Disability in North Africa

Abstract

While there is not a clear picture of disability in North Africa, the available evidence suggests that people with disabilities are doing less well in comparison to people without disabilities as a result of factors including marginalisation, stigma, lack of awareness of disability prevalence, lack of comprehensive protection and enforcement of the rights of people with disabilities, and inaccessible environments, services and workplaces. Such exclusion has costs for wider society and the lives of people with disabilities. This rapid review provides an overview the experiences of people with disabilities in Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia. Given the time limitations and the state of the evidence it cannot be said to provide a comprehensive picture of the situation but does highlight the major issues arising from recent English language literature published on the topic. K4D helpdesk reports provide summaries of current research, evidence and lessons learned. This report was commissioned by the UK Department for International Development