The Influence of Physically Disabled Persons on Social Economic Development in Somalia. A Case Study of Puntland

Abstract

The study entitled the influence of physically disabled persons on social economic development in Somalia, case study of Puntland, was guided by the following objectives,to determine the causes and elements of physical disability among people in Puntland Somalia,to identify how disabled persons have contributed to socio-economic development in Puntland Somalia,to identify the challenges faced by disabled persons in accessing social economic development in Puntland Somalia,to identify the solutions for the challenges in addressing the medical needs and other needs of the disabled persons in Puntland Somalia. The study used an approved semi structured interview guide which consisted of both open and closed ended questions as methods of data collection. The findings indicated a positive significant correlation between physically disabled persons and socio economic development in Puntland, Somalia. Basing on this finding, the null hypothesis was rejected and the researcher concluded that physically disabled persons are significantly related to the level of socio economic development. The researcher recommended that the government of Somalia should introduce laws that will govern the labor market and promote equal employment opportunity to physically disabled persons or the vulnerable, so that physically disabled persons and other marginalized groups in the society enjoy the same opportunity that able bodied persons and other non-marginalized groups in the society enjoy, because at the present time such laws are absent or not there. In conclusion, Apart from the demographic characteristics, the study was to determine the level of physically disabled persons in Puntland Somalia. As the findings showed, the level of physically disabled persons in Puntland Somalia was good because the average mean of this point was 2.63 which means that most of the respondents agreed that the level of employment for the physically disabled persons

was good.

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CHAPTER ONE:

INTRODUCTION

1.0 Introduction to the study This chapter presents the introduction, problem statement, purpose of the study, specific objectives, research questions and the significance ofthe study.

Back ground of the study

Disabled people are large minority groups, starved of services and mostly ignored by society,live in isolation, segregation, poverty, charity and even pity (Masala and Donatella, 2008).Disability includes Blindness, low vision, leprosy-cured, hearing impairment, locomotor disability, mental retardation and mental illness (Burch, 2009).