Summary action points based on findings

·         Increase the number of prosthetic and orthotic centers to cover all regions and meet the need for affordable mobility devices.

·         Fund the sustainable capacity of national disability umbrella organizations to represent the rights of persons with disabilities, including survivors.

·         Create economic inclusion opportunities for mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) survivors, as well as other persons with disabilities, in physically accessible facilities.

Victim assistance commitments

The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia is responsible for landmine survivors, cluster munition victims, and survivors of other ERW. Ethiopia has made a commitment to victim assistance through the Mine Ban Treaty.

Casualties

Casualties Overview

No mine/ERW casualties were identified in 2013.[1]

The last identified (mine) casualties were in 2010, when two deminers were injured.[2]

There were at least 16,849 casualties (9,431 killed; 7,401 injured; and 17 for whom the outcome was unknown) through the end of 2013. Between 2004 and the end of 2013, the Monitor identified 233 casualties (90 killed; 126 injured; 17 unknown).[3] The most complete single data source remains the Landmine Impact Survey (LIS) completed in 2004, which recorded 16,616 mine/ERW casualties (9,341 killed; 7,275 injured).[4]

Cluster munition casualties

At least 272 casualties occurred during the use of cluster munitions in Mekele and Adigrat, Ethiopia in 1998.[5] No unexploded submunition casualties were recorded.

Victim Assistance

There are at least 7,401 known mine survivors.[6] The total number of mine/ERW survivors in Ethiopia is unknown as there is no centralized data collection; many survivors, particularly veterans, live in urban locations, including the capital, which were not surveyed by the LIS.[7]

Victim assistance since 1999[8]

There was an overall gradual increase of the availability of services in rural and remote areas since 1999. However, many survivors and other persons with disabilities continued to live in poverty and far from existing facilities, which prevented them from accessing these services.

Improvements were made in healthcare coverage and emergency response through long-term health sector development plans linked to Ethiopia’s poverty reduction strategy. Throughout the period of victim assistance monitoring, physical rehabilitation was limited and services were concentrated in urban areas. Most service users, particularly people with disabilities living in rural areas, had difficulty in getting to physical rehabilitation centers and had hardly any access to services. Improvements in the quality and accessibility of physical rehabilitation services were reported since 2009, though challenges in accessibility remained.

Throughout the period, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MoLSA) was responsible for national coordination of the physical rehabilitation sector and for issues concerning persons with disabilities more broadly, while services were coordinated by the regional Bureaus of Labor and Social Affairs offices (BoLSA) with support from the ICRC. MoLSA’s coordination of the disability sector, including victim assistance, improved markedly since 2009 and was prioritized in the development of strategies and plans. In the period before 2009, victim assistance and disability issues were not prioritized in Ethiopia because of critical development conditions overall, poor coordination among key actors, and a lack of capacity. The adoption of the National Plan of Action on Disability 2012–2021 was a critical step in increasing progress in victim assistance and upholding the rights of persons with disabilities more generally.

Psychosocial support and economic reintegration services, mostly operated by NGOs, remained limited and were inadequate to deal with the needs of mine/ERW survivors and other persons with disabilities. The availability of economic inclusion services was significantly reduced from 2009 due to the closure of Landmine Survivors Network/Survivor Corps Ethiopia.

Victim assistance in 2013

In 2013, there were no significant changes in the quality and accessibility of services available to mine/ERW survivors or other persons with disabilities with similar needs for assistance. Ethiopia continued to build new rehabilitation centers to address the shortage of coverage for rehabilitation and prosthetic devices, though these were not sufficient to meet needs and no other significant changes to the availability of services in other areas of victim assistance were reported.

Assessing victim assistance needs

MoLSA reported plans to collect data or to conduct survey activities together with relevant stakeholders but, due to lack of adequate human resources and funding, the plan had not been realized by April 2014. In 2014, MoLSA was in discussion with the Central Statistics Authority in order to find the means to have a concrete and reliable data available in the future.[9]

Handicap International (HI) continued to assess the needs of landmine victims, persons with disabilities, and their families. Disaggregated statistical information was not available.[10]

Victim assistance coordination[11]

Ethiopia has reported that there is no specific victim assistance program and that the needs of mine/ERW survivors are addressed through programs for persons with disabilities more generally.[12]

MoLSA is responsible for issues relating to persons with disabilities, including mine/ERW survivors, and is the international focal point for victim assistance. However, there is no single point of contact for disability issues within MoLSA. BoLSAs in each region of the country managed disability-related issues in a regional context using MoLSA policy framework.[13] BoLSAs are responsible for coordinating both public and private services for persons with disabilities in their respective regions. MoLSA developed national policies with the input of the BoLSAs.[14] Other relevant ministries also have disability departments.[15]

