SPARK: SenegalSPARK (Strengthening Public Accountability for Results and Knowledge) is an ambitious and innovative global program to arm marginalized groups and activists with the tools necessary to engage in budget processes and affect transformational change in their lives.
SPARK’s work in Senegal is primarily focused on increasing access to and quality of health services for people with disabilities and improving sanitation services in informal settlements in key districts.
People with disabilities in Senegal are three times less likely to access health and social services and face social bias and stigma that results in further marginalization. To address these challenges, the government created the Equality Opportunity Card (EOC) which grants access to free or subsidized services, including health. However, since 2017, inefficient production and delivery of EOCs has led to the exclusion of 20,000 people with disabilities from accessing their benefits. The government has committed to producing 10,000 cards per year until 2021, however, cards were not produced in 2018.
In Senegal, populations living in informal settlements where IBP intervenes have scant access to basic sanitation services. To address this challenge, the government enacted an ambitious solution called “the 10 cities program,” which, in IBP’s main intervention area of Pikine, aims to connect close to 3000 households to the sewage system at a subsidized rate and build toilets in public areas. However, individuals in marginalized and poor communities have not benefitted from the program due to the mistargeting in demand generation and an ineffective payment mechanism.
Learn more about the Federation of Associations of Persons with Disabilities’ (FSAPH) work to ensure that no disabled person in Senegal is left behind, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, in a new post on the Open Budgets Blog.
Partnering with the Senegalese Federation of Associations of People with Disabilities, SPARK will work towards mainstreaming a multi-sectoral approach to disability benefits that encompasses everything from free transportation and healthcare to sanitation and education. SPARK’s goal in Senegal is for people with disabilities to share a common agenda with non-disability organizations to elevate and propel the conversation on challenges faced by people with disabilities.
With a coordinated effort between SPARK, the National Assembly and other actors, production of the EOCs resumed at the end of 2019. We will continue to mobilize the collective agency of groups to ensure production of the EOCs continues and advocate for a more effective access to health services.
Operating in informal settlements, SPARK seeks to improve vulnerable families’ access to and funds for public sanitation facilities. Additionally, we want to ensure that the 50 schools being built in the districts where we work are disability inclusive and that the community and municipality are involved in their management to ensure sustainability.
In close collaboration with sanitation stakeholders, Urbasen will work to influence demand generation and ensure municipalities include a budget line to support vulnerable households. Urbasen will also work with IBP to generate information and monitor service delivery using social audits.