Geography Module

Development efforts of any organization need to include and benefit people with various types of disabilities, people at risks of exclusion/discrimination and marginalization, through providing quality education and training, creating equity, accessibility, employability, promoting prosperity, reducing poverty and enhancing peace, stability and creating inclusive society. Unfortunately, this has not been the practice for the majority of people with disabilities and vulnerable groups, due to unfavorable attitude, negligence, inaccessibility and exclusion from all development endeavors. It is obvious that people with disabilities are the large stand most disadvantaged minority in the world. They are about 15 percent of the global population (about one billion people), and 17.6 million in Ethiopia, with most extended families including someone with a disability (World Health Organization and World Bank and 2011). An exclusion practice of this large number of persons with disabilities in Ethiopia is an indicator of violating fundamental human rights that undermines their potential/ability to contribute to poverty reduction and economic growth within their household, their community and the country. It is clear that it is not impairment, but, the exclusion practices that has contributed for insecurity (conflict), poverty aggravation for persons with disabilities and vulnerabilities, that has highly demanding inclusive practices. Exclusion practices of persons with disabilities have a long history, affecting the life of people with disabilities and the society at large. In the past and even today people have been discriminated due to their disabilities.