Funded by the UK’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), PENDA complements their inclusion strategy to address fundamental gaps in the inclusion of people with disabilities in mainstream development. PENDA is working with the FCDO funded Disability Inclusive Development programme, led by Sightsavers, to evaluate which of their inclusion interventions have the greatest impact on the lives of people with disabilities.
Knowledge
The programme is generating knowledge on what works in Disability Inclusive Development (DID) explicitly in relation to education, health, livelihoods and reduced stigma. This includes conducting Randomised Control Trials (RCTs) or impact evaluations in LMICs. The progamme is also focused on engaging new and existing researchers in the field, by commissioning out a further series of impact evaluations on the subject.
People
The programme is working on improved research capacity on DID through 1) Collaboration and support with Southern academic partners, 2) Training Southern Academics through a PhD scheme, in particular researchers with disabilities, 3) Training people with disabilities to be participants in data collection and analysis, 4) Building the reputation of Southern partners in DID research.
Tools
The programme is developing and validating tools to help assess what does and doesn't work in DID. This includes quantitative indicators and qualitative approaches, which are being included in trials for testing.
PENDA is a consortium led by the International Centre for Evidence in Disability (ICED), based at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), funded by the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), in partnership with CBM, ADD international, and Help Age International.
The programme will primarily evaluate the question: What Works in Disability Inclusive Development? This will be the primary focus of the ICED team, with support in country from Disabled Persons Organisations. To help encourage new evidence and ways of thinking about DID, a component of the programme hopes to engage new and existing researchers in the field, commissioning out further studies throughout the life of the programme. This will be a competitive call for applications, which will be assessed independently by an Evaluation Advisory Group.
The programme will also help to build capacity in disability research in LMICs, by collaborating with local academic institutions and supporting individual PhD students in these settings.
Programme team
Hannah Kuper
Co-Director of ICED & Professor of Epidemiology, Co-Programme Lead
Tom Shakespeare
Co-Director of ICED & Professor of Disability, Co-Programme Lead
Calum Davey
Deputy Director of the Centre for Evaluation & Assistant Professor, Evaluation Lead
Morgon Banks
Assistant Professor ICED
Sarah Marks
Research Fellow
Nathaniel Scherer
Research Fellow
Georgie Gaskell
PENDA Programme Manager
Sabrina Dogbe
ICED Project Administrator
Programme management and governance
In addition to the programme team, PENDA receives technical advice and direction from groups and committee's to ensure we deliver the best possible evidence, with input from voices in the field.
- Steering Committee
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The Steering Committee members are representatives from FCDO, ADD International, Sightsavers, CBM and Help Age International, their primary role is to ensure the PENDA research is focused on where it is needed, to deliver high quality results for the sector.
- Evaluation Advisory Group
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PENDA has established an Evaluation Advisory Group which is made up of five senior researchers at LSHTM:
- Professor Allen Foster – DID expert
- Dr Giulia Greco – Health Economist
- Professor James Hargreaves – Evaluation Scientist
- Professor Janet Seeley – Qualitative Researcher
- Professor Helen Weiss – Statistician
The aim of the group is to provide an independent review of all proposed research by PENDA, and oversee the grant commissioning component of the programme.
- International Disabled People Advisory Committee
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PENDA has also engaged an advisory committee primarily, but not exclusively of persons with disabilities from the global south. The members will meet virtually twice a year to discuss the research and focus of the programme, advising the PENDA team and helping ensure the research is meeting it's objectives.
The committee is made up of:
- Ola Abu Alghaib (Wheelchair user, NGO leader, UK but originally Palestinian Territory)
- Catalina Devandas (Wheelchair user, Lawyer, UN Special Rapporteur on Disability, Costa Rica)
- Mosharraf Hussein (Wheelchair user, NGO leader, UK but originally Bangladesh)
- Diane Kingston (Disability policy expert, lived experience of mental and physical impairments, UK)
- Yetnebersh Ngussie (Blind inclusion advocate, Ethiopia)
- Liz Sayce (Mental health advocate, NGO leader, UK)
- Faustina Urassa (Wheelchair user, Community activist, Tanzania)
- Joana Passos (Mother of a disabled child, Community activist, Brazil)
We are engaging in multiple studies across the programme, stay up to date on what we are doing below.
Photo credit: (c) International Centre for Evidence in Disability
- Access of children with disabilities to school-based interventions: an RCT in Malawi and India
Rationale for the intervention
There are approximately 150 million children globally with disabilities. [1] Comparable data are lacking, but it is clear that people with disabilities are consistently falling behind in educational inclusion compared to their peers without disabilities. [2] A study using data from Plan showed that across 30 countries, children with disabilities were 5-10 times less likely to be enrolled in school than their peers without disabilities. [3]
Exclusion of children with disabilities from education is important as:
- It is in violation of their rights (e.g. under UN conventions of the rights of the child and the rights of persons with disabilities).
- It will make it more difficult for SDGs to be realised (e.g. SDG on education specifically refers to children with disabilities)
- It will perpetuate the social exclusion and poverty of children with disabilities and their families.
However, there is a lack of understanding of the predictors of educational inclusion among children with disabilities in low and middle income countries (LMICs).
Another important concern is that many child health programmes are now administered through schools (e.g. vision/hearing testing, mass drug administration, health education), and will therefore disproportionately exclude children with disabilities.
Research question:
- Do school-based health interventions exclude children with disabilities in Malawi and India? If so, is it more cost-effective to reach children with disabilities who are not attending school through school dissemination with community “mop-up” or through community dissemination?
- Sub-question: what are the predictors of enrolment in school among children with disabilities in Malawi and India?
Hypotheses being tested:
School-based health interventions will exclude children with disabilities. Certain groups of children with disabilities are more vulnerable to exclusion from school: children with intellectual impairments, girls, and children who are poor.
Brief description of study:
These questions will be addressed within the Gates-funded DeWorm 3 trial conducted in Malawi and India. Communities are randomised so that children receive deworming at school or in the community. The disability status of all children is assessed through a community census. Coverage of deworming for children with and without disabilities will be compared between the school and community trial arms to assess whether school based dissemination excludes children with disabilities.
In-depth qualitative interviews with parents and children in each arm of the study will explore factors associated with no or low attendance at school. Follow up interviews with teachers and access audits at selected schools will identify whether barriers to attendance are operating.
1. UNICEF. State of the World's Children 2013. New York: UNICEF, 2013.
2. UNESCO. Education and Disability: Analysis of Data from 49 Countries 2018. Available from: http://uis.unesco.org/sites/default/files/documents/ip49-education-disability-2018-en.pdf.
3. Kuper H, Monteath-van Dok A, Wing K, Danquah L, Evans J, Zuurmond M, et al. The impact of disability on the lives of children; cross-sectional data including 8,900 children with disabilities and 898,834 children without disabilities across 30 countries. PLoS One. 2014;9(9):e107300. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0107300. PubMed PMID: 25202999; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4159292.
- Impact of a disability-targeted livelihoods programme in Bangladesh: the STAR+ programme
Start date: January 2022
End date: January 2024
Description of intervention: STAR+ is a programme developed by BRAC and partners to improve decent work opportunities for youth with disabilities. It is an adapted version of an existing programme called “STAR” that has been running in Bangladesh since 2012 and has reached over 30,000 youth, including 2,100 youth with disabilities. Previous evaluations have found STAR to be effective at improving employment outcomes and earnings amongst the general population1 . However, implementers recognised that further adaptations were needed to better support the inclusion of youth with disabilities, who were overrepresented in STAR’s drop-outs.
Consequently, the STAR+ programme was developed after formative research and consultations with youth with disabilities, Organisations of Persons with Disabilities and other key stakeholders. STAR+ involves a 6 month full time on-the-job training in a preferred trade, in addition to weekly classroom trainings. After the 6 months training, youth are placed in waged employment in their chosen trade. Trainings and workplaces have been adapted for accessibility and inclusion, such as through workplace audits and sensitisation of employers. The STAR+ programme also targets other barriers to employment amongst youth with disabilities, such as by providing assistive devices and rehabilitation support, as well as negative attitudes and misconceptions on disability amongst families and communities.
Target group of the intervention: Eligibility for STAR+ is based on the following conditions: a) having a disability; b) age is between 14-35 years; c) dropped out of school for at least a year, d) not currently in employment or training; and e) currently living in poverty, meaning their household earns BDT 4000 (US$46) or less per capita per month.
Country(ies): Bangladesh
Name of collaborator(s): BRAC Institute of Governance and Development
Objective of research: The overall aim of this research is to assess the impact of the STAR+ programme in improving livelihoods and well-being amongst youth with disabilities in Bangladesh.
Research questions: What was the impact of STAR+ on employment and earnings amongst youth with disabilities (primary outcomes)? What was the impact of STAR+ on poverty, participation and quality of life amongst youth with disabilities (secondary outcomes)? Were there differences in impact amongst youth with disabilities (e.g. by gender, impairment type)? What aspects of the STAR+ programme were perceived to be most important for affecting desired impacts among youth with disabilities? What were the main challenges and enablers to the implementation and delivery of STAR+ from the perspective of participants and implementers?