However, the field of disability in Ethiopia faces many significant challenges, including limited capacity and resources for both local organizations and the government to achieve their objectives, as well as limited and unbalanced availability of services and support. Although various actors are engaged in addressing disability issues, including local disability organizations as well as international organizations and donors, efforts are generally limited and lack coordination, leaving many gaps and areas that are not adequately addressed.[16]

A National Stakeholders Symposium on Implementing the National Plan of Action for Persons with Disabilities (2012–2021) was held in Addis Ababa in November 2013 in collaboration with the Mine Ban Treaty Implementation Support Unit with the support of the European Union. The symposium was regarded as a significant achievement in increasing the awareness of the implementing agencies of the action plan. The issue of victim assistance in relation to the action plan was explained and discussed at length by representatives of MoLSA, the regional BoLSAs, disabled person’s organizations (DPOs) and survivors’ representatives. Representatives from the regional BoLSAs attending the symposium presented the progress or lack of progress so far in the implementation of the action plan in their regions.[17] The symposium revealed that awareness of disability rights remained low generally and that the relevant authorities were not all adequately aware of the CRPD and related national planning. The symposium also increased created a great awareness of the regional implementing bodies.

MoLSA conducted a number of meetings, workshops, and training sessions during 2013 in order to enhance coordination and planning. MoLSA provided training for the Employers’ Federation and Confederation of Trade Unions on promoting employment for persons with disabilities generally as well as promoting employment for persons with disabilities through their inclusion in trade unions. Two meetings were conducted with landmine survivors’ representatives and the victim assistance focal point in MoLSA on the possibility of organizing national association for victims and survivors to promote and advocate on behalf of mine/ERW survivors.[18]

The National Council of Persons with Disabilities was responsible for coordinating, evaluating, and monitoring the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Council members were drawn from relevant ministries, NGOs, DPOs, and other stakeholders.[19] The National Council of Persons with Disabilities, established in accordance with Article 33 of the CRPD, meets monthly at the directorate level, every six months at the level of the state minister, and also holds an annual meeting at MoLSA. It is chaired by the minister of MoLSA and attended by the two state ministers and provides disability stakeholders with a means to provide feedback.[20]

There are three national strategic plans relevant to victim assistance: the Growth and Transformation Plan, 2010/11–2014/15; the National Plan of Action on Disability, 2012–2021; and a five-year National Physical Rehabilitation Strategy. The National Physical Rehabilitation Strategy was included in the National Social Welfare Policy in 2010 and a plan of action for the practical implementation of the National Physical Rehabilitation Strategy was drafted and under discussion in 2012. The National Plan of Action for Persons with Disabilities, adopted in 2012, was being translated for dissemination and implementation in 2013.[21]

MoLSA began establishing steering committees for implementing and monitoring the national action plan for CRPD at both the federal and regional levels (one national and 10 regional steering committees were being formed).[22] Each committee is to have an annual plan and a performance-reporting mechanism.[23]

Ethiopia provided updates on victim assistance activities within the national disability framework at the Thirteenth Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in December 2013, but not at the Third Review Conference of the Mine Ban Treaty in June 2014. Ethiopia has not reported on victim assistance in accordance with the Mine Ban Treaty’s Article 7 since 2009.[24]

Participation and inclusion in victim assistance

Representatives of organizations of persons with disabilities were included in coordination activities of MoLSA and the National Council of Persons with Disabilities and as members of various technical committees.[25] In January 2014, MoLSA and a national NGO, Yitawekilgn Yeakal Gudatagnoch Mehiber (YYGM), held consultations about the development of a proposal for establishing a national landmine survivors association. However, since Landmine Survivors Network/Survivor Corps closed down in 2009, survivors were not specifically represented in coordination.[26] Mine/ERW survivors were active members of DPOs operating in the country.[27]

Persons with disabilities were included among the staff and volunteers and in the implementation of services of many NGOs and DPOs. There was progress and improvement in the participation of persons with disabilities and DPOs in coordination, but it was still generally believed that not enough had been done to ensure active involvement of persons with disabilities. More consultation with persons with disabilities and their representative organizations was needed as well as their more active involvement in relevant decision-making processes at all levels.[28]

Mine/ERW survivors were not included on delegations at international meetings in 2013.

