5 to 10 years…

18 — UBER is just a software tool (they don’t own any cars), and are now the biggest taxi company in the world… (Ask any taxi driver if they saw that
coming…

19 — AIR- BnB is now the biggest hotel company in the world .. (they don’t own any properties)… Ask Hilton Hotels or the Marriott if they saw that coming…

20 — Artificial Intelligence (AI): Computers become exponentially better in understanding the world… This year, a computer beat the best Go-player in
the world … (10 years earlier than expected) …

21 — In the USA, young lawyers already don’t get jobs (because of IBM’s WATSON) … you can get legal advice within a few seconds for the basic stuff …
with 90% accuracy compared with 70% accuracy when done by humans. So, if you’re studying law, THINK AGAIN… There will be 90% fewer lawyers in the future,
what a thought and only omniscient specialists will remain.

Watson is a question-answering computer system capable of answering questions posed in natural language, based on cognitive computing, developed in IBM’s
DeepQ.

22 — WATSON already helps nurses diagnosing cancer … it’s 4 times more accurate and many times faster than human nurses…

23 — Facebook now has a ‘face recognition’ software that can recognize faces better than humans… In 2030, computers will become more intelligent than
humans…

24 — Autonomous cars: In 2018 the first self-driving cars were already here… In the next few years, the entire auto industry will start to be disrupted…
You won’t want to own a car any more as you will call a car with your phone, it will show up at your location and drive you to your destination…

25 — You will not need to park it; you will pay only for the ‘driven distance’ and you can be productive while driving. The very young children of today
will never get a driver’s licence and they will never own a car.

26 — This will change our cities because we will need 90% to 95% fewer cars… We can transform former parking spaces into green city parks…

27 — About 1.2 million people die each year in car accidents (worldwide). That includes distracted or drunk drivers… We currently have one accident every
60,000 miles driven… However, with autonomous driving that will drop to 1 accident in about 6 million miles… That will save a million plus lives, worldwide
each year…

28 — Most traditional car companies will doubtless become bankrupt… They will try the evolutionary approach and just build a better car … while tech
companies (Tesla, Apple, Google) will do the revolutionary approach and build a computer on wheels…

29 — Look at what Volvo is doing right now … no more internal combustion engines in their vehicles starting this year with the 2020 models… They are
using all-electric or hybrid only (with the intent of phasing out hybrid models in the not-too-distant future) …

30 — Many engineers from Volkswagen and Audi are completely terrified of Tesla… Look at all the companies offering all-electric vehicles… That was
unheard of, only a few years ago…

31 — Insurance companies will have massive trouble too … because, without accidents, the costs of insurance will become cheaper… Their car insurance
business model will disappear…

32 — Real estate will change… Because if you can work while you commute, or you can work from your home … people will abandon their towers to move
far away to more beautiful and affordable properties.

33 — Electric cars will become mainstream by about 2030… Cities will be less noisy because all new cars will run ONLY on electricity…

34 — Cities will have much cleaner air…

35 — Electricity will become incredibly cheap and clean, eventually free.

36 — Solar production has been on an exponential curve for 30 years … but you can now see the burgeoning impact … and it’s just starting to get ramped
up…

37 — Fossil energy companies are desperately trying to limit access to the grid … to prevent competition from home solar installations … but that simply
cannot continue… Technology will take care of that strategy in the not-too-distant future…

38 — Health: The Tricorder X price will be announced this year… There are companies who will build a medical device called the “Tricorder” from Star
Trek that works with your phone, which takes your retina scan, a sample of your blood, then you breathe into it… It then analyzes 54 biomarkers that
will identify nearly any disease. There are dozens of phone apps out there right now for health…

WELCOME TO TOMORROW — To think, I used to complain about my parents and grandparents being “out of it.”

Posted in Accessibility, Attitudinal Barrier, Building Partnerships, Communication Barrier, Disability Advocacy, Disability Inclusion, Disability issues, institutional Barrier, Uncategorized | Tagged • Financing for Development • Social Development • Statistics • Economic Analysis and Policy • Forests, • institutional Barrier, • Population, • Public Administration, • Sustainable Development, Ableism is trashss, Ableism New age for visually impaired, Ableism Radio citizen @LeonardCheshire, Abuja declaration, access to services, accessibility, Accessibility Attitudinal Barrier Building Partnerships Communication Barrier Disability Inclusion Disability issues, Accountability to the affected population, advocacy, and culture. MTBbtbinistry of health, Assistive technology, assumptions, Autonomy, Big four agenda, blind, braille, Braille authority, capacity building, Communication, Communication authority Advocacy Inclusion, Concentration difficulties, Consortium of disabled persons organizations, Corona virus, Coronavirus, Covid-2019 Ableism, Data collection, Depression, Development and advocacy, disability mainstreaming, Disability persons organizations, Disaster risk management, Diversity & Inclusion Exploring disability practices, Diversity and inclusion Chronic illness, Durable Medical Equipment, Empowerment, equal rights, Evolution, gender equality gender equity, health care rationing, Health policy, Hearing difficulties, hot96, Hot96 Radio Maisha, human rights, Humanitarian crises, ILO, inclusion, infantilizing, Innovation to Inclusion, Intergovernmental Coordination, kbc channel 1, Kenya association of manufacturers, Kenya bureau of statistics, Kenya institute of the Blind, Kenya union of the blind, Law society of Kenya, making choices, Medical care, Medical industrial complex, Medical Interventions, Mental illness, milele fm, Ministry of education, ministry of labour and social services, Ministry of public service, Ministry of transport, Ministry of treasury, National council for population, National employment authority., National hospital insurance fund, NCPWD, Non-discrimination, Nonvisual access, NTVKENY, ntvkenya, Open society institute, pandemic, people daily, persons with disabilities, Persons with disability act 2003, Physical Barrier, policy, Politics, Public hospitals, public policy, Public service, Public service commission, Radio citizen, radio jambo, Reasonable accommodation, Removal and identification of barriers, Respect and dignity, Seeing difficulties, Self-care difficulties Indigenous, Sighted world, Social exclusion, social protection, Spice fm, standardmedia, Sustainable development goals, switch tv, Switch tv Discrimination, Systemic ableism, Twin track approach Must do action, UNICEF, Ventilation, Ventilators Emergency response, Water access, World Health Organization, World report ADAPTIV TECHNOLOGY

landmark judgment gives hope for lawyers with disabilities Author Mugambi Paul “Opinions expressed are my own”

Aside

NEW DELHI: In a landmark judgment to enable persons with disabilities live with
dignity and compete with others on equal footing, the Supreme Court on February 11 2021 ruled that a person’s blindness or physical disabilities is
no disqualification for appointment as Judge. In the process, a bench
of Justices ices D Y Chandrachud,Indira Banerjee and Sanjiv Khanna
overruled a two-Judge SC bench ruling of 2019 upholding a ceiling of
40-50% visual/hearing impairment as the benchmark for a person’s
appointment as a civil judge (junior division) in Tamil Nadu and said
persons with physical disability must be given all possible
assistance, technological as also a scribe, for taking examination to
compete with a real sense of equality.
The court took exception to common societal reference to persons with
disabilities as ‘mentally ill’ or ‘divyangjan’ and said, “Our
discourse must be couched in terms that reflect the recognition of a
human rights model to viewing disability. Insensitive language offends
the human dignity of persons with disabilities.”
Referring to a UN Committee report on rights of disabled persons, the
bench said, “In its concluding observations on India, the Committee
notes with concern references to ‘normal life’ as opposed to the
lives of persons with disabilities and derogatory terminology such as
‘mentally ill’ and divyangjan’, which as it notes, remains
controversial. It is our earnest hope that the paradigm-shifting
conversation about the rights and status of the disabled, that the
Committee has generated, will find a resonance in the language we use
to refer to them.
This is a great debate we shall be having on disability sausage YouTube channel as we navigate the barriers persons with disabilities face in the bench.

The views expressed here are for the author and do not represent any agency or organization.
Mugambi Paul is a public policy, diversity, inclusion and sustainability expert.
Australian Chief Minister Award winner
“excellence of making inclusion happen”

Posted on February 16, 2021 by admin01

Inclusion in the Context of Human Experience Authors Mugambi Paul and Anderson Nyaga “Opinions expressed are our own”

Posted on February 14, 2021 by admin01

We shall be seeking to answer the question on Inclusion in the context of human experience as to why despite there being accessible environments, people with disabilities’
presence is still not felt in such environments.

These environments may be learning institutions, places of work, recreation facilities, entertainment joints and other social spaces like places of worship.

Even with the equipment of these places for accessibility by persons with disabilities, something still keeps them away. This something, or lack of it
thereof, is what we are referring to as inclusion in the context of human experience.

Why persons with disabilities Feel Unwelcome in Such Places

It has something to do with the preparedness and willingness of the operators and persons who are yet to be disabled customers of such places to create a human environment that
is welcoming to the persons with disabilities.

Besides physical accessibility, these places need to be equipped with an environment where persons with disabilities feel like regular customers.

It’s not just enough to put ramps and other facilities, extensive training and education are required to eliminate what persons with disabilities feel as turn-away
to gracing such places.

What Turns Away persons with disabilities in Such Places?

In schools, for instance, kids with disabilities should not be segregated in special rooms, you know with special teachers and stuff. These kids, in their hearts
and minds long to be with other kids.

Their segregated facilities might look like a very good idea but they are not good for the social development of these kids.
On the other hand, we are not surprised when persons without disabilities surround a blind person reading the braille bible,
Imagine if this was normalized at all times?
In other words, change of the mindset is crusual in eliminating the barriers of inclusion.

Kid’s social development is very essential to their psychological well-being, which prepares them to survive the ableist society later in life.

Human Experience Inclusion in Learning Institutions

How about classes equipped with good lighting, wide learning spaces, wide doors, provision of alternative formats, personal support for instance sign language interpreters’ personal guides, teachers, support person for children with intellectual impairment, and extra after-class tuition and care for slow learners?

Instead of special vans to cater for transport allowance for children with disabilities how about the installation of requisite facilities on the buses which transports other
kids.

This will give the kids with disabilities an opportunity to grow and interact with kids who are yet to be disabled, making it easy for them to navigate the ableist society when they are growing up.

Training kids without disabilties on how to Interact with Kids with disabilities

Kids without disabilities should also be extensively educated on the best way to treat and mingle with kids with disabilities instead of keeping them in solitary confinements.
Most of the adults with disabilties especially in low-income countries when they join higher institutions of learning take time to acclimatize to the new world where institutionalization has been taken away.
We therefore need to enhance inclusion at all levels and reduce special needs institutions which have continuously made persons with disabilities less competitive and less sociable.

Inclusion in the context of human experience in schools will provide kids with disabilities with comfortable environments where they can enjoy a complete society
interaction.

It should be understood that after school, there won’t be any specials, it’s just the society. There won’t be any special spaces in churches, mosques,
restaurants, beaches, workplaces, etc.

Kids with disabilities, therefore, need to be prepared early for the non-special society to enjoy the full human experience of life.

Human Experience Inclusion at Places of Work

At workplaces, it’s not enough to provide the physical infrastructure like ramps and adaptive tools like computers.

The management and employees require to be sensitized on the human value of appreciating and making the disabled employees comfortable, appreciated and
welcome.

They need to be educated on what to say and not to say to them, what do and not to do to them. They should be educated on their needs and the special assistance
they need.

This sensitization and education should be replicated in all other places of social interactions including places of worship, public transport and recreation
facilities.