Methods: We are conducting a cluster-randomised controlled trial of STAR+. Baseline was conducted in January/February 2022, after which STAR+ has been delivered for 9 months. Endline data collection is planned for January/February 2024.
We will also conduct a process evaluation to explore participants’, implementers’ and other stakeholders’ perceptions of the programme, including what worked well and areas for further improvement.
Findings: TBD
Links for further details: For further details on the study protocol see: https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN15742977; https://ridie.3ieimpact.org/index.php?r=search/detailView&id=1102
[1] Das, N., Training the disadvantaged youth and labor market outcomes: Evidence from Bangladesh. Journal of Development Economics, 2021. 149: p. 102585.
- Uganda Disability Inclusive Graduation (DIG)
ICED will carry out an evaluation on the disability-inclusion approach of the DIG programme, a livelihoods intervention delivered by BRAC in Uganda. The programme intends to contribute to SDG 1 and 10 through the expansion of socio-economic empowerment and social protection for some of the most marginalised and vulnerable communities in Uganda, particularly those with disabilities.
Scope of Work
The objectives of the study will be met through an impact evaluation (cluster-randomised control trial, with complementary qualitative research) and a process evaluation. A detailed research methodology, including research protocols and logistical plans, will be developed by LSHTM and IERC/BIGD.
- Improving access to family planning in Kaduna City, Nigeria: a cluster-randomized trial of the disability-focused DID TO49 project
Start date: July 2022
End date: March 2025
Country(ies): Nigeria
Name of collaborator(s): Sightsavers International; BBC Media Action; Joint National Association of Persons with Disability (JONAPWD); Network of Disabled Women (NDW).
Evaluation: LSHTM; OPM Nigeria
Objective of research: To evaluate the impact of the DID TO49 project on access to family planning among women with disabilities in Kaduna City, Nigeria.
Research questions:
Did the intervention increase access to family planning among women with disabilities in selected sites in Kaduna City? Did the intervention increase use of family-planning services among women with disabilities in selected sites in Kaduna City? Did the intervention reduce the unmet need for family-planning services among women with disabilities in selected sites in Kaduna City?
We will also measure “realised access”, or use, as an important secondary outcome, this is defined for the purposes of the trial as women aged 18-49 with disability who are sexually active and would like to delay/reduce future pregnancies using modern family-planning methods to achieve this.
Findings: Baseline data collection was completed in January 2023. Intervention implementation is anticipated to commence in April 2023 and continue for approximately 12 months, after which the endline survey will be conducted and findings reported.
- Know where to access modern family-planning;
- Believe that they could use services if they needed them.
Scope of work: The Disability Inclusive Development (DID) programme Task Order 49 (TO49) aims is to improve access to family planning for women and girls aged 15-49 years old with disabilities living in selected areas in Kaduna City, Nigeria. The programme is managed by Sightsavers International and funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in Nigeria. The TO49 programme will be evaluated by London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine under the FCDO PENDA programme, in partnership with OPM Nigeria. The evaluation is a cluster-randomised controlled trial, consisting of baseline and endline data collection from a cohort of women, as well as a comprehensive mixed methods process evaluation. The primary outcome for the trial is access to modern family-planning methods. Access to services is not a single variable that can be measured directly but has been conceptualised for the purposes of this trial as all women aged 18-49 who:
Know of at least three modern contraceptive methods that are available.
- Impact evaluation of the InBusiness programme to improve the economic empowerment of microentrepreneurs with disabilities in Kenya
Start date: July 2023
End date: March 2025
Country(ies): Kenya
Name of collaborator(s): Kenya Medical Research Institute and Light for the World
Objective of research: The overall aim of the research is to assess the impact of InBusiness on improving social and economic wellbeing of people with disabilities.
Research questions:
- To assess the impact of InBusiness on household per capita savings and expenditures and economic empowerment;
- To evaluate the impact of InBusiness on quality of life and access to key disability-related goods and services.
- To explore what aspects of InBusiness were perceived to be most important for affecting desired impacts among young people with disabilities.
- To examine challenges and enablers to the implementation and delivery of InBusiness from the perspective of participants and implementers.
Scope of work: The evaluation involves an RCT and process evaluation of the InBusiness programme run by Light for the World.
The RCT includes 480 microentrepreneurs with disabilities, randomised into the intervention group and control group. Primary outcomes of the RCT include per capita household expenditures and economic empowerment, with secondary outcomes focused on quality of life and their access to disability-related goods and services.
We will also conduct a linked process evaluation to explore implementation fidelity, mechanisms of impact and contextual factors that can affect variations in outcomes. This process evaluation will include qualitative research with 25-40 microentrepreneurs and 15-20 key implementers.
- Evaluation of a programme of early assessment, care and support for children at risk of developmental disabilities in Rwanda: The Pediatric Developmental Clinic/Baby Ubuntu Programme
Start date: January 2023
End date: May 2025
Country(ies): Rwanda
Name of collaborator(s): TBD Partners in Health
Objective of research: This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness and implementation (feasibility, acceptability, cost, sustainability) of a programme of early care and support for young children at risk of developmental disability and their caregivers integrated into government health systems in Rwanda. The ultimate aim is to provide the evidence needed to inform policy makers and programme leads and facilitate integration of early care and support of at risk children into routine health systems in LMIC at scale.
Research questions
- Specific objectives of the study are to:
- Evaluate the impact of the PDC/Baby Ubuntu programme on child and caregiver outcomes, including caregiver knowledge and skills, child functioning and family quality of life
- Evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the PDC/Baby Ubuntu programme when integrated into government health systems in Rwanda.
- Explore challenges and enablers to sustainable implementation of the programme with fidelity integrated with government health services from the perspectives of the participants, and implementers
- Evaluate the incremental costs and cost-effectiveness from the societal perspective.
Scope of work: The evaluation involves an RCT and process evaluation of the PDC/Baby Ubuntu programme in Rwanda.
The RCT includes 2500 children with or at risk of developmental disability, randomised to the intervention or control arm. Primary outcomes of the RCT include child function, caregiver skills and family quality of life.
We will also conduct a linked process evaluation to explore implementation fidelity, mechanisms of impact and contextual factors that can affect variations in outcomes. This process evaluation will include qualitative research with 25-40 caregivers of children with developmental disabilities and 15-20 key implementers.
- Impact evaluation of a pilot cash transfer programme for households of children with disabilities in Lao PDR
Start date: November 2022
End date: December 2025
Country(ies)Laos:
Name of collaborator(s): Laos Institute of Public Health, UNICEF
Objective of research: The overall aim of this research is to assess the impact of a UNICEF-led cash-plus programme amongst children with disabilities and their households in Laos.
Research questions:
Specific objectives include:
- To evaluate the impact of a cash-plus programme on multidimensional poverty amongst children with disabilities
- To assess the impact of a cash-plus programme on caregivers’ well-being
- To measure the impact of a cash-plus programme on household poverty
- To estimate the impact of a cash-plus programme on unmet needs for and out-of-pocket spending on disability-related “extra costs”
- To explore the perceived impact of and satisfaction with the cash-plus programme amongst children with disabilities and their caregivers
- To examine challenges and enablers to the implementation and delivery of the cash-plus programme from the perspective of children/caregivers and implementers
Scope of work: The evaluation involves an RCT and process evaluation of a cash transfer programme for people with disabilities run by UNICEF and the Laos government.
The RCT includes 800 households with children with disabilities, randomised into the intervention group and control group. Primary outcomes of the RCT include child wellbeing, caregiver wellbeing and household poverty.
We will also conduct a linked process evaluation to explore implementation fidelity, mechanisms of impact and contextual factors that can affect variations in outcomes. This process evaluation will include qualitative research with 25-40 people with disabilities and 15-20 key implementers.
- Hygiene and Behaviour Change: Inclusion of people with disabilities and older people in COVID-19 response
Start date: December 2020
End date: October 2023
Background: Hygiene-related behaviour is key for preventing the spread of COVID-19. Consequently, FCDO and other donors are supporting these activities in low and middle-income countries (LMICs).
Older and disabled people are the groups with highest mortality rates from COVID-19. Hygiene behaviour change programmes must therefore include older and people with disabilities. However, these groups may face challenges protecting themselves from infection (e.g. reliance on carers, lack of accessible information, lower autonomy, lower socio-economic status, and inaccessible sanitation facilities). Hygiene behaviour change programmes may need to implement additional activities to reach these groups. Yet, guidance on the inclusion of people with disabilities and older people in COVID-related hygiene programmes is still evolving, and practical advice is needed.
The PENDA programme is conducting an action-research project to support FCDO and Unilever's Hygiene and Behaviour Change Consortium (HBCC) to include people with disabilities and older people in their COVID-19 response.
Scope of work:
- Identify what is needed to ensure people with disabilities and older people benefit equally from FCDO investments in the COVID-19 HBCC
- Review plans for achieving inclusion of people with disabilities and older people
- Evaluate the actual inclusion of people with disabilities and older people in the COVID-19 HBCC activities in Kenya, Indonesia, Zambia, Sierra Leone, and Bangladesh
The activities to achieve the objectives are:
- How could people with disabilities and older people benefit equally from FCDO investments in hygiene behaviour change programmes?
