One in six people lives with a significant disability, and nearly 80 per cent of whom are in low- and middle-income countries. Despite being the world’s largest minority, social and structural barriers often limit the ability of persons with disabilities to exercise their human rights and access opportunities to flourish.
An impairment is a physical, mental, intellectual or sensory condition that limits a person’s movements or senses. Structural barriers, such as physical obstacles or lack of services, transform impairments into disability. They prevent persons with disabilities from participating equally in education, society and the economy.
Moreover, persons with disabilities face severe discrimination that deny them their human rights. They often face multiple intersecting forms of discrimination based on their gender, age, sexual orientation, or race, among other factors.
Persons with disabilities are more likely to be poor, food insecure and exposed to violence. Those who live in rural areas face even bigger challenges. They are less likely to attend school, receive health care and social protection, or have employment and training opportunities.
Despite facing enormous challenges, persons with disabilities are often excluded from rural development strategies and programmes. They are frequently marginalized in community decision-making and institutions.
It's time to remove the barriers that prevent persons with disabilities from participating and prospering in societies and economies.
When this happens, persons with disabilities make invaluable contributions to the well-being of their households and communities. With the right support, they can lift themselves out of poverty.
Inclusive rural transformation is essential to reducing rural poverty, improving resilience, and upholding human rights. We simply cannot achieve the SDGs if we leave this enormous group behind.
Persons with disabilities should be recognised as a distinct target group in rural development policies and programmes. Similarly, approaches used should meet their specific interests and needs. By collecting and analysing disaggregated data, we can better plan and provide for the specific needs of persons with disabilities.
Mainstreaming disability into programmes and implementing targeted measures ensures that persons with disability can work, learn and fully access services.
IFAD’s Disability Inclusion Strategy 2022–2027 promotes the rights and equitable participation of persons with disabilities across IFAD’s work.
SPARK trains and supports persons with disabilities in Burkina Faso, India, Mozambique and Malawi to participate equally in rural economies. They give professional advice on disability inclusion, develop and test approaches, and build the capacity of organizations. The SPARK Helpdesk provides expert information on disability inclusion in rural development to individuals and organizations across the world.
In Ethiopia, PACT budgets for caregivers of persons with disabilities and ensures inclusive training, policy support and infrastructure.
Disability inclusion is a core value in all IFAD projects. An online course teaches users about disability inclusion in general and in IFAD’s work.
IFAD is creating a disability-inclusive working environment for all its staff, in line with the UN Disability Inclusion Strategy.
Senior Technical Specialist, Gender and Social Inclusion
[email protected]