Human Experience Inclusion in Places of Worship

Leaders of places of worship should be well educated to understand that disability is not sickness.

A person with a disability might shy away from a place of worship where the leaders will ask them to step forward for special healing prayers.

They will also shy away from places of worship where worshippers will turn to stare at them as they walk, wheel, crutch or white cane in
.
Human Experience Inclusion in Entertainment Joints

A person with a disability will shy away from entertainment joints where they are likely to draw unwarranted attention from regular revelers.

Where the waiters will ignore them assuming that the disabled do not take alcohol, or mistaking them for beggars.

Full Achievement of Inclusion in the Context of Human Experience

Inclusion in the context of human experience will be said to have been achieved fully when persons with disabilities are guaranteed equal treatment and attitudes as
the persons without disabilities in all spaces of human interaction.

Let us all put our efforts towards the total achievement of inclusion in the context of human experience.
Join us as we discuss on the disability sausage YouTube channel.

The views expressed here are for the authors and do not represent any agency or organization.
Anderson Nyaga
Is a Telecom ICT Support, author and a social businessman,

Mugambi Paul is a public policy, diversity, inclusion and sustainability expert.
Australian Chief Minister Award winner
“excellence of making inclusion happen”

Posted in Accessibility, Attitudinal Barrier, Communication Barrier, Disability Advocacy, Disability Inclusion, Disability issues, institutional Barrier, Uncategorized | Tagged • Financing for Development • Social Development • Statistics • Economic Analysis and Policy • Forests, • institutional Barrier, • Population, • Public Administration, • Sustainable Development, Ableism is trashss, Ableism New age for visually impaired, Ableism Radio citizen @LeonardCheshire, Abuja declaration, access to services, accessibility, Accessibility Attitudinal Barrier Building Partnerships Communication Barrier Disability Inclusion Disability issues, Accountability to the affected population, advocacy, and culture. MTBbtbinistry of health, Assistive technology, assumptions, Autonomy, Big four agenda, blind, braille, Braille authority, capacity building, Communication, Communication authority Advocacy Inclusion, Concentration difficulties, Consortium of disabled persons organizations, Corona virus, Coronavirus, Covid-2019 Ableism, Data collection, Depression, Development and advocacy, disability mainstreaming, Disability persons organizations, Disaster risk management, Diversity & Inclusion Exploring disability practices, Diversity and inclusion Chronic illness, Durable Medical Equipment, Empowerment, equal rights, Evolution, gender equality gender equity, health care rationing, Health policy, Hearing difficulties, hot96, Hot96 Radio Maisha, human rights, Humanitarian crises, ILO, inclusion, infantilizing, Innovation to Inclusion, Intergovernmental Coordination, kbc channel 1, Kenya association of manufacturers, Kenya bureau of statistics, Kenya institute of the Blind, Kenya union of the blind, Law society of Kenya, making choices, Medical care, Medical industrial complex, Medical Interventions, Mental illness, milele fm, Ministry of education, ministry of labour and social services, Ministry of public service, Ministry of transport, Ministry of treasury, National council for population, National employment authority., National hospital insurance fund, NCPWD, Non-discrimination, Nonvisual access, NTVKENY, ntvkenya, Open society institute, pandemic, people daily, persons with disabilities, Persons with disability act 2003, Physical Barrier, policy, Politics, Public hospitals, public policy, Public service, Public service commission, Radio citizen, radio jambo, Reasonable accommodation, Removal and identification of barriers, Respect and dignity, Seeing difficulties, Self-care difficulties Indigenous, Sighted world, Social exclusion, social protection, Spice fm, standardmedia, Sustainable development goals, switch tv, Switch tv Discrimination, Systemic ableism, Twin track approach Must do action, UNICEF, Ventilation, Ventilators Emergency response, Water access, World Health Organization, World report ADAPTIV TECHNOLOGY

Tips for COVID-19 stakeholders in the disability arena! Author Mugambi Paul “Opinions expressed are my own”Tips for COVID-19 stakeholders in the disability arena! Author Mugambi Paul “Opinions expressed are my own”

Posted on February 14, 2021 by admin01

The COVID-19 pandemic has created new challenges and exacerbated existing barriers to political, social, economic and cultural participation for many persons with disabilities. The compounded health risks
and government-imposed restrictions heighten existing inequalities that marginalized communities face, making it critical to advocate for their concerns
and inclusion in decision-making processes. In many low-income countries, the stakeholders in the political arena local partners, the organizations of persons with disabilities
and self-advocates with disabilties can work to ensure that the priorities and rights of women, men, with disabilities
and young people are included in the government’s response to the pandemic and to spread awareness of health and safety measures in their communities and
on social media.

One of the best practices is seeing, initiatives o insisted publicist in matters Corona. Though these efforts are compounded by low resource and the usual lack of engagement. It’s a step in the right direction. For example, some workshops have been organized with panelists from the health, education and economics sectors to support the development of their COVID-19 recommendations.

Calling on the global south governments to promote inclusivity, accessibility and engagement in its pandemic response, both OPDS and government should organize webinars and
virtual discussions with program stakeholders to develop their own recommendations for the country’s response to COVID-19. NDWA’s
Recommendations for an Inclusive, Accessible COVID-19 Response,
which advocates for accessible formatting of public information on COVID-19 and the inclusion of women and men with disabilities in disaster risk management committees,

as a public scholar I opine to ensure the needs of women and men with disabilities are met and their rights protected, we need to continuously engage, support and advocate with elected representatives
and government agencies for an inclusive COVID-19 response.
Join me on the disability sausage YouTube channel

The views expressed here are for the author and do not represent any agency or organization.
Mugambi Paul is a public policy, diversity, inclusion and sustainability expert.
Australian Chief Minister Award winner
“excellence of making inclusion happen”

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How to train your brain to cope with stress Guest author Laurel Mellin, “Opinions expressed are her own”

Posted on February 8, 2021 by admin01

Let’s face it: We’re all under stress right now. The uncertainty and constant health threats surrounding the coronavirus pandemic have upended our lives.
We may need two vaccines: one to protect us from the coronavirus and another from the toxic effects of too much stress. Could we train our brains to prevent this stress from becoming lodged in our brains, so we can bounce back faster from stress – and even collect a kernel of wisdom from the experience?
Perhaps. Neuroscience research points to the stress-reactive circuits in the emotional brain as a trigger of toxic stress. These circuits are made of neurons that can guide us to respond ineffectively to stress. Once triggered, they unleash a cascade of stress chemicals. Instead of the brain orchestrating a symphony of effective self-regulatory processes and moderation, we have a garage band of dysregulation and extremes, which can cause chronic stress and rising rates of emotional, behavioural, social and physical health problems.
As a health psychology professor, I work on emotional brain training to help people deactivate and rewire the circuits that cause this stress overload.
A new crisis in emotional health
Scientists have been exploring these issues for over a century. Some 100 years ago, the psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud speculated that pathways in the brain caused emotional and behavioural problems. Tom Insel, as director of the National Institutes for Mental Health from 2002 to 2015, called for revolutionising psychiatry with neuroscience to focus on faulty circuits. The White House BRAIN initiative, launched in 2013, has been busily mapping the brain’s billions of neurons and their connections to improve understanding of and treatments for a number of disorders.
Then came COVID-19. With a crisis in emotional health upon us, people can benefit from learning to take charge of these stress-reactive circuits and switch off the toxic stress chemical cascade they activate.
Understanding the emotional brain
Most of us aren’t aware that the neural circuits in our emotional brain – the limbic system and subconscious memory systems in what’s sometimes referred to as the “reptilian brain” – are the major controllers of our emotional responses in daily life.
When a stimulus arrives in the brain, it activates either stress-resilient circuits, the internal calmers and healers, or stress-reactive circuits, the rabble-rousers that spiral us down into toxic stress.
The brain activates the strongest circuit, which then controls our responses. If it triggers a reactive circuit, that unleashes strong emotions that are challenging to process, especially since stress compromises the functioning of the part of our brains responsible for higher-level thinking and planning. The brain struggles to untangle those stuck emotions, and we become stressed out.
It gets worse. The longer these stress-reactive wires are activated, the more likely they are to activate other stress-reactive wires. One circuit can trigger another and another, which can cause an emotional meltdown of anxiety, numbness, depression and hostility which can overwhelm us for hours or days.
These problematic stress-reactive circuits are encoded during adverse childhood experiences, and later experiences of stress overload. The social isolation from sheltering in place and financial and health uncertainty has strengthened these faulty wires, turning the pandemic crisis into a virtual incubator for making our brains even more reactive and setting us up for a crisis in emotional health.
How to retrain the stressed brain
The stress wires in the emotional brain change through experience-dependent neuroplasticity – the brain learns to be resilient by being resilient. It takes becoming stressed, then using emotional techniques to discover and change the unreasonable expectations and unwanted drives stored in that circuit.
Here’s one technique: First, briefly complain about what’s bothering you. For example: “I can’t stop beating myself up for all the things I have done wrong.” This activates the reactive wire that has encoded a faulty response and makes rewiring possible.
Then, rapidly express emotions. Start with a burst of anger, which decreases stress and keeps the stressed “thinking brain” from becoming stuck in ruminating, zoning out or overanalysing. Notice that you can then stay present to your strong, stress-fuelled negative emotions, which will then flow rapidly. You can talk yourself through them by finishing phrases like “I feel sad that …”; “I feel afraid that …”; or “I feel guilty that …”
That simple emotional release can ease your stress, and the previously unconscious unreasonable expectation encoded in the circuit will appear in your conscious mind. With the wire unlocked, you can then change the expectation into a reasonable one. For example, change “I get my safety from being hard on myself” to “I get my safety from being kind to myself.” The unwanted drive that amplifies your stress fades.
In small but important steps to release stress day by day, you train your brain for resilience.
Stress resilience as a social responsibility
Research has shown that emotions transmitted during social dialogue can eventually become large-scale group emotions. We can spread stress to others, and much like secondhand smoke, secondhand stress is becoming a concern.
I’ve been surprised in my clinical practice at how quickly individuals link stress with social responsibility. One technology company executive said, “Switching off my stress is good for me, keeps me from triggering stress in my family, and it’s something I do for our country. We are a stressed nation, and I want to be part of the solution.”
Stress resilience as a foundation for health
Even though stress overload is a root cause of many health problems, the current model of treating the symptoms of stress rather than rewiring the brain’s stress response is not sustainable.
At some point, health care’s addiction to using medications and procedures to treat the health problems caused by stress will require detox. A new emphasis on training the emotional brain for resiliency may emerge.
If we could reboot our brains for the high-stress times in which we live, just about every aspect of life would improve. Resiliency could provide a needed internal health safety net. The views expressed here are for the author and do not represent any agency or organization.

Laurel Mellin,
Associate Professor Emeritus of Family & Community Medicine and Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco.

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The battle of discrimination is still on: Author Mugambi Paul : “Opinions expressed are my own”

Posted on February 8, 2021 by admin01

Historically, it seems discrimination is a rampant initiation of battles. With the advent of COVID-19 it has rapidly increased.

For instance, those with disabilities who have not dared square the trenches might not know what it means not to be understood, not to acquire information, people looking at you strangely and others making decision on your own behalf.
Most importantly, enablers of institution barriers have cropped up and there is slowness in the execution but this is a race without a finish.
In other words, inclusion cannot be realized within a day. When you have a child without disability, you feel reasonably assured that class participation and decent study habits will result in good grades. These kids have
close friends. They get invited to participate in social things like dances and weekend gatherings. They make the teams, auditioned organizations and clubs. When they are adults, they will grab the opportunities around easily.

