4.1.3 Disability and PRSP
In 2001 Handicap International realised that the PRSP draft did not address disability in an appropriate way. However, by then the formulation and the participatory process had almost been completed. Following the advice and connections of a personal contact working for the government, Handicap International and CIARH jointly wrote a position document and forwarded it to the divisions responsible for PRSP within the government, as well as to civil society organisations (which conducted a separate participatory process) and to the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Handicap International mainly provided knowledge, experience, contacts with donors, the media, the government as well as the financial means for meetings, while CIARH presented the position paper to the government. In 2003 the Poverty Reduction Fund was established to finance PRSP activities. The board of the fund consists partly of elected civil society representatives; in the beginning Handicap International, CIARH and FENOPDIH succeeded in preserving one seat for a DPO representative. Later on Handicap International withdrew from this position, leaving two (holder and deputy) representatives available to disability organisations.
In the new draft version of the PRSP (2007), persons with disabilities are identified as one of the vulnerable groups, together with women, children and youth, the elderly, and ethnic groups. Disability is considered under the “Management of Social and environmental risks” chapter, and more specifically within the Social Protection Network. As specific measures, persons with disabilities are seen as the target group of a special nutrition programme targeted at poor families with a high degree of high ecological vulnerability. Furthermore, it includes one specific measure to protect persons with disabilities, namely the design and implementation of programmes contributing to the integration of persons with disability in productive processes and into the labour market. The Social Protection Network Programme seeks to provide direct funding for the poorest, and is managed by the First Lady of Honduras.
