Disability inclusion key to business development

• Tanzania launches platform to increase PwD inclusion in the workplace.
• Disability inclusion will expand national  business development.
• ILO urges private sector on disability inclusion policy.

Disability inclusion is a key element in any nations business development agenda. In this regard, Tanzania recently launched a National Business and Disability Network (NBDN) to promote workplace inclusion for persons with disabilities.

According to an update, the NBDN is to be handled by the Association of Tanzania Employers (ATE) and Sightsavers, with technical support by the International Labour Organization (ILO).

“The initiative encourages workplaces to adopt policies and practices inclusive of persons with disabilities and drive equal employment opportunities,” reads the media communique. 

Speaking at the launch event, Ms. Caroline Khamati Mugalla, Director of the ILO Country Office for Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi, said; “This landmark initiative aims to foster greater inclusion of persons with disabilities in the labour market by promoting equal opportunities and eliminating workplace barriers.”

She emphasized the importance of disability inclusion in the workplace and highlighted that despite progress in recent years, persons with disabilities continue to face attitudinal, environmental, and institutional challenges that hinder their full participation in the workforce

She said disability inclusion is key to growing and expanding the country’s business environment. “The ILO has been at the forefront in promoting gender equality, inclusion, and non-discrimination, particularly for marginalized groups such as women, young people, migrants, people living with HIV and persons with disabilities.”

She lauded the ATE and the private sector for championing the initiative and oversaw the private sector representatives and other organisations sign a commitment charter towards joining the network.

“Through this initiative, companies are encouraged to utilize the ILO Global Business and Disability Network’s Self-Assessment Tool to benchmark their inclusion strategies and foster an equitable work environment for persons with disabilities,” the ILO Director told stakeholders.

ILO pushes for disability inclusion in Tanzania

NBDN aligns with the ILO Global Business and Disability Network Charter, which provides a framework for enterprises to integrate disability inclusion as part of their corporate policies.

The charter is founded on 10 principles, which are respect and promotion of rights, non-discrimination, accessibility, job retention, equality of treatment, confidentiality, attention to all types of disabilities, collaboration, evaluation and knowledge sharing, details the press report.

In line with the ILO, researchers say disability is possibly the largest, silent health inequity of our time,” comments Vinson Lee, a senior business analyst.

Vinson works at The Missing Billion Initiative (MBI), an organization dedicated to improving health outcomes for people with disabilities and notes that gobally, 1.3 billion people live with disabilities.

“This is a significant number that can make a huge difference if included in the business development agenda,” he emphasizes.

The analyst says, on average, Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) face a 10–20-year reduction in life expectancy compared to those without.

A 2023 joint report from MBI on people with disabilities revealed alarming gaps such as the fact that, 63 countries are not collecting relevant data to understand the needs of people with disabilities.

“MBI works to change this through research, policy partnerships, health worker training, and advocacy,” the analyst said.

For women, assumptions that disability makes them uninterested in relationships or motherhood lead to neglect in areas like family planning, STI testing, and reproductive health, he goes on to detail.

The analyst cosucted research work in Kenya, where he worked with the Lwala Community Alliance to deliver  training to 400 community health workers.

After the training, “…the community health workers reported a dramatic increase in their knowledge and confidence,” he reported.

“They said they now had the information to offer people with disabilities appropriate care and advocate for them.” In Tanzania, a significant portion of the population, estimated at 9.3 per cent, lives with a disability. “This figure is likely higher as the actual number of individuals with disabilities may not be fully captured in official data,” the researcher points out.

He also notes that women and older adults have higher rates of functional difficulties compared to men and younger age groups.

Further still, the Disability Data Initiative shows that women are estimated to have a higher disability rate than men, with 7.8 per cent of the female population and 5.7 per cent of the male population living with a disability.

“Functional difficulties are more prevalent among older adults, and there are higher rates in rural areas compared to urban areas,” this according to the Disability Data Initiative.

According to the data report, the most common disabilities include difficulties with seeing (7 per cent) and mobility (5.1 per cent).

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Tanzania takes initiative to increase disability inclusion

Notably, Tanzania has launched a National Assistive Technology Strategy to improve access to education, communication, and mobility for people with disabilities.

The government is also working to foster disability inclusion in workplaces, with the launch of a National Business and Disability Network.

The network already reports that the lack of universal access, poverty, unemployment, and poor services in education and healthcare are challenges faced by people with disabilities in Tanzania. 

The network defines disability in relation to an individual to mean the loss or limitation of opportunities to take part in the normal life of the community on an equal level with others due to physical, mental or social factors.

Also, “person with disability” means a person with a physical, intellectual, sensory or mental impairment and whose functional capacity is limited by encountering attitudinal, environmental and institutional barriers.

In Tanzania, the rights of PwDs are protected under the Persons with Disabilities Act 2010.

The Act makes provisions for the health care, social support, accessibility, rehabilitation, education and vocational training, communication, employment or work protection and promotion of basic rights for the persons with disabilities.

Also, the country has the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act of 1982: This Act established a quota system requiring that two percent of the workforce in companies with more than 50 employees must be persons with disabilities.

Notably, in 2010, the act was updated and article 31 now “requires employers to hire and maintain the employment of people with disabilities and establishes a work force quota under which every employer with a work force of 20 or more individuals must employ persons with disabilities at a rate of at least 3 per cent of the employer’s total workforce.”

The Persons with Disabilities Act of 2010 states that it shall be a duty of every employer to take all necessary measures to improve work environment to prevent injuries and impairment.

To also provide job accommodations and provision of working tools for PwDs and to ensure safe and healthy working conditions for all employees with disabilities. It requires protection of employees with disabilities to exercise their labour and trade union rights in accordance with relevant laws.

It also requires that employed persons with disabilities to have effective access to general, technical and vocational guidance and continuing training for their carrier and advancement.

According to the law, the respective ministry shall ensure the promotion of employment for persons with disabilities by applying affirmative action treatment. It also calls for job retention and return to work for any employee who has obtained disability in a workplace.