But when you have a child with a disability this is often not the case. Learning may take longer, both academically and socially. Despite them
tremendous efforts, results are often a fraction of their peers and social acceptance is fleeting, setting them up for painful comparisons and bitter frustration.
Additionally, in most work places, concerts, sports are evidently clear coupled with the existence of the barriers of inclusion.
Instead of a fun and fulfilling experience, school can become a breeding ground for depression and anxiety, and assignments a battle ground at home. It
is exhausting for parent and child alike.

I opine that most persons with disabilities who have experienced this voyage do understand and acquire some sort of depression but do not realize.

This is the week of SPED (Special Education. We need to rise up and activate social justice system.
Children and adults with disabilities have often been bullied and maltreated at different places.
For example, in schools, public service vehicles, restaurants etc.
For all the children and adults who struggle every day to succeed in a world that does not recognize their gifts and talents, and for those who are walking beside
them, please let this be a gentle reminder to be kind and accepting of ALL people.
I believe children and adults with disabilities possess talents and gifts which have not yet been explored and need our attention and massive support.

Recognize that the “playing field” is not always a level surface.

Children and adults with disabilities who learn differently and adapt in unique ways are not weird. They are merely gifted in ways that our society does not value enough. Yet they want what everyone else wants:
To be accepted!!

If you choose, please join the disability sausage YouTube channel as we dig deep in to this analysis.
Our world would be far less beautiful without them.

❤️ ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
The views expressed here are for the author and do not represent any agency or organization.
Mugambi Paul is a public policy, diversity, inclusion and sustainability expert.
Australian Chief Minister Award winner
“excellence of making inclusion happen”

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Safe space for positivityAuthor Mugambi Paul “Opinions expressed are my own”

Posted on February 1, 2021 by admin01

2020 has been a difficult year for most people – there are more stressors about physical health, many people are suffering financial difficulty, and you may have found lockdown difficult to deal with. With so much going on in the world, and so many negative news stories, it’s sometimes easy to forget that there are plenty of day to day difficulties that we faced even before COVID, wildfires, and political disruptions. All of these have a chance of impacting your mental health and resilience, which is why it’s important to check in with your feelings and make sure that you’re taking the time to build yourself up.
Latest statistics on mental health
The latest statistics from UK mental health charity, Mind, reveal that 25% of people in England experience a mental health problem at least once per year. Moreover, one in every six people experience a mental health issue every single week.
In Kenya data on mental health 2019 shows out of one to 4 individuals have mental illness.
That is a huge number of people dealing with mental illnesses, which result from an agglomeration of situations and circumstances – and cannot be seen. If you are feeling down about something and dealing with anxiety, depression or just feeling a little sad, remind yourself that you are not the only person who feels like this, and unfortunately, it is quite common.
First, tell yourself it is okay to feel down
The first thing to do when you feel down is to acknowledge that not feeling okay is, in fact, completely okay. All of our feelings are temporary states that cannot be kept forever. We cannot be happy every minute of every day and that means sometimes we are going to feel unmotivated or sad.
The first step in staying positive when things don’t feel right is to acknowledge that it is perfectly acceptable to feel down every now and then. It’s a normal part of the emotional spectrum and, in fact, it’s unhealthy to try to feel happy all the time. It’s especially natural if you haven’t seen your loved ones for a while and your usual routines and support systems are disrupted.
Building emotional resilience can help
Emotional intelligence is often defined as reacting well and strategically to bad experiences and stressful situations. When these instances occur, such as the death of a family member or not getting your dream job, our emotions may go into meltdown. But it’s not just there for extreme circumstances – good resilience helps you deal with approaching deadlines at work and just those days where nothing seems to go right.
How to develop emotional resilience
So, the obvious question is how can you build emotional resilience? Here are some answers to a complex question:
• Understand the 5 components of emotional resilience
• Be aware of your feelings and your responses to different circumstances
• Practice thinking and talking before acting
• Gain an understanding of your negative responses which may undermine your positivity and resilience over time
• Create a decision-making framework that helps you cope in difficult circumstances
• Focus on solutions to problems and improve your mental flexibility
• Practice good self-care to avoid feeling overwhelmed
• Allow yourself to fail without treating it like a defining moment or characteristic
Other ways to stay positive
Emotional resilience is one of the important ways to stay positive. But there are lots of other things you can try and learn about to improve your mood. join me on disability sausage YouTube channel to concretize this and much more.

Other ways to stay positive
Emotional resilience is one of the important ways to stay positive. But there are lots of other things you can try and learn about to improve your mood:
Stay social (but make sure you have some you time)
If we are going through a rough period, you might want to lock yourself away and try to lick your wounds. That’s perfectly fine, and you should give yourself some you-time to be alone. But it is best not to block out all your social interactions.
We have friends and family because they love us, support us, and help us when things are difficult. Even though you may want to be alone more than on other occasions, try to still meet up with those that care about you. If that’s physically difficult, try to have catch ups over the phone or video calls.
Practice mindfulness
Mindfulness is a word we hear a lot these days but many of us still don’t really know what it is. That’s a shame because it is useful for helping us to develop positive thinking, and it ties in with emotional resilience.
Mindfulness is a way of becoming more aware of yourself and your surroundings. You could consider it a way of clearing the picture of your life and daily experiences. The different techniques to achieve mindfulness are extensive, ranging from breathing exercises to yoga and much more. The aims are to make you present in the moment, rather than worrying about work, money, or other things which can sap your enjoyment and increase your stress levels over time.
Exercise more
Exercise is not just to lose weight or build strength. It is a way to make us feel good about ourselves, and it’s proven by science. When we go for a run, a hike, or to the gym to work up a sweat, an array of chemicals are released, including endorphins and dopamine.
These chemicals are super powerful to the body because they make us feel happy, reduce our stress levels and get this – some chemicals that are released can even increase our physical pain threshold!
You don’t even have to go hard when working out. Just some simple exercise that gets you a little sticky will do the trick. It’ perfect for when you are dealing with a personal problem or a stressful situation in school or work.
Explore nature
The mental health charity, Mind, states that spending time in nature has been proven by researchers to help with anxiety and depression. This special way of making us feel more positive even has a name. It’s called ecotherapy and involves getting into nature away from the big smoke – and often combining your leafier outing with some exercise.
If you want to try ecotherapy, you could:
• Go hiking in a national park
• Go camping with friends or family
• Take a walk in your local city park
• Visit some nearby villages away from the crowds
• Visit the seaside, attend a zoo or go bird watching
Improve your nutrition
Some of the activities and exercises that will help you stay positive require you to be more active. And with that comes a need to fuel your body with enough energy to go hiking up mountains or on a jog with friends. Having better nutrition will help you to accomplish these things and feel good. But that’s not the only reason to eat your fruit and veg and prepare colourful platefuls of food.
Scientists have discovered that nutritional foods change the way we think and our overall mood. By eating well, we are less prone to mood swings and behavioural imbalances. The connection between foods and mental health is starting to become a hot topic.
Listen to music
Music has been an ever-present part of human experiences since our ancestors walked the planet. So, it might come with no great surprise that music changes how we feel. In fact, multiple studies have identified a significant connection between listening to music with improved mood and better mental health.
But does that mean listening to happy and joyous music only? Not exactly. Whilst there is lots of evidence to make out a connection between upbeat music and a new positive energy, there is even evidence to suggest sad songs can make us happier too. Being an artist my self I have found music to be my therapy, grat dance moves to be unlished soon.
A study by the University of Durham found that music that is considered downbeat or sad actually made some people feel better. However, this did not work for everyone so if you are undecided what to listen to right now, maybe reach for a happier track over your Adele albums.
Accept and ask for help – and help others!
Some people avoid asking for help, whether that is a friend to vent with or professional help, just because they think it makes them look weak. With mental health awareness growing exponentially and the general population more sympathetic to mental health, there is no better time to seek help from others. There is nothing weak about asking someone for advice or support, quite the opposite. It shows strength that you are taking hold of your life and trying to move it in the right direction.
Another point on this topic is that offering to help others – who may or may not ask for help – is also a way to feel good. Studies have found that good deeds make you feel better and can help you deal with your own issues as well. I affirm this has been a gret journey skill which has created safe space and made more solution oriented advocates.

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Which pathway parents of children with disabilities will follow? Author Mugambi Paul “Opinions expressed are my own”

Posted on January 30, 2021 by admin01

Parents of children with disabilities I the global south face difficult choices about when and how their child should safely return to in-person school since vaccines to prevent COVID-19 are not sure when they will become available. For example, in Kenya most schools have resumed with the clarion call from the ministry of education even to study under trees. Additionally, all schools are having a uniformly approach by allowing the ministry o health guidelines although the alcoholic sanitizer has been removed.
States parents are working through these challenges in their own ways. And each individual family is faced with making difficult decisions based on their unique circumstances.

Although some schools last year worked hard to deliver education through distance learning during the pandemic, news reports and firsthand accounts reveal that struggles to provide critical services, technology, and appropriate education to students with disabilities remain common. Families have had to supervise, monitor, and even directly teach their children while also trying to work, care for other family members, and manage other responsibilities at home. For most families, it has been challenging and for some, it has been difficult or even impossible to make distance learning work for children with disabilities.
Most importantly, everyone agrees that reopening schools safely as quickly as possible is a priority. But many parents are also understandably worried. After all, it’s not just a question of whether children will be exposed to the COVID-19 virus as schools reopen. Although most children seem to recover quickly or even show no symptoms, that does not mean an individual child might not experience a devastating illness or that family members who may have risk factors related to age, disability or underlying health conditions would not be vulnerable due to exposure. For children with underlying health conditions, the risk of infection and complications is a serious concern. Some parents worry that standard safety precautions schools put in place to protect everyone (such as mask wearing or social distancing will be very difficult for their child because of their disability or that going back to in-person learning may increase stress and anxiety or possibly trigger behavior issues for their children after months
of isolation and adjusting to pandemic-related routines.
On the other hand, in east Africa several media houses and recent studies have shown that 48 % of gender-based violence occurred during the COVID-19 period when the children were at home.
This is not surprising when the current Kenyan trend where children have started to threaten teachers with knives and some schools have recorded fire break outs.
This is a true indicator of what children were observing at home.
Moreover, many families lost livelihood and its on record that suicide cases are on the rise.
At list in Kenya 3 case are recorded.

