Recommendations

The Arab region is made up of countries which differ widely from each other in numerous respects, including in terms of economic development, political context, and geographic characteristics. There are also considerable differences within countries, for instance between urban and rural areas. Furthermore, persons with disabilities are diverse, consisting of individuals with different needs, capacities and preferences. Therefore, the same set of social protection measures will not suit all countries, or even all areas within individual countries, and certain policies may be viewed favourably by some persons with disabilities but unfavourably by others. Nevertheless, some overall policy recommendations can be distilled from the findings above.

Ensure that social protection is accessible

In order to increase coverage of social insurance and social health insurance among persons with disabilities, enhance their access to formal work in the public and private sectors, e.g. by ensuring that employment quotas are fulfilled and by enacting and enforcing non-discrimination laws.
Ensure that the targeting formulas of social assistance and non-contributory health insurance programmes take into account disability-related costs in their evaluation of applicants’ poverty status.
When social assistance is conditional upon utilization of certain social services, such as school attendance, persons with disabilities should be exempted from the conditions if these services are not accessible to them, though this should only be a short-term solution until the services have been made accessible.
Ensure that persons with disabilities are entitled to use health care services for free or at an affordable price, and that such services are accessible in practice.
Conduct outreach to inform persons with disabilities about social protection programmes that they are entitled to, and ensure that application procedures are clear and accessible.

Ensure that social protection is adequate

Ensure that cash benefits are set at a level which takes into account the added costs of disability. This can be done by increasing the benefits given to persons with disabilities within mainstream schemes and/or by creating or maintaining disability specific schemes as a complement to the mainstream schemes.
Ensure that health care is adequate to the needs of persons with disabilities, paying particular attention to the needs of women and children with disabilities.

Ensure that social protection furthers autonomy and participation

When access to social protection schemes, or the level of benefits provided within them, is contingent upon disability status, ensure that the definition of disability used in the determination process is not based solely on the medical model, but that it also takes into account social and environmental factors as mandated by the CRPD.
Ensure that social protection furthers the autonomy of persons with disabilities, for instance by giving cash grants to persons with disabilities themselves rather than to their families.
Ensure that social protection measures encourage labour force participation and that they do not reinforce the perception that persons with disabilities are inherently incapable of working. In particular, disability should not be conceptualized as work inability, and if cash transfers are withdrawn when beneficiaries find another source of income, this should be done in a way that ensures that taking up work never leaves persons with disabilities worse off.

Ensure that social protection systems are inclusively governed

Work to ensure that the needs and preferences of persons with disabilities are truly taken into account in policy-making process, for instance by strengthening the standing of disability councils, and by ensuring that persons with disabilities are able to wield real influence over those bodies.
Bearing in mind the interlinkages between social protection and other policy spheres, seek to further enhance coordination between government ministries and other stakeholders, and ensure that persons with disabilities can participate in decision making at all levels across the policy spectrum.
Raise awareness among government officials and other stakeholders about the rights and needs of persons with disabilities.
In order to give policymakers a clear image of the present state of social protection for persons with disabilities, ensure the collection of reliable data.