- How can HBCC plans for incorporating people with disabilities and older people be more inclusive?
- How inclusive were HBCC programmes and what can we learn from them for future public health crises?
Implementation
- People with disability and older people were 3-10% less likely to receive hygiene behaviour change messages than people without disabilities
- Older people were 6-12% less likely to receive hygiene products than younger people
- 22% of the public handwashing stations (both accessible facilities and those for the general population) were not functioning
Intervention outcomes
- People with disabilities and older adults were less likely to have knowledge about COVID-19 spread, the at-risk population and preventive measures than their comparison groups
- Many caregivers reported increased knowledge of hand hygiene since COVID-19
- Caregivers were motivated to practice COVID-19 preventative measures by fear of contracting COVID-19 and passing it on to older family members
Recent publications
- Assessment of WASH and incontinence situation of people with disabilities and older people in Bangladesh
- Building the case for including disability and ageing in COVID-19 hygiene programme responses:
- The COVID-19 Inclusive WASH Checklist was developed by reviewing and merging existing human rights frameworks and inclusive WASH checklists. The COVID-19 Inclusive WASH Checklist aims to support the inclusion of people with disabilities, older adults and caregivers in COVID-19 WASH interventions and can be applied when planning, designing, monitoring and evaluating WASH programmes.
- COVID-19 Inclusive WASH Checklist: How can organisations assess whether COVID-19 response programmes are inclusive? | COVID-19 Hygiene Hub Resources.
- The inclusion of disability and aging in COVID-19 hygiene behavior change interventions across low-and middle-income countries: A review using the COVID-19 Inclusive WASH Checklist. We reviewed 137 documents programme documents related to HBCC-funded projects. Feedback was provided to grantees recommending how to strengthen the inclusion of disability, aging, and caregiving.
- Process evaluation of the HBCC for COVID-19 prevention aimed to explore the inclusion of disability and ageing in interventions and evaluate their effectiveness. We conducted a mixed-method study in Kenya, Indonesia, and Zambia and qualitative interviews in Sierra Leone and Bangladesh.
- Exploring the needs and experience of people with disabilities in LMICs during the COVID-19 pandemic
Background
The one billion people with disabilities – the majority of whom reside in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) – face an increased risk of experiencing negative health, economic and social consequences from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but are more likely to be excluded from containment and response activities. As part of PENDA, LSHTM in conjunction with in-country partners will conduct a study to explore the experiences and needs of people with disabilities. Current plans include research in Bangladesh, Ghana, India, Uganda and Zambia. The study will look at particular disability-related risks and ask whether government responses are disability-inclusive.
Scope of work
Research will involve in-depth interviews people with disabilities exploring the immediate and medium-term effects of COVID-19 on daily life and to identify suggestions for improving interventions to better support their needs. We will also conduct in-depth interviews with key informants working in disability and/or COVID-19 related activities to examine the responsiveness of current COVID-19 activities to the needs of people with disabilities.
In Bangladesh and Zambia we will also collect quantitative data on the experiences of people with disabilities by surveying households to track the economic impacts of COVID-19 over time, from this we hope to identify disabled individuals and survey the health, social and psychological impacts of COVID-19.
In Zambia, additional disability questions are being added to an existing survey led by collaborators at the University of Zambia on the impacts of COVID-19.
- Support to the UK Government’s COVID-19 global programming
We are supporting FCDO's COVID-19 programming by providing an in-house evaluation approach. We are focusing on producing evidence briefs and process evaluations of ‘best practice’ action to meet the needs of persons with disabilities during the COVID-19 crisis.
We are preparing evidence briefs on:
We are working with the Inclusive Futures (Disability Inclusive Development) programme led by Sightsavers International and partners to identify candidate projects to evaluate Social protection for people with disabilities in the era of COVID-19 Access to healthcare for people with disabilities in the era of COVID-19 Access to WASH for people with disabilities in the era of COVID-19 Mental health needs/support in the era of COVID-19 Identification of people with disabilities
PhD Studentships in Kenya, Uganda and Zambia
The PENDA Consortium is pleased to support full-time studentships for researchers with disabilities to conduct research to improve the evidence surrounding Disability Inclusive Development. The Consortium is committed to building the capacity of researchers with disabilities from LMICs, and so is currently funding studentships in Kenya, Uganda and Zambia.
The studentships are a partnership between LSHTM and University of Nairobi, Makerere University and Zambart in collaboration with the University of Zambia. One PhD will be based at each University with additional support and supervision from the International Centre for Evidence in Disability at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
The PENDA studentship is providing the opportunity for researchers to build their knowledge and experience in disability inclusive research over the course of three years and work to the completion of a PhD. The studentship provides funds for the researcher to study at one of these universities with additional supervision provided by LSHTM in London. The studentship includes a stipend to enable the candidate to study full time for three years, provide some research field work costs, provide for reasonable adjustments and spend up to three months of the PhD in London, based at LSHTM.
For more information please email: penda@lshtm.ac.uk
Uganda
Florence Ndagire is the successful recipient of the PhD studentship in Uganda.
Florence Ndagire, is the first visually impaired female lawyer in Uganda. She holds a bachelor of laws from Makerere University. She was awarded a scholarship by the open Society foundation that enabled her to complete her Master of Law in international and European human rights law at the University of Leeds, United Kingdom. Florence has just receive an award from the London school of Hygiene and Tropical medicine to undertake her PhD on access to health services and facilities for persons with disabilities in Uganda scheduled for 2020-2023.
Florence is the current chairperson of the UN Women regional civil society advisory group of East and Southern Africa. Florence has worked in several capacities in various civil society organizations, supporting projects and programs on disability rights including lecturing the Course at Makerere University School of law, first as a volunteer and then as a program officer. She previously worked with the UN special rapporteur on disability to support the reports on support services, legal capacity and independent living. Her last assignment was with the World Blind Union, as the human rights policy advisor supporting over 190 countries and member organizations to advance the rights of blind and partially sighted persons in the World.
Zambia
Queen Seketi is the successful recipient of the PhD studentship in Zambia.
Seketi Queen has been selected to receive the PENDA supported PhD studentship in Zambia to complete a PhD in disability inclusive research. Holder of a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Development Studies and a Master of Public Health (MPH) in Population Studies from the University of Zambia, Queen previously worked as a national United Nations Volunteer, with District AIDS Coordination Advisor (DACA) as a functional title. This was under the United Nations Development Programme / Multisectoral Response Initiative project and later for the National AIDS/STI/TB/Leprosy Council in the same capacity. She has more than 15 years of work experience in the HIV and AIDS sector, to plan, build capacity and facilitate the multisectoral responses to HIV and AIDS at district level.
The PENDA Scholarship from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to pursue PhD Study, at the University of Zambia is for three years, from 2020 to 2023. Her investigation will focus on disability inclusion in the COVID -19 Response Strategy in Zambia. She is also part of the multi country consortium studying the impact of the pandemic on people living with disabilities in Low and Medium Income Countries. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, exclusion of people with disabilities in key services were noted world over. She feels it is important to study what changes will be there during and/or after the pandemic, as a way of informing policies/measures to build more resilient and responsive health and other social systems.
During post graduate study, she worked as a part time tutor in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences in the 2015/2016 and 2016/ 2017 academic years, for the second year course titled Social Political Change in Developing Countries.
More recently, the District AIDS Coordination Advisor position has been devolved to the Local Government Service Commission. The task environment enabled her to work within the planning department of Mkushi Town Council to guide on policy; build capacity, plan and support research interventions around the multisectoral response and mainstreaming HIV, Gender and Human Rights in development planning. While heading the Multisectoral Response Coordination and
Management unit in the said department, she collaborated with civil society and government structures to promote the local response to HIV and AIDS. The unit is also the secretariat for the District HIV and AIDS Committee.
Queen is also a member of the Zambia Institute of Planners: She believes that in all planning, programmes have to be inclusive and accessible to people with disabilities were ever they may be living. Some of her research interest areas include HIV and AIDS; social justice; gender matters; food security; social protection; determinants of health and disability Inclusion in health.
Kenya
Stephene Maende is the successful recipient of the PhD studentship in Kenya.
Stephene is a physically impaired Kenyan who holds a Bachelor of Arts (Economics major) from Kenyatta University and Masters of Arts (Economics) from the University of Nairobi. In addition, he has acquired skills in Evaluation of Public Policy from Laval University (Canada) and basic accounting skills from KASNEB. Stephene has been awarded a scholarship from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to pursue a PhD on the impact of Covid-19 on the well-being of Persons with Disability in Kenya: Lessons for Disability Inclusion Development.
Before this award, Stephene worked as a part-time lecturer in the Department of Development Studies at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology where he taught macro and microeconomics, energy and environmental economics. He previously worked for the IRED (research institute) and Scorp Consultant as a Field Officer for which he was responsible for the evaluation of donor-funded projects and programmes and assisted in the development of policies and strategic plans for corporate entities. He additionally played an active role in the review of the 2013-2018 Strategic plans for Utalii college (Nairobi) and Gusii Institute of Technology (Kisii).