Weighing the risks and benefits is difficult, and the more information that families have to make decisions, the better. Information is power and the more you know, the better prepared you are to advocate more effectively for your child. Remember, parents are an essential part of the team making these decisions about their child’s educational needs and information you share about your child is important because no one knows them better than you do. Whether you are advocating for your child to return to school as soon as possible — because they are more vulnerable to learning loss or because delivering their IEP services remotely doesn’t work, or later, because of family risks related to COVID-19 exposure or new safety requirements at school — it is important to document your concerns in writing. Start by gathering the information needed to help the IEP team make informed decisions.
Disability sausage YouTube channel is the platform to be
The views expressed here are for the author and do not represent any agency or organization.
Mugambi Paul is a public policy, diversity, inclusion and sustainability expert.
Australian Chief Minister Award winner
“excellence of making inclusion happen”

Posted in Accessibility, Attitudinal Barrier, Building Partnerships, Communication Barrier, Disability Advocacy, Disability Inclusion, Disability issues, institutional Barrier, Travels | Tagged • Financing for Development • Social Development • Statistics • Economic Analysis and Policy • Forests, • institutional Barrier, • Population, • Public Administration, • Sustainable Development, Ableism is trashss, Ableism New age for visually impaired, Ableism Radio citizen @LeonardCheshire, Abuja declaration, access to services, accessibility, Accessibility Attitudinal Barrier Building Partnerships Communication Barrier Disability Inclusion Disability issues, Accountability to the affected population, advocacy, and culture. MTBbtbinistry of health, Assistive technology, assumptions, Autonomy, Big four agenda, blind, braille, Braille authority, capacity building, Communication, Communication authority Advocacy Inclusion, Concentration difficulties, Consortium of disabled persons organizations, Corona virus, Coronavirus, Covid-2019 Ableism, Data collection, Depression, Development and advocacy, disability mainstreaming, Disability persons organizations, Disaster risk management, Diversity & Inclusion Exploring disability practices, Diversity and inclusion Chronic illness, Durable Medical Equipment, Empowerment, equal rights, Evolution, gender equality gender equity, health care rationing, Health policy, Hearing difficulties, hot96, Hot96 Radio Maisha, human rights, Humanitarian crises, ILO, inclusion, infantilizing, Innovation to Inclusion, Intergovernmental Coordination, kbc channel 1, Kenya association of manufacturers, Kenya bureau of statistics, Kenya institute of the Blind, Kenya union of the blind, Law society of Kenya, making choices, Medical care, Medical industrial complex, Medical Interventions, Mental illness, milele fm, Ministry of education, ministry of labour and social services, Ministry of public service, Ministry of transport, Ministry of treasury, National council for population, National employment authority., National hospital insurance fund, NCPWD, Non-discrimination, Nonvisual access, NTVKENY, ntvkenya, Open society institute, pandemic, people daily, persons with disabilities, Persons with disability act 2003, Physical Barrier, policy, Politics, Public hospitals, public policy, Public service, Public service commission, Radio citizen, radio jambo, Reasonable accommodation, Removal and identification of barriers, Respect and dignity, Seeing difficulties, Self-care difficulties Indigenous, Sighted world, Social exclusion, social protection, Spice fm, standardmedia, Sustainable development goals, switch tv, Switch tv Discrimination, Systemic ableism, Twin track approach Must do action, UNICEF, Ventilation, Ventilators Emergency response, Water access, World Health Organization, World report ADAPTIV TECHNOLOGY

Is it a tragedy for the “blind” in the Pandemic era? Authors Mugambi and Mandela “Opinions expressed are our own”

Status

The entire globe is now in its knees by this deadly adversary called the Corona virus (Covid-19).
Schools closed, jobs lost, businesses crushed, hospitals flooded and countries locked down. According to the Oxfam report 2021 it will take a decade for the poor streaked persons to recover. What do you think of persons with disabilities where poverty is a twin brother?
Worst still as persons with seeing difficulties to live through this era. Feels like another form of disability just emerged and multiplied the setbacks we have to deal with in our daily lives.
In other words, we argue persons who are blind have been added another impairment. On the other hand, he needs to ensure we break barriers of inclusion.

Several studies by IDA 2020 HI 2020 and WBU 2020 agree that persons with disabilities were even marginalized before but COVID-19 has amplified the tribulations.
First governments and world health organization made regulation pronouncements which COVID-19 came with: “don’t touch surfaces, don’t shake hands, don’t touch even your face then cough into your elbow.”
Additionally, all most all the media houses have perpetuated the same by way of adverts and educating the public. Non visual access has been the order of the day thus living the persons with seeing difficulties behind.
Moreover, the most traumatizing experience is when individuals do not seek to offer support but can talk about you as if all persons with seeing difficulties can’t hear.

All the above have a direct impact to the lives of persons living with visual impairment. We literally touch everything around us. That’s our way of seeing. Touching is our language. This includes Braille, our mode of reading, it’s accessed by touch. Telling a blind person not to shake hands is like telling you with sight to identify the people around you while blindfolded. Think about it. Is it even possible? Whenever you feel like checking yourself out in the mirror, you do it without any restrictions, but this pandemic is telling a blind person not to even touch their own face to feel if they’re fit enough to walk in the public with confidence. Very perilous indeed. Again, how do you expect to guide a blind person after coughing into your elbow? That’s where we actually hold while being guided. The mask has covered our eyes that now we can’t see clearly. We depend on all our sensory organs except the eyes to see. But this mask is pulling our ears and blocking our noses. How do we survive?
Surely a blind person has been more disabled by the environment of the pandemic. We have been delinked from the world. Caused to stay away from our fellow human beings but of course this has increased isolation practices.
Crutch users, wheelchair users do you feel me?
Can we meet on the disability sausage channel to discuss this and much more?

It seems survival for the fittest is becoming he order of the day.
The views expressed here are for the author and do not represent any agency or organization.
Mugambi Paul is a public policy, diversity, inclusion and sustainability expert.
Australian Chief Minister Award winner
“excellence of making inclusion happen”

Posted on January 27, 2021 by admin01

The silent COVID-19 Vaccination debate by the disability movement in the lobal south: Author Mugambi Paul “Opinions expressed are my own”

Status

According to several studies, The covid -19 pandemic continues to magnify the unacceptable health inequalities faced by people with disabilities and more so persons with intellectual impairments. Moreover, latest incarnation of this group’s seeming invisibility to policy makers is the decision not to priorities them adequately during the vaccination programme.
The most recent full report of many low-income countries in the global south have not indicated how they will include persons with disabilities.
Inclusion Africa shows that more persons with intellectual impairment have faced violations during the pandemic than before.
This information is collaborated by study by KAIH.
Last year IDA found The overall death rate for people with Intellectual
impairment was estimated to be up to 6.3 times higher than the general population. Yet despite clear evidence of the disproportionately negative impact of COVID-19 -19 on people with Intellectual impairment, this group is not being prioritized for vaccination.
For example, in the Kenyan context the ministry of health mentions the price of Nonintellectual impairments vaccination to be 16 US $ per the two dozes.

Never the less, The Joint Committee on Vaccination should go back to the drawing board and ensure persons with disabilities are prioritized.
The disability sausage youth be channel we ensure we offer technical support to the understanding of the risks that make persons with intellectual impairments to be more vulnerable.
We also know that people with INTELECUAL IMPAIRMENTS may experience difficulties accessing in-person or digital healthcare for nonintellectual impairments-19 symptoms as a consequence of diagnostic overshadowing (whereby their symptoms are erroneously attributed to their INTELECUAL IMPAIRMENTS) and discriminatory attitudes. Given all this, it is difficult to justify why a person with INTELECUAL IMPAIRMENTS should be a lower priority for vaccination than an otherwise healthy older adult without INTELECUAL IMPAIRMENTS.
. A vaccine policy which does not account for this is discriminatory; it has failed to make reasonable adjustments as required under the disability act of Kenya 2003 and UNCRPD 2006
I suggest that the global south nations should follow the example of Germany, where people with INTELECUAL IMPAIRMENTS, along with all employees of institutional services or community services in the disability sector and all people aged 70 or older, are being offered vaccination as a priority.

The views expressed here are for the author and do not represent any agency or organization.
Mugambi Paul is a public policy, diversity, inclusion and sustainability expert.
Australian Chief Minister Award winner
“excellence of making inclusion happen”

Posted on January 25, 2021 by admin01

Telling our story by ourselves Accounting for representation by persons with disabilities

Posted on January 23, 2021 by admin01

Telling our story by ourselves

Accounting for representation by persons with disabilities

Representation. Every single human being deserves to see somebody who looks like them in movies, books, commercials and toys. Unfortunately for far too
long, that has not been the case. People of all races, abilities, body types, genders, religions, etc. need to be represented in what we watch, read and
play with.
Unfortunately, in my lived experience of being blind, I have to navigate in different circles in order to comprehend.

When I received an award for being the first blind humanitarian worker it didn’t make sense by the time, but with my recent outings I have come to appreciate the drops of hope and work I deed.
I realized the importance of living a legacy which generations remember.
as a Recently we are
seeing small steps to remedy this problem in the media
and I so appreciate that! Representation matters!

Imagine being a child with a disability and all you ever see are typical, children who are yet to be disabled. What message does that send you about yourself? That you
are “abnormal.” That you are not worthy of being shown to the world. I know you’re reading this cringing inside, because of course no child should ever
be made to feel that way.

Lack of representation also hurts those children who are represented. They grow up with the incredibly skewed perception that everybody looks like them,
and anybody who doesn’t isn’t “normal” and should be feared. That, my friends, is how racism and ableism can be perpetuated in our kids without us even
realizing it. Representation matters!

Now imagine that same child seeing commercials, advertisements, characters in movies and books, and dolls made to look like them. What an inclusive message
that sends. Disability sausage YouTube channel represents this ideology.
You are a human, worthy of being included! You are human, just like everybody else! Representation matters!
We shall be digging deep in this matter in order to break the walls of inclusion

Posted in Accessibility, Attitudinal Barrier, Building Partnerships, Communication Barrier, Disability Advocacy, Disability Inclusion, Disability issues, institutional Barrier, Physical Barrier | Tagged • Financing for Development • Social Development • Statistics • Economic Analysis and Policy • Forests, • institutional Barrier, • Population, • Public Administration, • Sustainable Development, Ableism is trashss, Ableism New age for visually impaired, Ableism Radio citizen @LeonardCheshire, Abuja declaration, access to services, accessibility, Accessibility Attitudinal Barrier Building Partnerships Communication Barrier Disability Inclusion Disability issues, Accountability to the affected population, advocacy, and culture. MTBbtbinistry of health, Assistive technology, assumptions, Autonomy, Big four agenda, blind, braille, Braille authority, capacity building, Communication, Communication authority Advocacy Inclusion, Concentration difficulties, Consortium of disabled persons organizations, Corona virus, Coronavirus, Covid-2019 Ableism, Data collection, Depression, Development and advocacy, disability mainstreaming, Disability persons organizations, Disaster risk management, Diversity & Inclusion Exploring disability practices, Diversity and inclusion Chronic illness, Durable Medical Equipment, Empowerment, equal rights, Evolution, gender equality gender equity, health care rationing, Health policy, Hearing difficulties, hot96, Hot96 Radio Maisha, human rights, Humanitarian crises, ILO, inclusion, infantilizing, Innovation to Inclusion, Intergovernmental Coordination, kbc channel 1, Kenya association of manufacturers, Kenya bureau of statistics, Kenya institute of the Blind, Kenya union of the blind, Law society of Kenya, making choices, Medical care, Medical industrial complex, Medical Interventions, Mental illness, milele fm, Ministry of education, ministry of labour and social services, Ministry of public service, Ministry of transport, Ministry of treasury, National council for population, National employment authority., National hospital insurance fund, NCPWD, Non-discrimination, Nonvisual access, NTVKENY, ntvkenya, Open society institute, pandemic, people daily, persons with disabilities, Persons with disability act 2003, Physical Barrier, policy, Politics, Public hospitals, public policy, Public service, Public service commission, Radio citizen, radio jambo, Reasonable accommodation, Removal and identification of barriers, Respect and dignity, Seeing difficulties, Self-care difficulties Indigenous, Sighted world, Social exclusion, social protection, Spice fm, standardmedia, Sustainable development goals, switch tv, Switch tv Discrimination, Systemic ableism, Twin track approach Must do action, UNICEF, Ventilation, Ventilators Emergency response, Water access, World Health Organization, World report ADAPTIV TECHNOLOGY

The History of Madness Network News and the Early Anti-Psychiatry Movement Guest author By Jenny Miller “views and opinon are her own”

Posted on January 22, 2021 by admin01

The organized psychiatric inmates’ liberation movement in North America began in 1970 with the founding of the Insane Liberation Front in Portland, Oregon. Dorothy Weiner and Howie the Harp are the people usually associated with its creation. Soon thereafter, activist groups of psychiatric survivors sprang up in New York, Boston, San Francisco, and Vancouver. By the early ‘80s, there were 70 such groups in North America, Europe, and Australia.

