Johan Borg, Lund University

Dr. Johan Borg, Division of Social Medicine and Global Health, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University (in Malmö), defended his doctoral dissertation entitled ”Assistive Technology, Human Rights and Poverty in Developing Countries. Perspectives based on a study in Bangladesh” on 17 February 2011. He was supervised by Per-Olof Östergren and Stig Larsson. The faculty opponent was Professor Malcolm MacLachlan, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. 

Deprived of human rights, more than half of all people with disabilities in developing countries live in extreme poverty. Although considered a prerequisite for equalization of opportunities, about nine out of ten of those who need assistive technologies do not have access to them. Little is known about the socioeconomic benefits of using assistive technology in low-income countries that can inform policies and strategies. The aim of the thesis was therefore to expand the understanding of the relation of assistive technology use to human rights and poverty in these countries. This is approached theoretically and empirically. Poverty is studied in terms of deprivation of capabilities as defined by Amartya Sen.

More information about the thesis.