Furthermore, Stephene has played a key role in various studies, for example, he was an assistant lead researcher in the following projects: Baseline Survey on the impact of Cash transfer program for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Kenya, Baseline Survey on the impact of Cash transfer program for Orphans and Vulnerable Children and fee waiver policy in public hospitals in Kenya and Off-farm participation, agricultural production and farmers’ welfare in Tanzania and Uganda.
Stephene’s career plan is to lead a think tank on socio-economic issues affecting the vulnerable in the society, key of which are ignorance, illiteracy, and marginalisation. Inclusivity of the vulnerable class of people in development is still a thorny issue, especially in the developing world.
Evaluation of Hygiene and Behaviour Change COVID-19 projects
The PENDA programme is conducting an action-research project to support FCDO and Unilever's Hygiene and Behaviour Change Consortium (HBCC) to include people with disabilities and older people in their COVID-19 response.
Scope of work
- Identify what is needed to ensure people with disabilities and older people benefit equally from FCDO investments in the COVID-19 HBCC
- Review plans for achieving inclusion of people with disabilities and older people
- Evaluate the actual inclusion of people with disabilities and older people in the COVID-19 HBCC activities in Kenya, Indonesia, Zambia, Sierra Leone, and Bangladesh
The activities to achieve the objectives are:
- How could people with disabilities and older people benefit equally from FCDO investments in hygiene behaviour change programmes?
- How can HBCC plans for incorporating people with disabilities and older people be more inclusive?
- How inclusive were HBCC programmes and what can we learn from them for future public health crises?
Evaluation of an Inclusive Education project in Bangladesh
In January 2020 we launched a call for applications to deliver an impact evaluation on a disability inclusive development programme. The first programme to be evaluated is an Inclusive Education Programme in Bangladesh. The Expressions of Interest stage has now closed and second stage applicants have now been notified.
Further commissioning opportunities will be announced in due course.
PENDA's resources
Papers
- Publications
- Are children with disabilities more likely to be malnourished than children without disabilities? Evidence from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys in 30 countries. Sara Rotenberg, Shanquan Chen, Xanthe Hunt, Tracey Smythe, Hannah Kuper (2024). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjnph-2023-000779
- Do children with disabilities have the same opportunities to play as children without disabilities? Evidence from the multiple indicator cluster surveys in 38 low and middle-income countries. Tracey Smythe, Shanquan Chen, Sara Rotenberg, Marianne Unger, Emily Miner, Frederic Seghers, Chiara Servili, Hannah Kuper (2023). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2023.102361
- “If he has education, there will not be any problem”: Factors affecting access to education for children with disabilities in Tamil Nadu, India. Aruldas K, Banks LM, Nagarajan G, Roshan R, Johnson J, Musendo D, et al. (2023). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0290016
- How representative are organisations of persons with disabilities? Data from nine population-based surveys in low- and middle-income countries. Lena Morgon Banks, Arne H. Eide, Xanthe Hunt, Ola Abu Alghaib, Tom Shakespeare (2023). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2023.2215397
- Inequities in birth registration, violent discipline, and child labour by disability status and sex: Evidence from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys in 24 countries. Amiya Bhatia, Calum Davey, Tess Bright, Sara Rotenberg, Emily Eldred, Claudia Cappa, Hannah Kuper, Karen Devries (2023). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0001827
- Association between disability status and health care utilisation for common childhood illnesses in 10 countries in sub-Saharan Africa: a cross-sectional study in the Multiple Indicator Cluster. Sara Rotenberg, Calum Davey, Emily McFadden (2023). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2023.101870
- Impact of a disability-targeted livelihoods programme in Bangladesh: study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial of STAR+. Lena Morgon Banks, Narayan Das, Calum Davey, Afsana Adiba, M. Mahzuz Ali, Tom Shakespeare, Coral Fleming, Hannah Kuper (2022). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-022-06987-2
- I might be lucky and go back to school': Factors affecting inclusion in education for children with disabilities in rural Malawi. Lena Morgon Banks, Xanthe Hunt, Khumbo KaluaII, Providence Nindi, Maria Zuurmond, Tom Shakespeare (2022). DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/ajod.v11i0.981
- Childhood disability in rural Niger: a population-based assessment using the Key Informant Method. Lena Morgon Banks, Jing Liu, Anne Kielland, Ali Bako Tahirou, Abdoul Karim Seydou Harouna, Islay Mactaggart, Ragnhild Dybdahl, Dan Firoun Mounkaila & Arne Grønningsæter (2022). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-022-03226-0
- Mental health support for children and adolescents with hearing loss: scoping review. Nathaniel Scherer, Tess Bright, David John Musendo, Timothy O'Fallon, Chris Kubwimana, Julian Eaton, Ritsuko Kakuma, Tracey Smythe and Sarah Polack (2022). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1192/bjo.2021.1045
- Does disability increase the risk of poverty ‘in all its forms’? Comparing monetary and multidimensional poverty in Vietnam and Nepal. Lena Morgon Banks, Monica Pinilla-Roncancio, Matthew Walsham, Hoang Van Minh, Shailes Neupane, Vu Quynh Mai, Saurav Neupane, Karl Blanchet & Hannah Kuper (2021). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13600818.2021.1985988
- Deaths involving COVID-19 by disability status: a retrospective analysis of 29 million adults during the first two waves of the Coronavirus pandemic in England. Matthew L. Bosworth, Daniel Ayoubkhani, Vahé Nafilyan, Josephine Foubert, Myer Glickman, Calum Davey, Hannah Kuper (2021) DOI: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.06.10.21258693
- PROTOCOL: Effectiveness of interventions for improving livelihood outcomes for people with disabilities in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review. Xanthe Hunt, Ashrita Saran, Lena Morgon Banks, Howard White, Hannah Kuper (2021). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/cl2.1184
- Interrogating and Reflecting on Disability Prevalence Data Collected Using the Washington Group Tools: Results from Population-Based Surveys in Cameroon, Guatemala, India, Maldives, Nepal, Turkey and Vanuatu. Islay Mactaggart, Ammar Hasan Bek, Lena Morgon Banks,Tess Bright, Carlos Dionicio, Shaffa Hameed, Shailes Neupane,GVS Murthy, Ahmed Orucu, Joseph Oye, Jonathan Naber, Tom Shakespeare, Andrea Patterson,Sarah Polack and Hannah Kuper (2021). DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18179213
- Risks of covid-19 hospital admission and death for people with learning disability: population based cohort study using the OpenSAFELY platform. Elizabeth J Williamson, Hannah Kuper et al (2021) DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n1592
- The impact of the Lesotho Child Grant Programme in the lives of children and adults with disabilities: Disaggregated analysis of a community randomized controlled trial. Richard de Groot, Tia Palermo, Lena Morgon Banks, Hannah Kuper (2021). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/issr.12265
- Disability status and multi-dimensional personal well-being among adolescents in the Southern Highlands Region of Tanzania: results of a cross-sectional study. Sarah Quinones, Tia M Palermo, Hannah Kuper et al (2021). DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-044077
- Disability, mental health, stigma and discrimination and neglected tropical diseases. Hannah Kuper (2020). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/trstmh/traa160
- Trials and Tribulations of Collecting Evidence on Effectiveness in Disability-Inclusive Development: A Narrative Review. Hannah Kuper, Calum Davey, Lena Morgon Banks, Tom Shakespeare (2020). DOI: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/18/7823
- Disability-inclusive responses to COVID-19: Lessons learnt from research on social protection in low- and middle-income countries. Lena Morgon Bank, Calum Davey, Tom Shakespeare, Hannah Kuper (2020). DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105178
- Multidisciplinary visual rehabilitation in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review. Sarah Wallace, Rotimi Alao, Hannah Kuper, Mary Lou Jackson (2020). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2020.1794063
- Association between anxiety and depression with physical and sensory functional difficulties, among adults living in five low and middle income countries (LMICs). Sarah Wallace, Islay Mactaggart, Lena Morgon Banks, Sarah Polack and Hannah Kuper (2020). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0231563
- Framing the debate on how to achieve equitable health care for persons with disabilities in South Africa. Hannah Kuper and Jill Hanass-Hancock (2020). DOI: https://hdl.handle.net/10520/ejc-healthr-v2020-n1-a8
- Evidence and gap map of studies assessing the effectiveness of interventions for people with disabilities in low-and middle-income countries. Ashrita Saran, Howard White, Hannah Kuper (2020). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/cl2.1070
- “Oh God! Why Did You Let Me Have This Disability?”: Religion, Spirituality and Disability in Three African countries. Anthony Buyinza Mugeere, Julius Omona, Andrew Ellias State, Tom Shakespeare (2019). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23312521.2019.1698387
- Are current approaches for measuring access to clean water and sanitation inclusive of people with disabilities? Comparison of individual- and household-level access between people with and without disabilities in the Tanahun district of Nepal. Lena Morgon Banks, Hannah Kuper et al (2019). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0223557
- Perspectives on Disability and Non-Communicable Diseases in Low- and Middle-Income Countries, with a Focus on Stroke and Dementia. Josephine E Prynn and Hannah Kuper (2019). DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16183488
- Leaving no one behind? Social inclusion of health insurance in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review. Suzanne G. M. van Hees, Sarah Polack, Lena Morgon Banks et al. (2019). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-019-1040-0
- How to conduct good quality research on violence against children with disabilities: key ethical, measurement, and research principles. Lena Morgon Banks, Hannah Kuper et al (2019). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-7456-z
- Perspectives on the INternational CLassification of Diseases, 11th Revision (ICD-11); an international qualitative study to Understand and improve mental health Diagnosis using expertise by Experience: INCLUDE Study. Corinna Hackmann Caitlin Notley, Tom Shakespeare et al. (2019). DOI: 10.1016/S2215-0366(19)30093-8
- Depression and anxiety in parents of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Nathaniel Scherer, Ibone Verhey, Hannah Kuper (2019). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0219888
- Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness: looking back, looking forward. Islay Mactaggart, Hans Limburg, Andrew Bastawrous, Matthew J Burton, Hannah Kuper (2019). DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bjophthalmol-2019-314015
- Success in Africa: People with disabilities share their stories. Tom Shakespeare, Anthony Mugeere, Emily Nyariki, and Joseph Simbaya (2019). Doi: 10.4102/ajod.v8i0.522
- Neglected tropical diseases and disability and their link. Hannah Kuper (2019). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/trstmh/trz001
- Social participation and inclusion of ex-combatants with disabilities in Colombia. Minerva Rivas Velarde, Karim Del Rocio Garzon Diaz and Tom Shakespeare (2019)
- Inception Papers
- Are current approaches to poverty measurement disability-inclusive? Considerations for measuring poverty amongst people with disabilities. Lena Morgon Banks (2020).