Madness Network News, founded in 1972 by two women inmates of Agnews State Hospital, was an anti-psychiatry journal that served as the focal point for organizing throughout North America, and even overseas. From 1976 to its demise in 1986, the journal was written, edited, and produced entirely by psychiatric survivors (people who had been in psychiatric institutions), with the exception of one spouse of a survivor. In addition to its role in inspiring ex-psychiatric inmates to take political action, it also served as a place where people could truthfully write about their experiences as mad people, and survivors of psychiatric oppression.

In an office next door was its sister organization, Network Against Psychiatric Assault, or NAPA, which organized protests and educational events regarding extreme human rights violations and psychological oppression being perpetuated against current and former inmates of psychiatric hospitals. NAPA was started by Leonard Frank and Wade Hudson, in order to oppose all forms of forced psychiatric treatment.

In addition to numerous demonstrations against ECT (electro-convulsive treatment), NAPA presented frequent film showings and seminars on topics related to the issue of forced drugging. (The films “Hurry Tomorrow” and “Do No Harm” were often shown.) NAPA also produced and sold literature about the harmful effects of ECT and drugs, including Leonard Frank’s book “The History of Shock Treatment” and Dr. Caligari’s booklet “Psychiatric Drugs,” which became an underground classic.

MNN and NAPA rejected the term “mental illness.” They did not believe that psychiatric survivors had any particular illness or mental impairment, other than the emotional and physical damage created by brain-damaging tranquilizers, electroshock, poverty, institutionalization, oppressive family situations, and/or the stigma against people who had been in psychiatric institutions.

While the terms “mentally ill” and “mental patient” are often associated with the mass murderers and others who threaten the social fabric, rarely are successful and creative people identified that way. Yet many ex-inmate members of NAPA became (or already were) lawyers, journalists, book authors, editors, musicians, program administrators, professional patient advocates, artists—as well as a researcher for a large hospital, a neurologist, an acupuncturist, a college professor, a nurse, and a landscape designer.

The well-known feminist author Kate Millett was briefly a member, and said later that her contact with the ex-inmate movement helped inspire her to write the book “The Loony Bin Trip” about her own experiences of incarceration.

Madness Network News and the NAPA offices were located first on Market Street in San Francisco for many years, then on Capp Street in San Francisco, and finally on University Avenue in Berkeley. In addition to the two inmates who founded the paper, in the beginning, the paper was the creation of both psychiatric survivors and dissident mental health professionals.

As it evolved after its inception, aside from the participation of one ex-inmate, the staff consisted entirely of dissident mental health professionals. In 1976, the psychiatric survivors who were involved with NAPA protested against what they perceived as a pattern of repeated discrimination and exclusion of ex-inmates from participation in running the paper. When confronted, the mental health professionals claimed that the paper’s staff had always been open to anyone.

The response of the ex-inmates to this bit of obfuscation was to demand to know when the next staff meeting was, since the editors had never been willing to tell any of them when the meetings were occurring. They were given a date and time, and when the appointed time arrived, none of the mental health professionals showed up. The one ex-inmate who was on the staff did show up, and tried to cancel the meeting, but the group of ex-inmates refused to let it be cancelled.

Without any communication or explanation, none of the mental health professionals ever returned to work on the paper, but one of them, Dr. Caligari, was kind enough to show one of the new editors the mechanics of doing lay-out and where to take it to get printed.

From then on, Madness Network News became the legendary voice of the psychiatric survivor movement. While many activists came and went at the paper, the primary staff of Madness during the ten-year period when it represented the survivor movement were: myself (often using the pen name of Arrow), Tanya Temkin, Dianne Walker, Kelso Walker, Judy Hughes, and Anne Boldt.

Those who also made valuable contributions during their brief periods of involvement as staff members (during the period when it was produced by psych survivors) were Howie Harp, Leonard Frank, Sally Zinman, Ted Chabasinksi, Jeannie Andrews, Deedee NiHera—and others too numerous to mention. Hundreds of people were involved as contributors of articles, poetry, and art work. Tanya Temkin’s brilliant artwork was featured on numerous Madness covers.

Women Against Psychiatric Assault (WAPA) was formed when a 17-year-old girl was being given ECT against her will at Herrick Hospital in Berkeley. A hospital staff person contacted NAPA and a demonstration was held, consisting of many women not previously involved. This then became the core of WAPA. (The demonstration was successful in stopping the shock treatment of this young woman.) WAPA was both a support group for women psychiatric survivors and a political action group.

In 1976, NAPA members came up with the idea for a sit-in at Governor Jerry Brown’s office, to protest forced labor without pay and forced treatment and incarceration in state hospitals. Wade Hudson and myself were the organizers of the sit-in. Jackie Daymoon and Saralinda Grimes brought a strong contingent of women from WAPA.

The sit-in, held in Jerry Brown’s outer office, was so successful that the group decided to keep it going for another two weeks, with an around-the-clock presence in his outer office at the state capitol.

An MNN cover showing some members of the sit-in in Gov. Brown’s office in 1976. (Photo by Richard Cohen, courtesy of Richard Cohen films.)
During the sit-in, NAPA and WAPA organized a Tribunal on Psychiatric Crimes which was held in the governor’s outer office on July 14, 1976. It was attended by approximately 150 people, many of whom gave testimony about the terrible and inhumane treatment they had experienced. The Tribunal received excellent media coverage, including a front-page article in the Sunday San Francisco Chronicle.

During the sit-in, some members of the group met with Gov. Brown to discuss the issues and show him Richard Cohen’s film “Hurry Tomorrow,” a devastating documentary about life on a locked psychiatric ward. The immediate effect of the sit-in was to spark an investigation into inmate deaths in the California state hospital system, which received a tremendous amount of publicity.

Although the sit-in was not successful in ending forced drugging and forced labor without pay, it did shine a spotlight on the issue of forced drugging and over-medication, and set the stage for the legal and legislative battle that followed some years later—the Riese v. St. Mary’s Hospital court case. (The story of Eleanor Riese and her attorneys Colette Hughes and Mort Cohen was recently dramatized in a major motion picture called 55 Steps.)

After the CA Supreme Court affirmed the right of short-term involuntary patients to give informed consent or refusal to psychiatric drugs in the Riese case, there was a huge battle in the legislature to get it passed there. (Since the court case was based on CA legislation, the legislature had the ability to overturn it.) Members of the California Network of Mental Health Clients played a decisive role in getting the legislation passed, along with dedicated patient advocates and lawyers, and the ACLU.

NAPA’s frequent protests and the attendant publicity regarding forced psychiatric treatment undoubtedly helped speed up the creation of a statewide patients’ rights advocacy system, with a government-funded Office of Patients Rights in each county in California.

In the early days of the movement, ex-inmate activists organized an annual International Conference on Human Rights and Psychiatric Oppression. Although only two of these conferences were held in the Bay Area (Tilden Park in Berkeley and at an art museum in SF), the staff of Madness Network News coordinated the conferences that were held every year in different parts of the country. Each year during the International Conference, the participants held a demonstration at an appropriate location.

In 1978, hundreds of Conference participants and friends demonstrated at the Smith, Kline, and French headquarters in Philadelphia to protest the vast profits made from dangerous mind-control chemicals, such as Thorazine and Stelazine. Also at that conference, a national boycott of all SKF products was organized. In 1977, the Conference called for a national day of protest against psychosurgy (lobotomy), and demonstrations were later held in eight cities.

In 1982, 16 Conference participants, who called themselves the Psychiatric Inmates Liberation Lobby, were arrested while holding a silent vigil in the lobby of the Sheraton Hotel in Toronto, where they were protesting the Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association (APA).

During the protest, demonstrators sat silently in a circle on the floor, holding signs assailing such psychiatric crimes as forced treatment with brain-damaging drugs, electroshock, and psychosurgery. A large crowd of supporters, police, hotel security, reporters, and smirking psychiatrists gathered around the silent group. After an hour and a half, supporters were forced to leave the lobby, and members of the vigil were dragged to waiting police vans.

Later, psychiatric survivors became active as legal advocates and began attending the annual conference of the National Association of Rights Protection and Advocacy (NARPA), where a number of them served on the Board of Directors. This conference, consisting of lawyers, advocates, and psychiatric survivors, eventually took the place of the Conference on Human Rights and Psychiatric Oppression. Psychiatric survivors were frequent presenters at the annual NARPA conference, and that of other state and national patients’ rights legal organizations.

Mental Health Consumer Concerns (MHCC), founded by Jay Mahler in Contra Costa County, became a model ex-inmate-controlled Office of Patients Rights, a model which was then repeated in other counties. At MHCC, psychiatric survivors worked as patient advocates, representing people at their short-term certification hearings and assisting them in resolving complaints about hospital treatment and conditions.

Due to the heightened awareness of the ex-inmate advocates about what life was like for psychiatric inmates, and empathy for the circumstances that led to the person’s incarceration, MHCC had one of the highest patient release rates of any county in the state. Psychiatric survivors also served as the organization’s administrators.

In 1982, ex-inmate activists in Berkeley, organized as The Coalition to Stop Electroshock, put a measure on the city’s ballot to ban electroshock. Ted Chabasinski, who had received shock treatment at age six, took the lead in organizing the campaign. The measure made electroshock a crime in Berkeley, punishable by six months imprisonment, a fine of not more than $500, or both. An activist who was very talented as a singer and songwriter won the support of the black community by going to church services and singing about the death of Lynette Miller, a black teenager who was killed by ECT.

The shock ban was passed by an overwhelming number of votes. The psychiatric associations sued to have it overturned, and there followed a battle for many years to ensure that it be upheld in court. Since the city attorney was not familiar with patients’ rights issues, the Coalition to Stop Electroshock became an intervenor so they could have a patients’ rights attorney present arguments in the case. The case was ultimately dismissed by summary judgment, and the Coalition was not given the opportunity to participate.

The city appealed it to the California Supreme Court, where the justices refused to hear the case. A year or so later, when one of the Supreme Court justices was giving a presentation to the public about human rights at the UC Berkeley Law School, local activists held a demonstration and disrupted his speech to protest the court’s allowing the shock ban to be overturned without even a hearing of the case.

In the mid-seventies, psychiatric survivors had their own radio show on Pacifica radio station KPFA, entitled “Radio Free Madness.” They provided first hand coverage of the sit-in at the governor’s office and interviewed psychiatric survivors about their personal struggles and political activism.

NAPA organized repeated demonstrations against ECT in San Francisco. As a result, the city stopped performing ECT for 10 years. When a panel of government officials met in SF to discuss a plan to re-introduce lobotomies for children and prisoners, NAPA disrupted their meeting, and the plans to bring back lobotomy were dropped.

Every time the APA held their Annual Meeting in San Francisco, NAPA and members of other psychiatric survivor groups were there to protest. In later years, after the demise of NAPA and Madness Network News, Mind Freedom International (founded by David Oaks and located in Eugene, Oregon) continued with this tradition.

