 In
many countries across the globe statistics on disability
are insufficient and poorly developed or, in many cases,
they are non-existent. In many countries in South East Europe
official statistics on disability are practically absent.
This is one of the reasons HI-SEE initiated a preliminary
assessment of disability and statistics in Albania, Bosnia
and Herzegovina and Serbia. In fact, in Albania, Bosnia
and Herzegovina and Serbia, there are no official statistics
on the number of people with disabilities and in none of
the countries is disability included in national censuses.
The lack of comprehensive and up-to-date statistical information
on disability contributes to the exclusion of disability
from the political agenda and makes it very challenging
to build effective reforms around this issue.
The activists from the disability movement in the region
consistently stress the importance of disability statistics,
in order to end this marginalization and to have a more
accurate picture of the situation in which people with disabilities
live. Comprehensively collected, statistical information
will help better target the issues affecting the lives of
people with disabilities on a daily basis, such as discrimination
and poverty. This is crucial for developing comprehensive
policies and for monitoring their implementation. The statistical
data can also be used to measure how the situation improves
over time.
Collecting statistics on people with disabilities is not
something new. It is each state’s responsibility to collect
information on the general population and this includes
people with disabilities. Statistics should show not only
the number of people with disabilities living in a given
country but data should show their living conditions as
well, including income levels, types of housing, access
to services, level of education and employment records.
It is also important to have statistics that compare people
with disabilities with people without disabilities as this
provides an overview of indirect levels of discrimination,
such as the education levels of people with disabilities
versus those of people without disabilities.
It is with these priorities and recognition of the clear
need for disability statistics in the region that Handicap
International South East Europe initiated an assessment
of the situation in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and
Serbia. Crucial in that assessment was a series of meetings
with key actors involved in data collection in each country.
Through these interviews, the HI SEE team formed an overview
of the existing data, the prevailing trends and the roles
of different stakeholders in data collection. A working
paper with the findings of the assessment will be issued
in February 2007 followed by local workshops gathering key
stakeholders.
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