- Disability Inclusion Measures. Tom Shakespeare with Hannah Kuper, Islay Mactaggart and Maria Zuurmond (2020)
- Rapid Evidence Assessment (REA) of What Works to Improve Livelihood Outcomes for People with Disabilities in Low and Middle Income Countries. Hannah Kuper, Ashrita Saran, Howard White (2020)
- Open Letters / Commentary
- Are older people with disabilities neglected in the COVID-19 pandemic? Hannah Kuper and Tom Shakespeare (2021). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(21)00077-3
- Low numbers of disabled doctors mean potential loss of insightful care for everyone. Hannah Kuper, Tom Shakespeare, professor, Carmen Soto, Sara Booth (2021). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n948
- Triple jeopardy: disabled people and the COVID-19 pandemic. Tom Shakespeare, Florence Ndagire, Queen E Seketi (2021). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00625-5
- Disability-inclusive COVID-19 response: What it is, why it is important and what we can learn from the United Kingdom’s response. Hannah Kuper, Lena Morgon Banks, Tess Bright, Calum Davey, Tom Shakespeare (2020) DOI: https://doi.org/10.12688/wellcomeopenres.15833.1
- Remodeling of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) .Tom Shakespeare and Sophie Mitra (2019). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dhjo.2019.01.008
MOOCs
- MOOC: Global Disability: Research and Evidence
Above images: © CBM
The second run of our MOOC: Global Disability: Research and Evidence is launching on 3rd May. In this course, we will explore how to conduct and interpret findings from global disability research. This is a free online course which takes about 3-4 hours per week to complete for 3 weeks. Please sign up now!
If you’re a learner in a low income country, find out if you are eligible for a free upgrade and certificate on our course by visiting here.
Tools
- COVID-19 Inclusive WASH Checklist
Please see below a new COVID-19 resource checklist to measure the inclusion of a Water Sanitation and Hygiene project.
Disability Evidence Portal
- Disability Evidence Portal
Find more at the ICED Disability Evidence Portal including recent evidence briefs about the impact of COVID-19 on people with disabilities.
Webinars
- COVID-19 and Disability Webinar
We hosted a webinar on ensuring disability inclusion during COVID-19 responses on the 25th June. The webinar was hosted by Tom Shakespeare, Jane Wilbur, Morgon Banks and Hannah Kuper with a Q&A session afterwards.
Online resources mentioned during the webinar can be found below.
Guidance on inclusion
FCDO guidance on disability inclusive planning
FCDO disability inclusion strategy
Other resource documents
Considering disability in COVID-19 hygiene programmes
Wash’Em
WaterAid compendium on accessible WASH
Measurement of disability (Washington Group)
OHCHR: Disability and COVID-19
WHO: Disability considerations during the COVID-19 outbreak
- COVID-19 Disability Inclusion & Behaviour Change Webinar
Background thinking
- Disability in Low and Middle Income Countries: Background Thinking
PENDA have put together a summary of our thinking about Disability in Low and Middle Income Countries and how to evaluate the delivery of disability development programmes. The paper outlines what the programme understands disability to be, how it interacts with other factors and how PENDA hopes to learn more about improving inclusion and participation for people with disabilities in low and middle income countries.
Disability in Low and Middle Income Countries: Background Thinking
Take a read and let us know your thoughts at PENDA@LSHTM.ac.uk
Watch our PENDA HBCC Webinar!
We held a webinar on the 13th March 2024 to present the findings from the Evaluation of the FCDO-funded Hygiene and Behaviour Change Programme
In the webinar icddr,b and research partners presented evaluation findings from HBCC-funded projects in Kenya, Indonesia and Zambia. They shared key successes and challenges across the three countries and recommended how to strengthen inclusion in future HBCC-funded efforts. Icddr,b and B-SCAN also shared key learning generated through the population-based survey in Bangladesh.
Speakers inlcuded:
- Sheillah Simiyu, Research Scientist, APHRC
- Phylis Busienei, Research Officer, APHRC
- Mahbub-Ul Alam, Associate Scientist, icddr,b
- Jenala Chipungu, Social Behavioural Scientist, CIDRZ
- Salma Mahbub, General Secretary, BSCAN
- Yesi Maryam, Project Coordinator of UNAS
Please click on the link provided to view the recording, which includes both presentations and speakers. Recording.
Please click on the link provided to view the recording, which includes only speakers and sign language interpreters. Recording.
About the study:
The UK Government and Unilever launched the Hygiene & Behaviour Change Coalition (HBCC) to mitigate COVID-19 transmission in low and middle-income countries. The programme targeted a billion people and employed diverse channels such as mass media, digital tools, and interpersonal communication. Many HBCC-funded partners promoted inclusion by involving people with disabilities, older individuals, and caregivers in planning, offering tailored solutions like accessible handwashing stations and training.
With funding from FCDO and PENDA, the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (Icddr,b) led a collaborative study to understand the level of inclusion of people with disabilities, older adults and caregivers in HBCC-funded projects and evaluate the effectiveness of the interventions for these populations. Together with B-SCAN, icddr,b also conducted a population-based survey in Bangladesh to compare water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) experiences between people with and without disabilities through a gender and ageing lens.
A film, about the research findings can also be viewed here.
- 6th International Conference on Disability and Development: Disability and COVID-19
We had more than 300 people join our 6th international conference on disability and development: Disability and COVID-19 on the 14th - 17th March 2022. Recordings of the conference are available to watch on our event page.
Please find below the speaker presentations from the conference. Kindly note, every effort was made to make the presentations accessible.
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
- Third International Conference on Disability and Development, November 2019
About the Conference
The Third International Conference on Disability and Development was held at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine in November 2019. It was co-hosted by the International Centre for Evidence in Disability (ICED) and Sightsavers, in partnership with CBM, ADD International and Help Age International, supported by FCDO.
Over 180 people joined us to discuss the Evidence in Disability Inclusive Development and where research can focus in future.
Recordings of the plenary sessions can be found below:
Plenary 1: Research Challengers
Plenary 4: Wrap up and Call to Action
For further information and to find out about future conferences please sign up to our newsletter or contact us at Penda@LSHTM.ac.uk
Many of our speakers and presenters have kindly shared their presentations with us, please feel free to down load a copy.
Delegates in the auditorium during a Q&A during the plenary session
Plenary sessions and Workshops from November 2019 Conference
- Plenary 1
Hannah Kuper, Where are we now? Evidence and Gap Map: Effectiveness of interventions for people with disabilities in LMICs
- Plenary 2
Dan Mont, Administrative data for Inclusion: the example of education management information systems
Kristin Dunkle, Emerging evidence from the What Works to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls Global Programme
Lorraine Wapling, Bringing data to life: the impact of disaggregated data on programme decision-making
- Worshop 1: Access to Health
Kirsty Smith, Perceptions of persons with disabilities in Nigeria towards healthcare
- Worshop 1: Participatory Methods
Jackie Shaw, Inclusion works! Disability inclusive participatory action learning groups: building better solutions and change practices
Veronika Reichenberger, Participatory Video for Monitoring and Evaluation -A case study
Margo Greenwood, Disability-focused community-based participatory research (CBPR): how is methodological learning shaping design and approach?
- Worshop 1: Measurement
Ruth Sanders, Using the Washington Group Short Set for monitoring access to eye care services by people with disabilities.