An MNN cover depicting a protest at the Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association. Psychiatric survivors block the main entrance to the APA conference building. An unknown person removed some of the letters from the announcement for the meeting overhead. (Photo by Kelso Walker.)
The End of MNN
Why did Madness Network News come to an end? I have seen commentaries that explain that it got taken over by the “consumer” movement and that the creators decided to compromise their fiercely-held anti-psychiatry beliefs in exchange for cushy government-funded jobs in the mental illness industry.

That never happened. What happened is the longtime editors got burnt out. For many years, they were able to support the work of the paper and the movement fueled entirely by idealistic passion. The need for a secure income and stable future was of little or no concern.

Eventually, dedicating their lives 24/7 to fighting psychiatric oppression began to take its toll. One longtime staff person died at an early age. One developed major health challenges that required her to withdraw from activism for a while. Several left the paper to get advanced degrees or training, and went into careers that were unrelated to the mental health system. Only one staff person, who was a founder of the movement for peer-run drop-in centers and government-funded consumer groups, continued doing that work.

When the longtime editors could no longer put out the paper, they turned it over to an ex-inmate activist from another state who had experience editing an alternative journal. She, and the one remaining MNN staff person, changed the focus of the paper from organizing against psychiatry to denouncing the psychiatric survivors who they thought should be doing a better job of organizing against psychiatry.

They failed to note the irony of the fact that it was always the editors of MNN who had provided the impetus for the protests in the Bay Area, and for quite a few of the conferences and protests in other parts of the country. If “they” were no longer organizing protests, as the MNN editors were claiming, maybe they needed to look in the mirror for the source of that problem.

Eventually, and perhaps inevitably, the two remaining editors ended up denouncing each other, and the paper folded.

It is my hope, in writing this account of what could be described as the halcyon days of the psychiatric survivors’/anti-psychiatry movement, that other individuals and groups will take up the challenge and continue this tradition. There are already signs that new anti-psychiatry groups are beginning to emerge, and I hope this history will give a big boost to those, and similar, efforts.

Posted in Accessibility, Attitudinal Barrier, Building Partnerships, Communication Barrier, Disability Advocacy, Disability issues, institutional Barrier, Physical Barrier, Uncategorized | Tagged • Financing for Development • Social Development • Statistics • Economic Analysis and Policy • Forests, • institutional Barrier, • Population, • Public Administration, • Sustainable Development, Ableism is trashss, Ableism New age for visually impaired, Ableism Radio citizen @LeonardCheshire, Abuja declaration, access to services, accessibility, Accessibility Attitudinal Barrier Building Partnerships Communication Barrier Disability Inclusion Disability issues, Accountability to the affected population, advocacy, and culture. MTBbtbinistry of health, Assistive technology, assumptions, Autonomy, Big four agenda, blind, braille, Braille authority, capacity building, Communication, Communication authority Advocacy Inclusion, Concentration difficulties, Consortium of disabled persons organizations, Corona virus, Coronavirus, Covid-2019 Ableism, Data collection, Depression, Development and advocacy, disability mainstreaming, Disability persons organizations, Disaster risk management, Diversity & Inclusion Exploring disability practices, Diversity and inclusion Chronic illness, Durable Medical Equipment, Empowerment, equal rights, Evolution, gender equality gender equity, health care rationing, Health policy, Hearing difficulties, hot96, Hot96 Radio Maisha, human rights, Humanitarian crises, ILO, inclusion, infantilizing, Innovation to Inclusion, Intergovernmental Coordination, kbc channel 1, Kenya association of manufacturers, Kenya bureau of statistics, Kenya institute of the Blind, Kenya union of the blind, Law society of Kenya, making choices, Medical care, Medical industrial complex, Medical Interventions, Mental illness, milele fm, Ministry of education, ministry of labour and social services, Ministry of public service, Ministry of transport, Ministry of treasury, National council for population, National employment authority., National hospital insurance fund, NCPWD, Non-discrimination, Nonvisual access, NTVKENY, ntvkenya, Open society institute, pandemic, people daily, persons with disabilities, Persons with disability act 2003, Physical Barrier, policy, Politics, Public hospitals, public policy, Public service, Public service commission, Radio citizen, radio jambo, Reasonable accommodation, Removal and identification of barriers, Respect and dignity, Seeing difficulties, Self-care difficulties Indigenous, Sighted world, Social exclusion, social protection, Spice fm, standardmedia, Sustainable development goals, switch tv, Switch tv Discrimination, Systemic ableism, Twin track approach Must do action, UNICEF, Ventilation, Ventilators Emergency response, Water access, World Health Organization, World report ADAPTIV TECHNOLOGY

Will Samantha Power Champion Disability Rights? Authors Mugambi Paul and Vera Dimoplon “Opinions expressed are our own”

Posted on January 21, 2021 by admin01

President-elect Joe Biden has nominated Ambassador Samantha Power to be the head of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This is a significant moment for human rights activists. It points to the commitment by the Biden administration to reinstate the leadership role of the United States in terms of standing up for human rights and working with our international allies on developing strategies to support the most vulnerable.
According to the
WHO,
over 1 billion people live with some form of a disability. 80% of persons with disabilities live in developing countries and experience periodic abuse
and discrimination. Women and girls with disabilities are the most unprotected and experience physical abuse and exclusion, according to the
United Nations.

Samantha Power is a globally recognized human rights defender who fiercely fought for Syrians during the height of the Syrian civil war, calling out the
Assad regime for violating international norms on the
use of chemical weapons
against civilians in 2013. As a journalist in the Balkans, she educated the public about atrocities committed against women “
as a tactic of war
” and called for accountability for those involved in these crimes.
Fighting for the rights of persons with disabilities will not be a new role for Ambassador Power. Under the Obama administration, she worked closely with
the appointed disability advisors who helped shape strategies for U.S. leadership in a
multi-lateral response
to disability protection. In his
announcement
of the nomination of Ambassador Power to lead USAID, Biden recognized her as a “world-renowned voice of conscience and moral clarity—challenging and rallying
the international community to stand up for the dignity and humanity of all people.” Vice President-elect Kamala Harris
said
that Ambassador Power “will not only help lift up the world’s most vulnerable and advance our nation’s interests around the world, she will be a powerful
voice for the values and ideals we cherish as Americans.”
One of the most treasured values Americans have is the belief that every person should have access to the resources and be treated with dignity, regardless of one’s abilities. The United States is one of the few countries that have laws prohibiting discrimination against persons with disabilities and ensuring their human rights are protected. The 2006 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is an international agreement that provides a framework for countries to make certain persons with disabilities enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms. The U.S. signed CRPD in 2009 but has not yet ratified it. Having a Democratic majority in Congress might help ratify CRPD which would once again show the U.S. commitment for supporting the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities in the U.S., as well as across the globe.
The Sustainable Development Agenda 2030 adopted in 2015 by all UN members calls to leave no one behind. 2020 showed that persons with disabilities and their support systems have been extremely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. A Disability-Inclusive Response to COVID-19, led by the United Nations, provided a systematic approach for UN member states to support persons with disabilities during the pandemic. However, evidence shows that many persons with disabilities lost access to their services and support systems due to COVID-19, which left them feeling isolated and forgotten.
At the same time, the pandemic weighted heavily on the caregivers. For many, having to work from home, with no respite services available and with the added responsibility to perform some of the much-needed services at home, caregivers have been asked to carry too much weight on their shoulders. The Biden administration should create a plan to support persons with disabilities and their caregivers during the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic. Both the UN and the WHO call for states to assess the barriers faced by persons with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic and develop long-standing solutions for building back inclusive and accessible societies. Ambassador Samantha Power should lead the USAID to work closely with disability advisors and persons with disabilities to establish such strategies and share them with U.S. partners across the international community.
Disability activists are hopeful that the Biden administration, as well as USAID under the leadership of Ambassador Samantha Power, will prioritize disability rights as one of their components of domestic and international human rights policies.
For more lets meet on disability susage YouTube channel.

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How many phases do you have Mr. COVID-19? Author Mugambi Paul “Opinions expressed are my own”

Posted on January 20, 2021 by admin01

Many citizenries of the globe are wondering how COVID-19 has brought the world at standstill..
It has made people to deflate, others to become egotistical while other have even enhanced tribulation.
You have surely many phases,
Where can
I get answers?
Hospitals are full, eating habits at many homes have changed.
You have ensured now digital devices are taking over.
Mr. COVID-19 you have surely transformed individuals, society and globe at large.
Gender based violence has risen more than five times.
Where do you want women and girls to hide?
Discrimination of persons with disabilities which used to be there has also tripled.
Many studies suggest that negative influence you have established!
As the world moves towards the next phase of the COVID-19 pandemic response, equitable access to vaccines and treatments will be vital to saving the lives of the most vulnerable people. Those living in humanitarian emergencies or in settings that are not under the control of national governments are at risk of being left behind and must be part of COVID-19 vaccination efforts. Including all individuals, regardless of legal status, in national allocation plans is critical, particularly in settings characterized by armed conflict, violence and natural disasters, all of which exacerbate the challenges of vaccination activities on the ground. Leaving these people behind would undermine humanitarian principles and compromise efforts to end the pandemic.

Experience shows that even for routine vaccinations, and despite governments’ best efforts, some people inevitably fall through the cracks. Therefore, in support of national government obligations, the disability sausage YouTube channel will dig deep to elaborate what needs to be done,
This is especially ensuring inclusive planning is achieved.

The views expressed here are for the author and do not represent any agency or organization.
Mugambi Paul is a public policy, diversity, inclusion and sustainability expert.
Australian Chief Minister Award winner
“excellence of making inclusion happen”

Posted in Accessibility, Attitudinal Barrier, Communication Barrier, Disability Advocacy, Disability Inclusion, institutional Barrier, Travels, Uncategorized | Tagged • Financing for Development • Social Development • Statistics • Economic Analysis and Policy • Forests, • institutional Barrier, • Population, • Public Administration, • Sustainable Development, Ableism is trashss, Ableism New age for visually impaired, Ableism Radio citizen @LeonardCheshire, Abuja declaration, access to services, accessibility, Accessibility Attitudinal Barrier Building Partnerships Communication Barrier Disability Inclusion Disability issues, Accountability to the affected population, advocacy, and culture. MTBbtbinistry of health, Assistive technology, assumptions, Autonomy, Big four agenda, blind, braille, Braille authority, capacity building, Communication, Communication authority Advocacy Inclusion, Concentration difficulties, Consortium of disabled persons organizations, Corona virus, Coronavirus, Covid-2019 Ableism, Data collection, Depression, Development and advocacy, disability mainstreaming, Disability persons organizations, Disaster risk management, Diversity & Inclusion Exploring disability practices, Diversity and inclusion Chronic illness, Durable Medical Equipment, Empowerment, equal rights, Evolution, gender equality gender equity, health care rationing, Health policy, Hearing difficulties, hot96, Hot96 Radio Maisha, human rights, Humanitarian crises, ILO, inclusion, infantilizing, Innovation to Inclusion, Intergovernmental Coordination, kbc channel 1, Kenya association of manufacturers, Kenya bureau of statistics, Kenya institute of the Blind, Kenya union of the blind, Law society of Kenya, making choices, Medical care, Medical industrial complex, Medical Interventions, Mental illness, milele fm, Ministry of education, ministry of labour and social services, Ministry of public service, Ministry of transport, Ministry of treasury, National council for population, National employment authority., National hospital insurance fund, NCPWD, Non-discrimination, Nonvisual access, NTVKENY, ntvkenya, Open society institute, pandemic, people daily, persons with disabilities, Persons with disability act 2003, Physical Barrier, policy, Politics, Public hospitals, public policy, Public service, Public service commission, Radio citizen, radio jambo, Reasonable accommodation, Removal and identification of barriers, Respect and dignity, Seeing difficulties, Self-care difficulties Indigenous, Sighted world, Social exclusion, social protection, Spice fm, standardmedia, Sustainable development goals, switch tv, Switch tv Discrimination, Systemic ableism, Twin track approach Must do action, UNICEF, Ventilation, Ventilators Emergency response, Water access, World Health Organization, World report ADAPTIV TECHNOLOGY

The mixed cup of COVID-19: Shall we drink on it? Author Mugambi Paul “Opinions expressed are my own”

Posted on January 16, 2021 by admin01

The year is still virgin and we have dreams for 2021. We acknowledgement that 2020 was a difficult year. We need to do things differently to recover what we were unable to achieve last year and maximize on this New Year. To achieve this milestone there are a few aspects that need to be considered since it seems Corona seem not to go away.
Never the less, For the past n10 months, we have all experienced and even endured life under the shadow of the COVID-19 threat. And, I would say that we have endured it admirably well and have even learnt to carry on with our lives, treating it as a new kind of learning experience. Yes, we have learnt a good many lesson from it.

