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Disability Inclusion

SDDirect provides research, guidance, and technical support on disability inclusion in all aspects of policy and programming.

We also mainstream disability inclusion throughout our work to promote the ‘leave no one behind’ agenda and the ‘nothing about us, without us’ call from the disability rights movement.

A visually impaired woman uses a screen reader

What is Disability Inclusion?

 

An estimated 1.3 billion people, or 16% of the global population, have a disability. Despite this, people with disabilities have historically been overlooked in development and humanitarian policy and programming. Too often people with disabilities are denied their basic human rights, including access to education, employment and health services. The disability rights movement is advocating for change.

"…disability results from the interaction between persons with impairments and attitudinal and environmental barriers that hinders their full and effective participation in society, on an equal basis with others" - United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Barriers to disability inclusion

 

Barriers to disability inclusion graphic

 

Our work in this area

 

SDDirect has extensive experience providing guidance on disability inclusion across sectors. Through the Disability Inclusive Development Helpdesk, we support the generation of a rigorous evidence base on ‘what works’ to deliver results for people with disabilities. The Helpdesk also provides technical and training support to ensure that data and evidence is used to drive further action and investment in disability inclusion.

We promote disability inclusion through our broader work, including our work on gender-based violence, infrastructure, safeguarding, and women’s economic empowerment.

We take a rights-based approach to disability inclusion and apply a gender and intersectionality lens in everything we do. Working with organisations of persons with disability (OPDs) is central to our approach and essential to promote the approach advocated by the disability rights movement: “nothing about us without us”.  

We work to promote disability inclusion in our workplace and operations. SDDirect is a Disability Confident Employer, and we have an active Disability Inclusion Working Group that reports to our executive management team. 

“In my engagements with the Disability Inclusion Helpdesk – both in preparations for and delivery of products – I found the service to be of brilliant quality. It certainly provided a wide range of people with increased knowledge and understanding of the issues and was always able to consider how best to support colleagues in the FCDO, to put information and evidence into practice.”
Emma Žaja
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)

If you would like to hear more about our work on Disability Inclusion, please reach out to Rebekah Martin, Head of Disability Inclusion portfolio, rebekah.martin@sddirect.org.uk.

Inclusion and collaboration in and across women’s movements and disability movements - Guest Blog

To introduce the Disability Inclusion Helpdesk’s evidence digest on engaging with Organisations of People with Disabilities (OPDs), Rupsa Mallik, Director of Programmes and Innovation at Creating Resources for Empowerment in Action (CREA) and Patience Ogolo-Dickson, Founder and National Coordinator of Advocacy for Women with Disabilities Initiative (AWWDI) discuss the need for women’s movements and disability movements to b

Disability Inclusion in Health Systems - Guest Blog

To introduce the Disability Inclusive Helpdesk’s evidence digest on inclusive health, Susie Rodgers (Technical Specialist Advisor in Disability Inclusion in Global Health) spoke to Dr. Alarcos Cieza, Unit Head of Sensory Functions, Disability and Rehabilitation at the World Health Organization (WHO), about the WHO Resolution on the Highest Attainable Standard of Health for Persons with Disabilities, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the upcoming Global Disability Summit.

Priorities in disability-inclusive education - Guest Blog

To introduce the Disability Inclusive Helpdesk’s evidence digest on inclusive education, Ruth Owen OBE, Chief Executive of Leonard Cheshire, and Charlotte V. McClain-Nhlapo, Global Disability Advisor at the World Bank, discussed why it’s vital that world leaders make clear financial commitments to disability-inclusive and gender-responsive education if we plan to build back better and fairer from the pandemic. 

Query 59 - Evidence of the impacts on and risks to people with disabilities from the COVID-19 pandemic and how international development actors are responding November 2020-March 2021

This digest lists the latest evidence on COVID-19 and disability inclusion published between November and March 2021.

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