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Disability Data Initiative Sub-Saharan Africa (DDI-SSA)

Disability DataThe Disability Data Initiative (DDI) was founded by Prof Sophie Mitra at Fordham University. In 2021, the Initiative partnered with nine regional hubs, including the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), which now supports the work in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

The DDI analyses disability data to help advance the rights of persons with disabilities and sustainable human development for all. The Initiative regularly reviews national censuses and household surveys worldwide regarding their inclusion of disability questions. Using datasets identified through this work, it then disaggregates various indicators between persons with and without disabilities. So far, the DDI has reviewed censuses and household surveys for 188 countries and generated county reports for around 70 countries, including 28 countries from Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The DDI-SSA team has additionally supported data analysis of other publically available data sets, such as the Burden of Disease study or school monitoring surveys.

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Publications
Webinars

The first DDI-SSA webinar on 23 March 2023 introduced participants to the DDI. The webinar provided an overview of where and what type of disability data is publicly available on disability globally and in the Sub-Saharan region. The webinar discussed what disability questions had been applied and how they can be used to calculate disability prevalence using different cut-off points for the degree of disability. It also showed how these cut-off points could be used to measure disability gaps in employment, income education, health, employment, and multidimensional poverty. It illustrated how this gap analysis could inform and monitor policy implementation focusing on the rights of persons with disabilities.

Student Thesis

Deghaye, Nicola Mary (2023): Measuring enrolment and support for children with disabilities at the school level (South Africa). Dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at Stellenbosh University.

McKenzie, Tamlyn Candyee (2022): Childhood and adult disability: Impact on education and the labor market in South Africa. Dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Economics in the School of Accounting, Economics and Finance at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

SAMRC   disability data   Fordham University

Contact details
Prof. Dr. Jill Hanass-Hancock: Jill.hanasshancock@mrc.ac.za
Bradley Carpenter: bradley.carpenter@mrc.ac.za