For instance, we have learnt that it is not absolutely necessary for every one of us to be present at our workplaces except for those doing some kind of physical work. In discovering this, we have also realized that it was perhaps not really necessary to build our gargantuan software parks all over the globe at such astronomical costs. We have seen that more than ninety percent of our software workforce is able to work from home, admirably well.

Many of our software professionals who have to frequently present themselves smartly at many virtual interactions and meetings have come to realize, a little painfully, that all the expensive suits they burnt their money on were not necessary at all. I say this because they could have managed to save almost half the cost of their suits by going in just for the jackets. Yes, that is what is seen of them in at all their virtual meetings now and it does not matter at all what they wear or even do not wear below their waistlines!
I am not joking but the truth is that many of them whom I know very well, have told me that they work in their pajamas or even shorts after ensuring that they wear a different jacket and tie for every new meeting!

With this being the case, expensive shoes too are now completely out of their shopping baskets. Below the line of sight of their laptop cameras some of them could very we’ll be cutting vegetables or kneading dough to facilitate the running of their households!

We have all learnt that we can enjoy the same restaurant food that we used to relish so much, now far from the maddening crowd, in the safety and tranquility of our own homes or work places. And, we have come to realize that it can in fact be a more relaxing and enjoyable experience too! Moreover, I vividly remember when I sold this idea to some client 2 years ago. I was dismissed for stating the current reality.
My concern by then there was little space and not accessible.
Most of the work was data feeding related.
We should thank COVID-19 2019 for the new reality although this is still a major tribulation for persons with disabilities.
Join me in the disability sausage YouTube channel as we dig deep in to this phenomenon

The views expressed here are for the author and do not represent any agency or organization.
Mugambi Paul is a public policy, diversity, inclusion and sustainability expert.
Australian Chief Minister Award winner
“excellence of making inclusion happen”

Posted in Accessibility, Attitudinal Barrier, Communication Barrier, Disability Advocacy, Disability Inclusion, Disability issues, institutional Barrier, Uncategorized | Tagged • Financing for Development • Social Development • Statistics • Economic Analysis and Policy • Forests, • institutional Barrier, • Population, • Public Administration, • Sustainable Development, Ableism is trashss, Ableism New age for visually impaired, Ableism Radio citizen @LeonardCheshire, Abuja declaration, access to services, accessibility, Accessibility Attitudinal Barrier Building Partnerships Communication Barrier Disability Inclusion Disability issues, Accountability to the affected population, advocacy, and culture. MTBbtbinistry of health, Assistive technology, assumptions, Autonomy, Big four agenda, blind, braille, Braille authority, capacity building, Communication, Communication authority Advocacy Inclusion, Concentration difficulties, Consortium of disabled persons organizations, Corona virus, Coronavirus, Covid-2019 Ableism, Data collection, Depression, Development and advocacy, disability mainstreaming, Disability persons organizations, Disaster risk management, Diversity & Inclusion Exploring disability practices, Diversity and inclusion Chronic illness, Durable Medical Equipment, Empowerment, equal rights, Evolution, gender equality gender equity, health care rationing, Health policy, Hearing difficulties, hot96, Hot96 Radio Maisha, human rights, Humanitarian crises, ILO, inclusion, infantilizing, Innovation to Inclusion, Intergovernmental Coordination, kbc channel 1, Kenya association of manufacturers, Kenya bureau of statistics, Kenya institute of the Blind, Kenya union of the blind, Law society of Kenya, making choices, Medical care, Medical industrial complex, Medical Interventions, Mental illness, milele fm, Ministry of education, ministry of labour and social services, Ministry of public service, Ministry of transport, Ministry of treasury, National council for population, National employment authority., National hospital insurance fund, NCPWD, Non-discrimination, Nonvisual access, NTVKENY, ntvkenya, Open society institute, pandemic, people daily, persons with disabilities, Persons with disability act 2003, Physical Barrier, policy, Politics, Public hospitals, public policy, Public service, Public service commission, Radio citizen, radio jambo, Reasonable accommodation, Removal and identification of barriers, Respect and dignity, Seeing difficulties, Self-care difficulties Indigenous, Sighted world, Social exclusion, social protection, Spice fm, standardmedia, Sustainable development goals, switch tv, Switch tv Discrimination, Systemic ableism, Twin track approach Must do action, UNICEF, Ventilation, Ventilators Emergency response, Water access, World Health Organization, World report ADAPTIV TECHNOLOGY

Why Triple seclusion among persons with disabilities? Author Mugambi Paul “Opinions expressed are my own”

Posted on January 11, 2021 by admin01

Covid-19 you dint decide to spare my community.
You decided to triple the tribulation.
According to increasing research persons with disabilities are experiencing loneliness and isolation at higher rate.
This is to say less inclusion is taking place under the pandemic. On the other hand, when we focus on an individual’s gifts and values that we can share with the community, we have taken the first step in facilitating and fostering a friendship based on a mutual interest that two people may share.
Moreover, we living in a world where isolation and loneliness are becoming an increasing challenge for all communities the world over, especially for people with disability. I affirm Taking steps to create opportunities for friendships and genuine connection is important now, more than ever.
Loneliness
Even before the onset of the global pandemic, isolation and loneliness were experienced by persons with disabilities at a considerably higher rate than persons who are yet to be disabled. Now more than ever, it is crucial that we work to create opportunities for social connectedness and belonging.
Sadly, for people with disabilities, loneliness was already an issue [HI 2020 IDA 2020].

Several studies have shown It has been said that an antidote for loneliness is friendship, but having friends is also disproportionately not achieved as easily for people with disabilities. Compared to the general population, people with disabilities have fewer friends, less social support and are more socially isolated. Good friends are good for your health. Friends can help you celebrate good times and provide support during bad times. Friends inhibit loneliness and give you a reciprocal opportunity to also offer needed companionship. Friends can also increase your sense of belonging and purpose, boost your happiness and reduce your stress. Friends play a significant role in promoting your overall health.
Good friends are good for your health.
I opine in order to break barriers of inclusion we need to establish friendship between persons with disabilities and those who are yet to be disabled.
Join me as we discuss on the disability sausage YouTube channel on this topic and much more. .
The views expressed here are for the author and do not represent any agency or organization.
Mugambi Paul is a public policy, diversity, inclusion and sustainability expert.
Australian Chief Minister Award winner
“excellence of making inclusion happen”

Posted in Accessibility, Building Partnerships, Communication Barrier, Disability Advocacy, Disability Inclusion, institutional Barrier | Tagged • Financing for Development • Social Development • Statistics • Economic Analysis and Policy • Forests, • institutional Barrier, • Population, • Public Administration, • Sustainable Development, Ableism is trashss, Ableism New age for visually impaired, Ableism Radio citizen @LeonardCheshire, Abuja declaration, access to services, accessibility, Accessibility Attitudinal Barrier Building Partnerships Communication Barrier Disability Inclusion Disability issues, Accountability to the affected population, advocacy, and culture. MTBbtbinistry of health, Assistive technology, assumptions, Autonomy, Big four agenda, blind, braille, Braille authority, capacity building, Communication, Communication authority Advocacy Inclusion, Concentration difficulties, Consortium of disabled persons organizations, Corona virus, Coronavirus, Covid-2019 Ableism, Data collection, Depression, Development and advocacy, disability mainstreaming, Disability persons organizations, Disaster risk management, Diversity & Inclusion Exploring disability practices, Diversity and inclusion Chronic illness, Durable Medical Equipment, Empowerment, equal rights, Evolution, gender equality gender equity, health care rationing, Health policy, Hearing difficulties, hot96, Hot96 Radio Maisha, human rights, Humanitarian crises, ILO, inclusion, infantilizing, Innovation to Inclusion, Intergovernmental Coordination, kbc channel 1, Kenya association of manufacturers, Kenya bureau of statistics, Kenya institute of the Blind, Kenya union of the blind, Law society of Kenya, making choices, Medical care, Medical industrial complex, Medical Interventions, Mental illness, milele fm, Ministry of education, ministry of labour and social services, Ministry of public service, Ministry of transport, Ministry of treasury, National council for population, National employment authority., National hospital insurance fund, NCPWD, Non-discrimination, Nonvisual access, NTVKENY, ntvkenya, Open society institute, pandemic, people daily, persons with disabilities, Persons with disability act 2003, Physical Barrier, policy, Politics, Public hospitals, public policy, Public service, Public service commission, Radio citizen, radio jambo, Reasonable accommodation, Removal and identification of barriers, Respect and dignity, Seeing difficulties, Self-care difficulties Indigenous, Sighted world, Social exclusion, social protection, Spice fm, standardmedia, Sustainable development goals, switch tv, Switch tv Discrimination, Systemic ableism, Twin track approach Must do action, UNICEF, Ventilation, Ventilators Emergency response, Water access, World Health Organization, World report ADAPTIV TECHNOLOGY

Could you be my eyes? Author Mugambi Paul “Opinions expressed are my own”

Posted on January 7, 2021 by admin01

In recent times, A famous slogan I have adapted when I seek Be my eyes support is
“Could you be my eyes?”
My of my readers won’t understand this, this is simply because, through this question I have been able to find resolutions and get great support. Never the less, with the latest technological growth There are countless applications that have come up. As a global citizen, navigating and performing some tasks have been quite challenging, but there’s an application that can assists a person who is blind like me or a person with seeing difficulties with what some people don’t have to think twice about.
Not only is the Be My Eyes app making a difference in the daily lives of those who are blind and visually impaired like me but it gives persons who are yet to have sight difficulties a chance to volunteer in a way they can truly make an impact.
Here’s how it works: A person who is blind or visually impaired can connect on the app via video and audio with a sighted person, who can help them with tasks as simple as figuring out the color of a shirt, knowing the currency and the expiration date on different packages, to more important tasks, such as getting the temperature off a thermometer or sometimes reading mail to me. And there is assistance in more than 180 languages.
The app is being raved about by users in the visually impaired community.
Moreover, as a blind person the help that I get is requisite and invaluable.
this is because I might be requiring to perform some tasks and I wouldn’t like to either disturb or no one could be available at that particular moment.
As a user I would like to state All what one really need is a few minutes to help change/impact someone’s life for the better. In other words, you can make a world a better place by supporting blind persons like me. another great example and one of the coolest experiences I have had, is when customer agent of Microsoft cleaned and upgraded my PC and stayed on the phone with me for almost 10 hours. With the COVID-19 times, be my eyes support has been valuable when PC stocks or when I need to be connected to forums.
These are tasks that would be extremely difficult without help.
We shall discuss more on disability sausage YouTube channel

