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Book Review
Title: CBR-- A Participatory Strategy in Africa ; based on the proceedings of a conference, Uganda, September 2001 / Editor Sally Hartley, 2002
Publisher: University College London
ISBN: 0953226514
Price: 5 pounds Sterling
This book is a very good resource for those interested and involved in CBR development internationally. In the first instance the book 'practices the philosophy of CBR'. In particular it promotes a multidisciplinary perspective and raises the issues faced by CBR stakeholders such as that of parents, disabled people, service providers, government and donors. The participatory strategy and structure of the book demonstrates the value of full participation of all stakeholders leading to a quality conference and information resource. Of particular strength is the scope and content of the articles and the summary of the lessons learned and actions steps included in the final Chapter 'CBR in Africa: The Way Forward'. A significant recommendation is the imperative to 'develop a working definition of CBR'.
The book, however, also illustrates the impact of a lack of a working definition of CBR. It demonstrates that CBR is still very much in its 'scientific infancy.' Authors and CBR implementers struggle with trying to debate the contributions and vulnerabilities of the CBR approach without a clearly defined framework from which CBR implementers and evaluators can base their analysis. It calls for the need to focus on conducting more critical investigations of CBR based on a framework which conceptualizes CBR and identifies the core indicators for monitoring and evaluation.
Readers need to be aware that the selection of the title of the book does not reflect the continental experience of CBR in Africa. Although valuable, the articles are primarily about the Ugandan experience and that of a few other countries. The book would also have benefited from a more balanced review of the essential contributions of all the different stakeholders, including the professionals, as the multidisciplinary approach is at the core of CBR.
Notwithstanding theses issues, there are a great deal of lessons learned and content in this book worth considering for all involved in CBR specifically and disability and development generally. The authors are to be congratulated for their commitment to making this knowledge available by applying the principles of CBR to the creation of this valuable resource.
Review by
Lorne Jean Edmonds PhD,
Director, International Centre for the Advancement of Community Based Rehabilitation (ICACBR), Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario
Email: edmondlj@post.queensu.ca
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