Second World Summit for Social Development: Investment in disability inclusion matters for poverty reduction and decent work

Solutions Session at the Second World Summit for Social Development

• Session title: Investment in disability inclusion matters for poverty reduction and decent work.
• Sponsored by: UK Mission
• Summit details: Second World Summit for Social Development, Doha, Qatar from 4-6 November
• Session details: Wednesday 5 November, 15:00-16:15, Room 7

Co-hosts

International Disability Alliance (IDA), Global Disability Innovation Hub (GDI Hub), ATscale - the Global Partnership for Assistive Technology, and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM)

About

This solution-focused side event will explore how to promote the inclusion of persons with disabilities in decent work. It will present global evidence on inequalities in employment in low- and- middle- income- countries (LMICs) and learnings from programmes that seek to strengthen the livelihoods of persons with disabilities, highlighting the experiences of people with disabilities from the Global South. 

The session will include a spotlight on assistive technology (AT). Research from ATscale shows that investment in the provision of four assistive products - hearing aids, prostheses, eyeglasses, and wheelchairs - will result in a return on investment of 9:1 and increase the engagement of people with disabilities in work. We know that AT and accompanying support services can act as an economic enabler, facilitating access to the labour market and national growth.

People with disabilities are often among the world's most marginalised and are disproportionately affected by poverty. This session will explore how access to AT, education and training, and fostering inclusive labour markets, can break the cycles of poverty and create pathways to economic independence for persons with disabilities.

It will also showcase how disability-inclusive livelihood interventions and AT can lead to decent work opportunities, drawing on learnings from initiatives like the FCDO-funded Disability Inclusive Development – Inclusive Futures project (DID-IF) and the Programme for Evidence to iNform Disability Action (PENDA) which aim to strengthen livelihoods for persons with disabilities.

Creating the conditions that support inclusive work, including accessible spaces, fighting stigma and discrimination and increasing access to AT, can lead not only to stronger livelihoods for persons with disabilities, but also enable them to live healthier, more productive, and independent lives, and to participate fully in community and civil life. This session will draw on over six years of learning from FCDO’s DID-IF, PENDA and AT2030 projects and the ATscale programme.