Development Enabled
The majority of people with disabilities live in low- and middle-income countries, where difficulties are often exacerbated by inadequate opportunities and services. This, coupled with social exclusion and discrimination, makes it a cross-cutting development issue. Devex and partners are launching a global conversation, looking beyond immediate health implications, to examine how barriers can be overcome and how people with disabilities can inform and drive inclusion efforts — to support a disability-inclusive world. (Press Ctrl + U or click the icon on the right for accessibility options)
Creating a disability-inclusive world
Disability inclusion starts with a village
By Jenny Lei Ravelo
A grassroots program that started in a few villages in Indonesia’s Yogyakarta district is now growing and gaining government attention. But with the expansion come new challenges.
Read More
A rights-based approach to address development's ignored disability
By Lisa Cornish
Australia’s DFAT is working to support better understanding of psychosocial disability by calling on the expertise of disabled people's organizations.
Opinion: Planning for disability-inclusive education
By Suzanne Grant Lewis
Children with disabilities are one of the most excluded groups from education. UNESCO’s International Institute for Educational Planning explains why planning for their inclusion in mainstream education is a global imperative with benefits for all.
On Message: Are your communications disability-inclusive?
By Carine Umuhumuza
Devex speaks to communications professionals within the disability space on how to foster inclusive communications within your organization.
Building the case for a disability-inclusive justice system
By Jenny Lei Ravelo
In Gunung Kidul, Yogyakarta, one district court is hoping to serve as a model of inclusion for people with disabilities in Indonesia.
Read More
Q&A: Disability inclusion in Australian aid
By Lisa Cornish
Cate Rogers, assistant secretary of the Development Policy and Education branch within Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade sits down with Devex to discuss lessons from the Australian aid program’s disability-inclusive strategy.
Opinion: Principles to practice in disability inclusive development
By Briana Wilson, Julie Smith
Many development actors still lack the knowledge or experience to implement programs that effectively include people with a disability in low- or middle-income countries. CBM shares its key lessons on how to take “leave no one behind” from principles into practice.
Life in the shadows: Living with disabilities in a conflict zone
By Sam Mednick
There’s a wide gap to bridge to make disabilities more mainstream in humanitarian response, especially for people living in fragile settings. Devex reports from South Sudan.
Opinion: Enabling the SDGs through disability inclusion
By Amina J. Mohammed
This year, the world will undertake its first cycle of review of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
Read More
Opinion: 2019 — the year we leave no one behind?
By Vladimir Cuk, Dominic Haslam
Sightsavers and the International Disability Alliance explain why U.N. meetings in 2019 need to commit the international community to including persons with disabilities in development policy, planning, and implementation.
Opinion: People with disabilities are the experts in disability-inclusive development
By Alexandra Kay
With the right levels of support, people with disabilities make highly effective development workers. Many people with disabilities possess attributes that are actively sought in the sector.
How to chart a new path for disability-inclusive development
By Helen Castell
While 15 percent of the world’s population lives with a disability, prevalence is even higher in low- and middle-income countries.
Opinion: 800 million reasons why disability is a key development issue
By Kristalina Georgieva
At the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, the issue of global inequality was a regular feature. How, delegates asked, can we address the yawning gaps in wealth and opportunity between the top 1 percent of the world’s population and those at the bottom of the pile?
Read More
What are the strengths and weaknesses of disability inclusion in Australian aid?
By Lisa Cornish
Developing a disability-inclusive aid program works best when it starts small, is scaled over time, is inclusive of one or more organizations working with people with disabilities, and seeks to be innovative.
Top employers working on disability inclusivity
By Lottie Watters
The majority of people living with disabilities live in low- and middle-income countries, often in difficult circumstances due to the lack of adequate services and opportunities.
From CSR into HR: Disability inclusion in the workplace
By Rebecca Root
Stigma and misconception can mean that people living with disabilities are often overlooked for positions.