Kate Miller, Count Me In, an mHealth app, promotes nutrition and safe feeding for children with disabilities
- Worshop 1: Education
Emma Jolley, A mixed-methods study investigating child development outcomes in community-based early childhood settings
Elena Schmidt, Costing inclusive education of children with disabilities: analysis of expenditures of an inclusive education pilot in Senegal
- Workshop 2: Humanitarian
Klaus Minihuber, Inclusive Humanitarian Aid for Girls, Boys, Women and Men with Disabilities in Response to Cyclone Idai
Daniel Mont, The Long Lasting Effects of War on Disability
- Workshop 2: Employment
Stevens Bechange, Evaluation of a model for the economic empowerment of youth with disabilities in rural Uganda
- Workshop 2: Politics and Empowerment
Bhavisha Virendrakumar, Disability inclusive elections in Africa: A systematic review
Vladimir Pente, Political participation and disability in Cameroon and Senegal: a cross sectional population based survey
- Workshop 2: Parent Support
Angelique Kester, Grassroots, family-based services for children with neurological disorders and their families at home in Uganda: an intervention study.
Heather Michelle Aldersey, Assessing Priority Support Needs of Families of Children with Disabilities in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Karen Bunning, Empowering self-help groups for caregivers of children with disabilities in Kilifi, Kenya: Impacts and their underlying mechanisms
- Workshop 3: Poverty and Voice
Morgon Banks/Shaffa Hameed, Impact of the Disability Allowance in the Maldives
Mohammad Rashidul Islam, Poverty Graduation Model targeting persons with disabilities from extreme poor families: RCT baseline findings from Bangladesh
Sekandi Deus, Disability and Development: The Ugandan (DPO) perspective
- Workshop 3: Rehabilitation and Assistive Technology
Sureshkumar Kamalakannan, Non- Inclusive Health system for Disability Inclusive Development: Lessons from India
Tess Bright, Assessing need for ear and hearing services in Malawi using the rapid assessment of hearing loss survey protocol
- Workshop 3: Stigma
Chandalin Vongvilay, Prevalence and attitudes towards disability in Laos: Informing World Education Laos’ CBID approach through findings from a household survey
Maria Zuurmond, Exploring stigma and discrimination related to cerebral palsy in Burkina Faso
- Workshop 3: Wash and Girls
Islay Mactaggart, Water, Women and Disability in Vanuatu: Results from a mixed methods study
Monthly updates on PENDA activities - February 2024
PENDA is a major ICED project, funded by FCDO, aiming to increase evidence to support disability inclusive development. We will focus on developing people, knowledge and tools. We now have 11 evaluations up and running, across the PENDA programme, working with a wide range of partners. Find out more information from our website.
This month, we are preparing to conduct the endline of the impact evaluation of the STAR+ programme – a disability-targeted livelihood intervention in Bangladesh. We are also preparing for the baseline of the impact evaluation of the Baby Ubuntu in Rwanda – a programme of early assessment, care and support for children at risk of developmental disabilities.
- January 2024
We now have 11 evaluations up and running, across the PENDA programme, working with a wide range of partners. Find out more information from the PENDA site on our research page:
In the past month, two further protocols from our studies have been published, describing in full the planned impact evaluations of a family planning programme for women with disabilities in Nigeria, and a micro-entrepreneur scheme for people with disabilities in Kenya. We are currently deep into planning for our forthcoming baseline studies in Rwanda and Uganda!
- December 2023
In December, our spotlight was on the evaluation of the programme Hygiene and Behaviour Change: Inclusion of people with disabilities and older people in the COVID-19 response. The evaluation was undertaken by icddrb in Bangladesh, and they worked across five countries, including in depth research in Bangladesh. They found that older people and people with disabilities were often left out of pandemic response, but identified learnings and entry points to avoid this situation in the future. Recent publications, including the final publication are as follows:
- A report on the assessment of WASH and incontinence situation of people with disabilities and older people in Bangladesh
- Hygiene Hub. Summary report on considering disability in COVID-19 hygiene programmes (2020) - DEP (disabilityevidence.org)
- COVID-19 Inclusive WASH Checklist: How can organisations assess whether COVID-19 response programmes are inclusive? | COVID-19 Hygiene Hub Resources.
- Journal article: The inclusion of disability and aging in COVID-19 hygiene behaviour change interventions across LMICs
- Evaluation of Hygiene and Behaviour Change Coalition for COVID-19 Prevention: Inclusion of Disability and Ageing
The final workshop was held in November, and there were more than 15 reports in the national press. Well done to the team!
- November 2023
- Access of children with disabilities to school-based interventions: an RCT in Malawi and India
- Impact of a disability-targeted livelihoods programme in Bangladesh: the STAR+ programme
- Disability Inclusive Graduation: a cluster-randomised trial in Uganda
- Disability Inclusive Graduation: a cluster-randomised trial in Bangladesh
- Improving access to family planning in Kaduna City, Nigeria: a cluster-randomised trial
- Impact evaluation of the InBusiness programme to improve the economic empowerment of microentrepreneurs with disabilities in Kenya
- Evaluation of a programme of early assessment, care and support for children at risk of developmental disabilities in Rwanda
- Impact evaluation of a pilot cash transfer programme for households of children with disabilities in Lao PDR
- Hygiene and Behaviour Change: inclusion of people with disabilities and older people in the COVID-19 response
- Improving access to healthcare for people with disabilities in Uganda: A cluster-randomised trial
- Improving access to education for children with disabilities in Bangladesh: an impact evaluation
- July 2023
Fieldwork underway in Laos for the impact evaluation of a cash-transfer programme for children with disabilities, in collaboration with UNICEF and the Laos School of Public Health.
Baby Ubuntu is a programme to establish support groups for caregivers of young children with neurodevelopmental disabilities. This initiative will be implemented in Rwanda (with Partners in Health), embedded within a case finding exercise. We will evaluate the impact of the intervention through the PENDA programme – with baseline fieldwork due to commence towards the end of this year.
Read the latest ICED newsletter for papers published this month from PENDA!
- May 2023
- Fieldwork finished in Kenya this month to evaluate the effectiveness of a livelihood programme to support micro-entrepreneurs.
- We are poised to start training in Laos for the impact evaluation of a cash-transfer programme for children with disabilities, in collaboration with UNICEF and the Laos School of Public Health
- The process evaluation has been complete of the “Star Plus” inclusive livelihood programme in Bangladesh
- We are super excited to be co-hosting a conference with Stellenbosch University in May 2023. The website for the conference is live: http://stellenboschdisabilityresearch.com/
- March 2023
- We are super excited to be co-hosting a conference with Stellenbosch University in May 2023. Details and call for abstract above!
- Fieldwork is underway in Kenya this month to evaluate the effectiveness of a livelihood programme to support micro-entrepreneurs.
- We are planning for our final follow up of the disability inclusive poverty graduation programme in Uganda later in the summer.
- January 2023
- We are super excited to be co-hosting a conference with Stellenbosch University in May 2023. Details and call for abstract above!
- Fieldwork is almost complete for the baseline of the evaluation in Nigeria to assess the impact of an inclusive family planning programme in the lives of women with disabilities.
- Read on for new key publications from PENDA
- December 2022
- We are preparing to start fieldwork next month for our trial on inclusive SRH services in Nigeria
- **** Save the date **** We are super excited to be co-hosting a conference with Stellenbosch University in May 2023. Details and call for abstract to follow!
- The three PENDA PhD students are visiting ICED later this months to work together and get support on their research.
- November 2022
- We are preparing to start fieldwork next month for our trial on inclusive SRH services in Nigeria
- *** Save the date *** We are super excited to be co-hosting a conference with Stellenbosch University in May 2023. Details and call for abstract to follow!
- The three PENDA PhD students are visiting ICED later this months to work together and get support on their research.
- October 2022
- We are preparing the intervention on improving access to healthcare for people with disabilities in Uganda, through holding two workshops this month. One of the PENDA impact evaluations will focus on this intervention.
- We are getting ready for the baseline fieldwork in Nigeria for the impact evaluation of an inclusive Sexual Health Programme, led by Sightsavers and partners.
- The three PENDA PhD students will be visiting ICED later this month to work together and get support on their research.
- September 2022
- The baseline is now complete for the Star Plus randomised controlled trial in Bangladesh, which investigates whether an inclusive livelihood programme is feasible and effective.
- The endline is now complete for the randomised controlled trial in Uganda, investigating the impact of Disability-inclusive poverty graduation.
- PENDA is supporting a work experience programme for researchers with disabilities at MRC Uganda.
- July 2022
- Our new Campbell review is out – a systematic review of effectiveness of interventions to improve livelihood outcomes for people with disabilities in LMICs.
- Fieldwork is underway in Uganda for the follow-up of our trial to assess whether Poverty Graduation schemes also work for people with disabilities!
- We are planning two more trials to start in the next few months – an assessment of how to improve family planning coverage for women with disabilities in Nigeria, and a trial of a livelihood support programme in Kenya.
- Our three PENDA PhDs are continuing to make great progress. Inspired by their success we have expanded the scheme and we are looking forward to welcoming two more PhD students from September! Details to follow soon…
- April 2022
We were busy last month running the 6th international conference on disability and development: Disability and COVID-19. We were joined by more than 300 delegates, to learn from around 100 contributions about Disability and COVID-19. Access all the information here shortly.