The views expressed here are for the author and do not represent any agency or organization.
Mugambi Paul is a public policy, diversity, inclusion and sustainability expert.
Australian Chief Minister Award winner
“excellence of making inclusion happen”

Posted in Attitudinal Barrier, Building Partnerships, Communication Barrier, Disability Advocacy, Disability issues, institutional Barrier, Physical Barrier | Tagged • Financing for Development • Social Development • Statistics • Economic Analysis and Policy • Forests, • institutional Barrier, • Population, • Public Administration, • Sustainable Development, Ableism is trashss, Ableism New age for visually impaired, Ableism Radio citizen @LeonardCheshire, Abuja declaration, access to services, accessibility, Accessibility Attitudinal Barrier Building Partnerships Communication Barrier Disability Inclusion Disability issues, Accountability to the affected population, advocacy, and culture. MTBbtbinistry of health, Assistive technology, assumptions, Autonomy, Big four agenda, blind, braille, Braille authority, capacity building, Communication, Communication authority Advocacy Inclusion, Concentration difficulties, Consortium of disabled persons organizations, Corona virus, Coronavirus, Covid-2019 Ableism, Data collection, Depression, Development and advocacy, disability mainstreaming, Disability persons organizations, Disaster risk management, Diversity & Inclusion Exploring disability practices, Diversity and inclusion Chronic illness, Durable Medical Equipment, Empowerment, equal rights, Evolution, gender equality gender equity, health care rationing, Health policy, Hearing difficulties, hot96, Hot96 Radio Maisha, human rights, Humanitarian crises, ILO, inclusion, infantilizing, Innovation to Inclusion, Intergovernmental Coordination, kbc channel 1, Kenya association of manufacturers, Kenya bureau of statistics, Kenya institute of the Blind, Kenya union of the blind, Law society of Kenya, making choices, Medical care, Medical industrial complex, Medical Interventions, Mental illness, milele fm, Ministry of education, ministry of labour and social services, Ministry of public service, Ministry of transport, Ministry of treasury, National council for population, National employment authority., National hospital insurance fund, NCPWD, Non-discrimination, Nonvisual access, NTVKENY, ntvkenya, Open society institute, pandemic, people daily, persons with disabilities, Persons with disability act 2003, Physical Barrier, policy, Politics, Public hospitals, public policy, Public service, Public service commission, Radio citizen, radio jambo, Reasonable accommodation, Removal and identification of barriers, Respect and dignity, Seeing difficulties, Self-care difficulties Indigenous, Sighted world, Social exclusion, social protection, Spice fm, standardmedia, Sustainable development goals, switch tv, Switch tv Discrimination, Systemic ableism, Twin track approach Must do action, UNICEF, Ventilation, Ventilators Emergency response, Water access, World Health Organization, World report ADAPTIV TECHNOLOGY

Will COVID-19 2019 be blessing or curse to social protection practices in the global south? Author Mugambi Paul “Opinions expressed are my own”

Posted on January 7, 2021 by admin01

I observe the current replicas of social protection policies that is prevalent across low-income nations has a strong prominence on programmes targeted at the poorest members of society, these social policies were emulated not just from pre-War Europe, but of 19th Century Europe [Whiteford 2015, Carol 2017]. This model contributes heavily to the undermining of trust in government. As a result of targeting the poorest members of society, the majority of the population – the so-called ‘missing middle’ – are, by design, excluded from the national social security system while the ‘poor relief’ programmes that are delivered tend to be of poor quality: targeting errors are high while selection is widely perceived by citizens as arbitrary and unfair; transfer values are low, with their real value falling year on year; conditions and sanctions are often used, which undermine dignity and self-respect; recipients are often stigmatized;
and, local elites often use programmes as a means of exercising power and control over recipients. Indeed, the proxy means test – a targeting mechanism that is particularly arbitrary in its selection of recipients – functions as if it were designed with the sole purpose of undermining trust in government. Yet, it continues to be strongly promoted across the Global South, often in the guise of social registries. Additionally, more research needs to be conducted by scholars and academicians to ascertain the existing barriers of public service.
For instance, should organization of persons with disabilities and persons with disabilities change tact in demanding for better social protection policies?

On the other hand, the global trends of usage of social media as a tool for advocacy has continuously showed bureaucratic processes and poor resources are part of the low implementation of social policies.
.
g

trust in government is the basic building block of any successful nation-state. It needs to be at the very top of the list of government priorities since, once trust is undermined, the state itself can be threatened. History tells us that a key factor in building trust is the provision of universal public services, since they can be enjoyed by everyone on an equal and impartial basis. And, if trust is to be built quickly, the best means of doing so is through universal social security.
There is a growing evidence in many countries their exist low quality of public services which weaken social contracts and discourage people from paying taxes. In fact, in many countries, the middle class and rich citizens have abandoned state-financed health and education services and opted for private provision. This, naturally, deepens their reluctance to pay the taxes that would fund the public services that they no longer use [Carol 208 UNDP 2018[.
Never the less, Thanks to COVID-19 now the rich and the middle class in many nations are demanding for accountability and transparency by governments since they no longer can afford private services [Andrew 2018 UN 2008[.
Most of the private health and education services have shut down.
Could this be the icebreaker for governments to have a proper social contract with its citizens?
COVID-19 has created a major crisis across all republics and has highlighted the failings of the prevailing social and economic policies in most countries in the Global South. A key question is whether COVID-19 can be the catalyst for the type of paradigm shift in social and economic policy that occurred across Western Europe following the Second World War. If this change in paradigm is to happen, it will need progressive politicians and development partners to come together and move away from the poor relief model that has dominated policy thinking across the Global South. Instead, they need to have an unremitting focus on building the type of universal social security system that transformed the social contract in Europe. Listening to Sweden’s Ministry of Finance could be a good first step [Steve 2020 IDA 20220[. To put matters in to perspective there is a growing catastrophic of the young generation who are demanding for biter public service.
The more low-income nations strive to employ economic politics the more the nations will uplift themselves from poverty.
According to Whiteford 2017 China uplifted its citizens by the way of empowering them and offering inclusive social protection practices.
This so the rise of local industries and opened up the support for its citizens.
Obviously developing nations have had the social protection policies which benefited a few.
Now that COVID-19 has ensured an equalizer where the low class and middle class have been highly affected.
Its prudent for governments to invest in public services and stop enhancement of private ventures.
Additionally, when public services are well resourced citizens will gain trust with the governments and hence increase of tax collections
The disability sausage YouTube channel will dissect the public policies which have not served the populations.

The views expressed here are for the author and do not represent any agency or organization.
Mugambi Paul is a public policy, diversity, inclusion and sustainability expert.
Australian Chief Minister Award winner
“excellence of making inclusion happen”

Posted in Accessibility, Attitudinal Barrier, Building Partnerships, Communication Barrier, Disability Advocacy, Disability Inclusion, Disability issues, institutional Barrier, Physical Barrier, Uncategorized | Tagged • Financing for Development • Social Development • Statistics • Economic Analysis and Policy • Forests, • institutional Barrier, • Population, • Public Administration, • Sustainable Development, Ableism is trashss, Ableism New age for visually impaired, Ableism Radio citizen @LeonardCheshire, Abuja declaration, access to services, accessibility, Accessibility Attitudinal Barrier Building Partnerships Communication Barrier Disability Inclusion Disability issues, Accountability to the affected population, advocacy, and culture. MTBbtbinistry of health, Assistive technology, assumptions, Autonomy, Big four agenda, blind, braille, Braille authority, capacity building, Communication, Communication authority Advocacy Inclusion, Concentration difficulties, Consortium of disabled persons organizations, Corona virus, Coronavirus, Covid-2019 Ableism, Data collection, Depression, Development and advocacy, disability mainstreaming, Disability persons organizations, Disaster risk management, Diversity & Inclusion Exploring disability practices, Diversity and inclusion Chronic illness, Durable Medical Equipment, Empowerment, equal rights, Evolution, gender equality gender equity, health care rationing, Health policy, Hearing difficulties, hot96, Hot96 Radio Maisha, human rights, Humanitarian crises, ILO, inclusion, infantilizing, Innovation to Inclusion, Intergovernmental Coordination, kbc channel 1, Kenya association of manufacturers, Kenya bureau of statistics, Kenya institute of the Blind, Kenya union of the blind, Law society of Kenya, making choices, Medical care, Medical industrial complex, Medical Interventions, Mental illness, milele fm, Ministry of education, ministry of labour and social services, Ministry of public service, Ministry of transport, Ministry of treasury, National council for population, National employment authority., National hospital insurance fund, NCPWD, Non-discrimination, Nonvisual access, NTVKENY, ntvkenya, Open society institute, pandemic, people daily, persons with disabilities, Persons with disability act 2003, Physical Barrier, policy, Politics, Public hospitals, public policy, Public service, Public service commission, Radio citizen, radio jambo, Reasonable accommodation, Removal and identification of barriers, Respect and dignity, Seeing difficulties, Self-care difficulties Indigenous, Sighted world, Social exclusion, social protection, Spice fm, standardmedia, Sustainable development goals, switch tv, Switch tv Discrimination, Systemic ableism, Twin track approach Must do action, UNICEF, Ventilation, Ventilators Emergency response, Water access, World Health Organization, World report ADAPTIV TECHNOLOGY

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    Anonymous
  • Blind dorctor what my Kenyan Blind fraternity can learn! May 30, 2018
    Blind Student Earns M.D. #guest writer by Sharon Cohen article by Sharon Cohen, is not the first blind person to earn a medical degree, nor the second, or even the third. Nevertheless, the article is inspiring, and it contains fascinating and useful details that can inspire and inform parents and teachers who may have never […]
    Anonymous
  • Siri ya mtungi AKA secret of guys being busy! May 24, 2018
    Everyone’s so busy these days! We wake up, we go to work, we have to stop by Time Warner after work to drop off that old router, then an old friend wants to catch up, then our boss surprises us by letting us know we need to turn in that report tonight, and by then […]
    Anonymous
  • The handshake from a blind perspective: #the white cane miles: May 4, 2018
    The handshake from a blind perspective: #the white cane miles: As usual you know Mpofu namba 1 I love Public transport not that it’s the best but that’s how social and economic lifeline is. Mostly when I travel to town or to far distances I love the busses. They are full of intrigs. We have […]
    Anonymous
  • This company wants to replace braille with a controversial new font Meet ELIA, a new tactile reading system. April 19, 2018
    Meet ELIA, a new tactile reading system. Learning to read and write was a challenge for Louis Braille. While many kids struggle to read, Braille was blinded at the age of three by an infection following an accident in his father’s leathering workshop. Unable to see words on the page, his best chance at literacy […]
    Anonymous
  • We know about the gender pay gap. But what about the disability pay gap? | #Frances Ryan | Opinion | April 18, 2018
    Forcing companies to disclose their gender pay gap has been like pulling back the curtain. For the first time, we’re seeing the real picture behind the often-secretive world of pay: one in which every industry from academia and local councils to FTSE companies is underpaying women. As part of this, it has been refreshing to […]
    Anonymous

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