Disability inclusive health care has mountains to climb
By Kelli Rogers
In Nepal, physiotherapy services in remote regions provide a glimpse at a more inclusive future for the post-quake country.
Read More
Q&A: A 'twin-track' approach to disability-inclusive disaster preparedness
By Kelli Rogers
Small environmental hazards can quickly become disasters for people with disabilities, yet these individuals are far more likely to be excluded from long-term disaster planning and response
In India, first-aid training for bystanders attempts to fill gap in emergency care
By Martin Bader
Road traffic accidents are the number one cause for death and disability of people between 15-45 years in India. Devex examines the impact of a first-aid training program on chance of recovery, as well as the importance of inclusive access to health care, and improved rehabilitation services.
Supporting disability advocacy: Insights from Savina Nongebatu
By Lisa Cornish
Savina Nongebatu has long been a vocal advocate for the rights of people living with disability in the Pacific. She was the president of People with Disabilities Solomon Islands for seven years until 2011, as well as the female co-chair for Pacific Disability Forum for two years.
Opinion: The private sector's role in supporting a disability-inclusive world
By Kovin Naidoo
When we think of disability and its impact on individuals and the world, it’s easy to think of it in isolation. We don’t necessarily consider creating an inclusive society as something which requires all of us to play our part.
Read More
In Ethiopia, a multipronged approach to tackle avoidable blindness
By Sam Mednick
When Orbis' Danny Haddad visited Ethiopia in 1996, he found a lagging eye health industry and an alarming number of trachoma cases. The sight-saving NGO has spent the past 20 years treating infectious blindness and building a pool of eye health experts in the country.
For children with disabilities in Nigeria, educational opportunities remain scant
By Shayera Dark
In Nigeria, which has the highest number of out-of-school children in the world, discovering the percentage of those with learning disabilities is next to impossible. A handful of NGOs are seeking to fill the gap.
DFID launches its first disability inclusion strategy
By Sophie Edwards
The United Kingdom’s Department for International Development launched its first disability strategy Monday, which disability champions hailed as “ambitious” but in need of dedicated financing to implement.
A solution to inclusion?
By Rebecca Root and Naomi Mihara
In Ethiopia, sport is breaking down barriers for people with disabilities.
Read MoreMore News on Disability and Development
How disability inclusive is DFID?
By Sophie Edwards
As the department continues to champion disability-inclusive development at a major summit in London this week, what changes has it made to improve representation among its own.
Disability mainstreaming 'will not work,' claims head of ICRC
By Molly Anders
Yves Daccord, executive director of the International Committee of the Red Cross, told Devex that the aid sector should be taking a broader approach to diversity and inclusion, rather than attempting to "mainstream" one marginalized group at a time.
Opinion: Disability-inclusive policies require disability-inclusive budgets
By Polly Meeks, Alexandre Cote
At this week's first-ever Global Disability Summit in London, government signatories to the Charter for Change commit to "invest in" disability inclusion. Two experts evaluate such commitments.
Partners
Devex
Devex is the media platform for the global development community. A social enterprise, we connect and inform over one million development, health, humanitarian, and sustainability professionals through news, business intelligence, and funding & career opportunities so you can do more good for more people.
CBM International
CBM International is an international Christian organisation working, with partners, to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities in the poorest communities of the world.
AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) provides foreign, trade and development policy advice to the Government of Australia. The department’s purpose is to help make Australia stronger, safer and more prosperous by promoting, protecting Australia’s interests internationally, and contributing to global stability and economic growth.
Essilor
Essilor is a world leader in ophthalmic optics and a key player in visual health. Their mission is to improve lives by improving sight.
International Disability Alliance
The International Disability Alliance is an alliance of eight global and six regional organizations of persons with disabilities.
Scope Global
Scope Global delivers inclusive international development and education programs throughout Australia, Asia and the Pacific that enable people to positively change their world.
Sightsavers
Sightsavers is an international NGO working to prevent avoidable blindness, support equality for people with disabilities and advocate for change.