- March 2022
We had a fabulous visit to Uganda in February – the first overseas trip in two years – to meet with partners on the impact evaluation of the Disability-Inclusive Poverty Graduation Programme. Fieldwork is underway of the baseline of two impact evaluations in Bangladesh (an inclusive education programme and an inclusive livelihood programme).
All three interventions are implemented through DIDIF – the FCDO funded consortium led by Sightsavers.
- January 2022
Fieldwork is underway in Bangladesh to evaluate the impact of an inclusive education programme. This research has been commissioned out and is led by BRAC institute of governance and development (BIGD), and the University of Cambridge
We are about to start the baseline for a second impact evaluation in Bangladesh, to evaluate an inclusive livelihoods programme called STAR Plus, again working with BIGD.
Both the interventions are implemented through DIDIF – the FCDO funded consortium led by Sightsavers.
- December 2021
We are committed to participatory approaches in all we do. We have shared our learning across the group in the publication this month on “Participatory Research in Disability in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: What have we Learnt and what Should we Do?” in the Scandinavian Journal of Disability. We will use these best practices in our PENDA trials.
We are progressing with our Campbell reviews. The protocols for the three systematic reviews on effectiveness of interventions for improving educational, livelihood and social inclusion outcomes for people with disabilities in low- and middle-income countries are now published.
The new NIHR funded project on “Improving access to healthcare for disabled people in Uganda” will use participatory methods to develop and pilot-test a community-based intervention. A full PENDA randomised controlled trial will then be undertaken to assess whether it is effective at reducing mortality.- October 2021
We are preparing for fieldwork to collect baseline data for two impact evaluations. The first, undertaken by LSHTM and BIGD is to evaluate the impact of an inclusive livelihood programme in Bangladesh. The second, led by BIGD and Cambridge university is to evaluate the impact of inclusive education in Bangladesh. Both programmes are part of the Inclusive Futures consortium, led by Sightsavers.
- September 2021
We are undertaking four Campbell reviews, to consolidate what works for improving outcomes of people with disabilities in terms of education, social inclusion, empowerment and livelihood. This month, two protocols have been published:
- Effectiveness of interventions for improving livelihoods for people with disabilities in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review.
- Effectiveness of interventions for improving social inclusion for people with disabilities in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review.
We have now recruited three PENDA PhD students, who are all African scholars with disabilities. They are all making great progress in their research.
- July 2021
People
- This month we welcome Daniel Dominey on an internship to the PENDA team. He will be sharpening his research skills by conducting large scale data analyses on the healthcare needs of people with disabilities.
- The run of our MOOC ON “Global Disability: Evidence and Research” has completed with 225 learners joining
Knowledge
- Lorraine Wapling and Jane Wilbur conducted a review of Hygiene and Behaviour Change Coalition (HBCC) funded projects, to assess whether they were inclusive of older people and people with disabilities. They have launched a learning brief and report that summarise lessons learned about how COVID-19 prevention programmes can be inclusive of people with disabilities, older adults, and caregivers. They also includes recommendations for organisations that can be applied in all WASH programmes, not just in COVID-19 prevention interventions.
Tool
- As part of the HBCC evaluation, Jane and Lorraine produced a COVID-19 inclusive WASH checklist. Developed for practitioners, it aims to support the inclusion of people with disabilities, older adults and caregivers in COVID-19 WASH interventions and can be applied when planning, designing, monitoring and evaluating WASH programmes.
- June 2021
People
- This month we welcome Daniel Dominey on an internship to the PENDA team. He will be sharpening his research skills by conducting large scale data analyses on the healthcare needs of people with disabilities.
- The run of our MOOC ON “Global Disability: Evidence and Research” has completed with 225 learners joining
Knowledge
- Lorraine Wapling and Jane Wilbur conducted a review of Hygiene and Behaviour Change Coalition (HBCC) funded projects, to assess whether they were inclusive of older people and people with disabilities. They have launched a learning brief and report that summarise lessons learned about how COVID-19 prevention programmes can be inclusive of people with disabilities, older adults, and caregivers. They also includes recommendations for organisations that can be applied in all WASH programmes, not just in COVID-19 prevention interventions.
Tools
- As part of the HBCC evaluation, Jane and Lorraine produced a COVID-19 inclusive WASH checklist. Developed for practitioners, it aims to support the inclusion of people with disabilities, older adults and caregivers in COVID-19 WASH interventions and can be applied when planning, designing, monitoring and evaluating WASH programmes.
- May 2021
People
- The second run of our MOOC on Global Disability: Research and Evidence, starts this week. 2,270 people have enrolled on this course so far!
Knowledge
- Fieldwork is poised to start by our partner icddr-b on the inclusion of people with disabilities in the Hygiene and Behaviour Change Consortium response to COVID-19, funded by FCDO and Unilever.
Tools
- Check out the new evidence briefs on the Disability Evidence Portal! New ones on overcoming barriers to accessing rehabilitation and the benefits of inclusive education for children without disabilities.
- April 2021
People
- Two of PENDA PhD students (Florence and Queen) and Tom Shakespeare co-authored the commentary “Triple jeopardy: disabled people and the COVID-19 pandemic” for the Lancet.
- All three PENDA PhD students completed the LSHTM MSc module on “Global Disability and Health"
Knowledge
- We are developing four Campbell reviews of how to improve outcomes for people with disabilities in low and middle income settings (with respect to education, livelihood, social inclusion and empowerment). The first on livelihood is submitted this month, and we hope will be available soon.
Tools
- The next run of the MOOC Global Disability: Evidence and Research starts May 3.
- March 2021
People
- The three PENDA PhD students are joining the LSHTM Module on Global Disability and Health, and stimulating much mutual learning. Welcome!
Knowledge
- Jane Wilbur and Lorraine Wapling presented the Disability and Inclusion in COVID-19 Behaviour Change Programmes webinar to FCDO and HBCC Grantees this week, hosted by FCDO’s CV19 Behaviour Change Forum, the COVID-19 Hygiene Hub and Unilever and co-led by FCDO’s Disability Inclusion team. PENDA have carried out a desk review of HBCC grantee projects to explore how people with disabilities, older adults and their caregivers are included in these and to suggest ways to make these projects more inclusive. Having systematically reviewed 416 documents submitted to FCDO and Unilever by 21 grantees, they identified key learning and recommendations about how to enhance the inclusion of people with disabilities, older adults and their caregivers in COVID-19 interventions. They also shared good practice examples from HBCC grantees to facilitate learning. They are also providing feedback to the HBCC management team.
Tools
- Four Campbell reviews are underway – assessing the evidence for effectiveness of interventions to improve education, livelihood, social inclusion and empowerment outcomes for people with disabilities. Protocols are in submission.
- February 2021
People
- Almost 2,000 people registered for the first run of our MOOC - “Global Disability: Research and Evidence”. The next round will be in February/March - sign up here, and please share through your networks!
- The three PENDA PhD students are continuing to make good progress – it is great to have them on board.
Knowledge
- Icddr,b (Bangladesh) have been selected to lead the evaluation of the inclusion of people with disabilities in the Hygiene and Behaviour Change investment of FCDO/Unilever. We are excited to partner with them!
- Also, BIGD (Bangladesh) and the University of Cambridge have started preparing for the impact evaluation of an inclusive education programme in Bangladesh.
Tools
- New briefs are available on the Disability Evidence Portal including on measuring disability in research related to COVID-19 response, and ensuring children with disabilities are not bullied in school. Be in touch if you want to help put together an evidence brief!
- 2020 PENDA activities
December
People
- We’re excited to launch our new free MOOC - “Global Disability: Research and Evidence” – which will start on 30th November. We welcome learners who wants learn more and contribute towards research on disability. Sign up here, and please share through your networks!
Knowledge
- Research in Uganda is underway, with baseline fieldwork almost completed for our evaluation of the UKAID funded Ultra-Poor Graduation programme for people with disabilities, implemented by BRAC, HI and other partners.
- The review of the inclusion of people with disabilities in the Hygiene and Behaviour Change investment of FCDO/Unilever is now complete, with constructive feedback given to all projects.
Tools
- Take a look at the Disability Evidence Portal which includes evidence briefs about COVID and other thematic areas impacting the lives of people with disabilities. The Portal now has two briefs in Spanish, courtesy of our friends at CBM.
November
People
- We’re excited to launch our new free MOOC - “Global Disability: Research and Evidence” – which will start on 30th November. We welcome learners who wants learn more and contribute towards research on disability. Sign up here, and please share through your networks!
Knowledge
- We are in the process of shortlisting for our second grant for the evaluation of hygiene and behaviour change COVID-19 projects. More news to follow later in the year.
- Research in Uganda is due to start shortly to evaluate the UKAID funded Ultra-Poor Graduation programme for people with disabilities.
Tools
- Take a look at the Disability Evidence Portal which includes evidence briefs about COVID and other thematic areas impacting the lives of people with disabilities. The Portal now has two briefs in Spanish, courtesy of our friends at CBM.