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities[29]

Medical care and rehabilitation

Some health centers did not have any accessible stretchers or beds for persons with physical disabilities. There were sometimes also long waiting lists for medical care.[30]

Physical rehabilitation including prosthetics

Ethiopia lacked enough physical rehabilitation centers to meet demand. There were 16 functioning centers and new centers were being developed. The physical rehabilitation services available in the country were limited and remain concentrated in the urban areas. Owing to their isolated geographical situation, most people with disabilities living in rural areas had hardly any access to physical rehabilitation services and those in most need had great difficulty in getting to the rehabilitation centers.[31]

Demand for mobility devices was greater than the available supply. There were also quality concerns with some devices and a need for a sustainability strategy among major stakeholders to substitute imported materials with locally produced material.[32] A lack of availability of locally produced basic components and devices compelled service providers to use imported components bought at greater expense with foreign currency.[33] Physical rehabilitation devices were expensive and, due to shortages of technicians, the waiting time to receive the services increased in 2013.[34] MoLSA, with technical advice from the ICRC, continued to work on plans to implement the national physical rehabilitation strategy. These included establishing a training structure for prosthetic/orthotic technicians at an existing college and developing a national supply chain for orthotic and prosthetic materials.[35]

In 2013, the number of prostheses delivered for mine/ERW survivors by ICRC-supported rehabilitation centers represented a slight increase compared to 2012.[36] ICRC support to physical rehabilitation centers continued to include funding, resources, on-the-job supervision and training. In 2013, 23 ICRC-funded graduates in prosthetics and orthotics returned to their respective regions.[37] Support from ICRC and Ethiopia was also provided for the establishment of three new physical rehabilitation services in Assosa, Gambella, and Nekemte, in the remote and border regions of western Ethiopia.[38] Training of orthopedic technicians was also run through a joint venture of MoLSA and ICRC.[39]

CSE reported a significant increase in victim assistance services in the Somali Region as a result of program expansion, in collaboration with HI. Through the partnership with HI, CSE provided assistive devices for persons with disabilities at the Dollo Ado refugee centers, as well as for local people with disabilities and Nejo, West Wellega, Oromia zones.[40]

HI continued its national rehabilitation project assisting 10 hospitals. It continued its existing prosthetic and orthotic rehabilitation program, and also increased services in the Dollo Ado camps for Somali refugees in the Somali region, including prosthetics and orthotics. The Dollo Ado project was based on a survey HI conducted in the camps in 2011. HI noted a growing demand for prosthetics and orthotics in all three project sites.[41]

The plan for implementation of the National Physical Rehabilitation Strategy included the development of a national supply chain for importing orthopedic components and raw materials as well as the establishment of a school for prosthetic/orthotic technicians.[42] Approximately half of the rehabilitation centers costs were covered by the government, and some centers that continued to receive ICRC support transferred to government management to increase their sustainability.[43]

Economic and social inclusion

Some improvements in the quality of economic inclusion and psychological assistance for mine/ERW survivors were reported. However, the need for services remained far greater than the support and assistance available. There were few employment or training opportunities for persons with disabilities and few centers that offered physically-accessible facilities.[44]

The ECDD extended its partnership agreement with the Abilis Foundation of Finland designating it as the representative NGO and facilitator in Ethiopia for the Abilis Foundation. Three new Abilis Manuals were translated from English into Amharic and ECDD began distributing the manuals to DPOs to make them aware about how Abilis works. In consultation with ECDD and Association of Ethiopian Microfinance Institutions, the National Bank of Ethiopia issued a directive that requires micro-finance institutes to incorporate disability-disaggregated data in their reports to ensure the inclusion of persons with disabilities in their service provision. ECDD also registered cooperatives of persons with disabilities and provided basic business skills training.[45]

 Ethiopia has at least nine CBR programs.[46] However, the support that these programs offered to mine/ERW survivors continued to be limited due to funding constraints.[47] The ICRC provided basketball wheelchairs for persons with disabilities in Amhara and Tigray to engage in sports.[48]

Laws and policies

The Charities and Societies Proclamation of February 2009 forbids national NGOs operating on disabilities from engaging in advocacy on human rights issues, including promoting the rights of persons with disabilities, if they registered to receive more than 10% of their funding from foreign sources. In 2013, DPOs which had chosen to continue advocating for the rights of persons with disabilities struggled to raise funds locally for basic activities. Organizations adversely affected included EWDNA, the Ethiopian National Association of the Physically Handicapped, and the Ethiopian National Association for the Deaf and Blind.[49] Most national disability umbrella organizations re-registered their status for the same reason, except for the Ethiopia Association of the Physically Handicapped.[50]

The Federation of Ethiopian National Associations of People with Disabilities (FENAPD), an umbrella organization of six Ethiopian national associations,[51] is an Ethiopian Resident Charity organization which is allowed to raise 90% of its funds from a foreign source or donors and therefore cannot conduct advocacy.[52]

The law mandates building accessibility and accessible toilet facilities for persons with physical disabilities, although specific regulations that define the accessibility standards were not adopted.[53] Most survivors lived in very distant, remote areas which are not accessible due to lack of physical infrastructure. Some improvements to accessibility were reported during 2013.[54] EWDNA observed an increase in physical accessibility, but improvements were not to the required standards; for example, some wheelchair ramps cannot be used because they are steep and slippery.[55]

Ethiopia ratified the CRPD on 7 July 2010.