People with disabilities are frequently at higher risk of poverty. This is especially true in the developing world, as these countries have less infrastructure to meet people’s needs. One example of this is the relationship between disability and poverty in Sierra Leone. Between poor economic status and lasting issues from war, Sierra Leone has a substantial disabled population. However, efforts are underway to improve their lives both from within the government and from the public.

Disability Rights and Poverty

People with disabilities are often more susceptible to poverty. In developing countries, which often do not have robust disability support programs, disabled people especially struggle. People in impoverished areas are also more likely to have disabilities thanks to poor quality of life and increased violence.

One of the biggest issues is employment discrimination, where employers are less likely to hire disabled people because they believe they would not be able to fulfill the job requirements. Employers are even more hesitant to hire those that may need additional help, considering the limited job availability in developing nations.

Another major issue is lack of accessibility infrastructure. Government resources are spread thin in developing nations, and investing in accessibility often takes a backseat to more baseline government functions. These conditions make it so that countries that have a higher likelihood for their citizens to incur disabilities are also the most ill equipped to help their disabled citizens.

The Situation in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone, like many developing nations, has to deal with the issues of disability and poverty. As a country still recovering from the effects of a devastating civil war, it has a lot of experience with both of these issues. According to the Repository on Disability Rights in Africa in 2015, about 2.4% of Sierra Leone’s population has a disability. The aforementioned civil war is a contributor to the country’s disabled population, where many citizens are still dealing with debilitating war wounds. Lack of health care infrastructure also leads to disabilities caused by infectious diseases such as polio.

The connection between disability and poverty in Sierra Leone has led to a large disability rights movement within the country. However, a lack of central organization is a big issue facing this movement. An analysis by Amelie van den Brink, Willem Elbers and Aisha Fofana Ibrahim from 2019 describes the nature of the movement as “fragmented,” citing lack of resources and diverging interests based on different types of impairments. Despite having unity under the Sierra Leone Union on Disability Issues (SLUDI), many member organizations actively compete for financial resources and government attention.

Solutions

Despite their limited economic power, Sierra Leone has made commitments to improving the lives of their disabled population. In 2011, its federal government passed The Persons with Disabilities Act. This act created the National Commission for Persons with Disability, a government committee dedicated to protecting people with disabilities and providing services like preventing discrimination, maintaining a database of people with disabilities and spreading awareness of the issues that disabled people in Sierra Leone face. It also officially codified a list of rights that persons with disability were guaranteed, including issues of employment and medical care.

The United Nations has also taken action to help the government develop a strategy for improving the quality of life for the disabled. In 2011, the United Nations Integrated Peace Building Office in Sierra Leone (UNIPSIL) released a charter concerning the rights of disabled people, based on previous legislation passed by the Sierra Leone government. Other NGOs have contributed financially to Sierra Leone’s disability and poverty relief efforts. Having outside support for these disability rights efforts is essential to countries like Sierra Leone in order to ensure that their government is equipped to handle these newer initiatives.

As stated earlier, Sierra Leone also has a robust disability rights movement. Despite the issues with the movement as observed by van den Brink et al, it has been essential in pushing for legislation and providing non-governmental resources to those in need. The SLUDI was one of the biggest advocates for the Persons with Disabilities Act, and is a great example of the power of advocacy in legislative politics.

Looking Ahead

Disability and poverty in Sierra Leone remains a major issue as the country struggles to meet the needs of its disabled population. However, thanks to a combination of legislation and popular support, the country has the tools it needs to improve on this issue well into the future. Sierra Leone is growing in many respects, and many of the measures that the government took are essential to ensuring that the disabled are not left behind.

– Thaddeus Konieczny

Thaddeus is based in Williamston, MI, USA and focuses on Good News and Politics for The Borgen Project.

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