September/October
People
- We are putting the finishing touches onto our MOOC on “Global Disability: Research and Evidence” which aims to build capacity of people to contribute towards research on disability. It will launch during the week of Dec 3. It is a three week course, with 2-4 learning hours per week. Sign up here, and please share through your networks!
Knowledge
- We have launched our second commissioning bid for evaluation of hygiene and behaviour change COVID-19 projects. Deadline is October 7. More information here.
Tools
- The Disability Evidence Portal is live. It includes two new briefs about COVID: “How can we measure disability in research related to the COVID-19 response?” and “How can social protection responses to COVID-19 be made disability inclusive?” Additionally, a brief on “Considering disability and ageing in COVID-19 hygiene promotion programmes” has been written for the HygieneHub.
August
People
- We have now selected Stephene Maende from Kenya as the third candidate in our PENDA Africa PhD scheme. He has background in research, strategic planning, policy analysis and impact evaluation of policy interventions/programmes, holds a master of Arts Economics degree from the University of Nairobi, bachelor of Arts from Kenyatta University, certificate in Evaluation of Public Policy from Laval University (Canada) and basic accounting skills (CPA I) from KASNEB. Welcome Stephene.
Knowledge
- Three papers are now online on “Are current approaches to poverty measurement disability-inclusive?” (by Morgon Banks), “Disability Inclusion Measures” (by Tom Shakespeare et al) and “Rapid Evidence Assessment of what works to improve livelihood outcomes for people with disabilities in low and middle income countries” (by Hannah Kuper et al).
Tools
- The Disability Evidence Portal is live, and Tom Shakespeare wrote a blog about it. It includes two new briefs about COVID: “What are the key considerations for including people with disabilities in COVID-19 hygiene promotion programmes” and “What do we know about how to support mental health and wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic from past infectious disease epidemics?”
July
People
- Our COVID-global project is ongoing, collecting mostly qualitative, but also quantitative data, on the experiences of people with disabilities during COVID-19 in Uganda, Zambia, Ghana, India, Bangladesh and the UK.
- We are preparing for the baseline of our impact evaluation, with partners, in Uganda on the effectiveness of the Poverty Graduation Programme that is inclusive of people with disabilities.
Knowledge
- PENDA webinar for DFID discussed how to make the COVID-19 response disability-inclusive (webinar here) and commentary to Wellcome Open to learn from the UK experience (paper here).
Tools
- The Disability Evidence Portal is live, and Tom Shakespeare wrote a blog about it. Campbell reviews are underway to assess what works to promote education, livelihood, social inclusion and empowerment for people with disabilities.
- The application has been launched for the third PENDA PhD programme - In Kenya. Application here, deadline June 21.
June
People
- The application has been launched for the third PENDA PhD programme - In Kenya. Application here, deadline June 21.
Knowledge
- A PENDA webinar for FCDO discussed how to make the COVID-19 response disability-inclusive (webinar here) and commentary to Wellcome Open to learn from the UK experience (paper here).
Tools
- The Disability Evidence Portal is live, and Tom Shakespeare wrote a blog about it.
- Campbell reviews are underway to assess what works to promote education, livelihood, social inclusion and empowerment for people with disabilities.
May
People
- The application has been launched for the third PENDA PhD programme in Kenya. Application here – deadline May 24.
Knowledge
- A PENDA webinar for FCDO discussed how to make the COVID-19 response disability-inclusive (webinar here) and commentary to Wellcome Open to learn from the UK experience (paper here).
- Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have had to delay our fieldwork on impact evaluations. We are in discussion with DFID on including new COVID and disability-related research in the meantime.
Tool
- The Disability Evidence Portal is live, and Tom Shakespeare wrote a blog about it.
- Campbell reviews are underway to assess what works to promote education, livelihood, social inclusion and empowerment for people with disabilities.
April
People
- The two PhD students have been selected, and are starting to prepare their research plans.
Knowledge
- Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have had to delay our fieldwork on impact evaluations. We are in discussion with FCDO on including new COVID and disability-related research in the meantime.
Tools
- There has been a soft launch of the evidence portal. Please share your feedback with us!
March
People
- We have recruited two PhD students, who are women with disabilities from Zambia and Uganda. Welcome to the PENDA team Queen and Florence!
Knowledge
- We have short-listed the teams for the impact evaluation that we are commissioning out, and are planning a second open competition for later in 2020.
- We are busy finalising the protocol for the impact evaluation of the Disability Inclusive Poverty Graduation Programme in Uganda, together with BRAC and HI.
- We are developing the methods for the impact evaluation of the STAR programme for inclusive livelihood in Bangladesh, together with BIGD and DID partners.
- We are wrapping up fieldwork for the school inclusion study in India and Malawi, including the qualitative fieldwork.
Tools
- As mentioned above, we have started to plan for a MOOC on disability research methods.
- The soft launch of the evidence portal is imminent!
February
- Tom Shakespeare has completed visits to Bangladesh and India in January, where he trained researchers about conducting disability-focussed studies.
- Hannah and Calum Davey travelled to Uganda to start planning for an impact evaluation on a poverty graduation programme, in collaboration with BRAC and HI.
- We have recruited our first PhD student in Uganda, and are short-listing candidates for Zambia.
- We are wrapping up fieldwork for the school inclusion study in India and Malawi.
- We are finalising the first version of the Evidence Portal, to guide policy makers on disability-inclusive programmes.
January
- Plans of visiting India and Bangladesh, where Tom Shakespeare is conducting training of researchers on disability, and we are furthering our plans for impact evaluation
- We are preparing to launch our first commissioning project (see above for details)
- We are interviewing people with disabilities in Uganda to join our PhD programme, and eagerly awaiting the applications from candidates in Zambia.
- Planning webinar series for launch in early 2020.
- 2019 PENDA activities
December
- We are launching our PhD scheme in Zambia and Uganda.
- We are finalising the plans for the impact evaluations.
- We are making plans to visit India and Bangladesh in January.
- We are collaborating with partners on ongoing fieldwork in India and Malawi within the DeWorm Study.
- We are planning webinar series for launch in early 2020.
November
- Tom Shakespeare and Hannah Kuper visited India to plan for the DeWorm Sub-Study on the inclusion of children with disabilities in school-based health care programmes.
- Calum Davey and Morgon Banks visited Bangladesh to start discussions on the impact evaluation of an informal employment scheme for people with disabilities, which is part of FCDO’s DID project.
- Fieldwork is ongoing in India and Malawi within the DeWorm Study.
- We are launching application to our PhD scheme for researchers with disabilities in Kenya, Zambia and Uganda.
Work is progressing well on development of the Evidence Portal on Disability Inclusive Development!
October
- This month, we will be launching applications to our PhD scheme for researchers with disabilities in Kenya, Zambia and Uganda.
- We will also be starting our webinar series this month. Watch this space!
- Last month, Tom Shakespeare and Hannah Kuper visited Malawi to conduct a joint training of DPO members and researchers on research about disability. We also finalised our plans for our study about whether school-based health programmes exclude children with disabilities – underway in Malawi and India.
- We will be visiting India and Bangladesh to prepare for future impact evaluations on school-based health programmes, informal employment and inclusive education.
Still time to register for the PENDA Conference at LSHTM on November 5-6, 2019 on “Evidence in Disability Inclusive Development”, co-hosted with Sightsavers.
September
- Information is now available about our study to assess whether school-based health programmes exclude children with disabilities – underway in Malawi and India.
- As part of PENDA, we are setting up a working group on “Measuring Inclusion” to share ideas and expertise. If you are interested in participating in the working group, please email Islay Mactaggart for more information.
- Still time to register for the PENDA Conference at LSHTM on November 5-6, 2019 on “Evidence in Disability Inclusive Development”, co-hosted with Sightsavers.
August
People
- We are almost ready to start recruiting for our PhD programme for people with disabilities from African Countries. We will circulate the advert later this summer – please share far and wide!
Knowledge
- Our background paper is now “live”, explaining our approach to disability inclusion and evaluation.
- Tom Shakespeare has been working with FCDO as a special advisor on their report: “FCDO’s work on disability-inclusive development".
- We have started to make plans to develop an Evidence Portal, where we will display evidence related to disability-inclusive development in a format that is useful for policy and decision makers.
- We are getting ready for our conference in November!
Tools
- We are reviewing tools available to measure participation of people with disabilities, and accessibility of infrastructure, to be used throughout our projects.
July
People
- We are putting the finishing touches onto our PhD programme for people with disabilities from African Countries. We will circulate the advert later this summer – please share far and wide
Knowledge
- We have started our first Impact Evaluation in Malawi! This study explores whether children with disabilities are excluded from school-based, in comparison to community-based, health programmes. We will repeat the same study in India. We will also investigate barriers and facilitators to inclusion of school among children with disabilities, using qualitative and quantitative methods.
- We will be commissioning out 4 impact evaluations to be conducted by external groups. We are aiming to launch the first call later this summer.
Tools
- In the coming years, we will work on developing and refining tools in four areas:– to measure attitudes, accessibility, participation and multi-dimensional poverty. Watch this space!