Context
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over a billion people in the world live with a disability; of this total, 80 per cent are in developing and emerging countries. The inclusion of persons with disabilities has great potential for a society’s economic and social development and is thus beneficial for everyone. The removal of barriers benefits both persons with disabilities and society as a whole. The International Labour Organization states that the participation of persons with disabilities in school education and vocational training is the most effective way to enable long-lasting economic and social participation for everyone. Persons with disabilities can independently provide for themselves and their families and lead a self-determined life only if they actively participate in education, the world of work and social life. A further advantage is that inclusion comes hand in hand with societal innovation. Many developments for persons with disabilities – such as text messaging and speech recognition software – have a positive impact on all members of society.
However, these opportunities remain largely underutilised, the potential unharnessed, as persons with disabilities seldom have access to education, jobs, social services or health services. It is for this reason, for example, that only 46 per cent of boys and 33 per cent of girls with disabilities finish primary school in developing countries. Furthermore, only around 20 per cent of women with disabilities worldwide pursue paid employment. The consequence: persons with disabilities are frequently affected by poverty. In fact, around half of all disabilities could be avoided and are directly attributable to poverty.
Signatories to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) are obliged to design their development cooperation to be inclusive. Without the systematic consideration of the inclusion of persons with disabilities, German development cooperation cannot realise Agenda 2030 and its central principle, namely to ‘leave no one behind’. BMZ has developed a new cross-sectoral strategy for the inclusion of persons with disabilities in German development cooperation. The strategy is based on experience gained with a plan of action for the inclusion of persons with disabilities. The aim of this strategy is to ensure that the inclusion of persons with disabilities is systematically anchored in German development cooperation in a cross-cutting manner.
Objective
BMZ and the implementing organisations are strengthened in stepping up their efforts to ensure inclusion of people with disabilities in their development activities.
Approach
The global project (GP) began in July 2019 and is a continuation of the previous sector project on the inclusion of persons with disabilities. It focuses even more intensely both on measures to raise awareness and communicate the issue of inclusion in development action, and on the implementation of innovative approaches in areas such as digitalisation, training, employment, and urban and municipal development.
The project is gender-sensitive and cross-cutting and works around the world. It operates in four priority areas:
• The project provides BMZ, the Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) with services that promote inclusion of people with disabilities in order to raise awareness and provide information.
• It advises BMZ on implementing gender-sensitive inclusion of persons with disabilities in development policy processes.
• It provides implementing organisations and German development cooperation partners with proven advisory approaches and exchange formats for achieving inclusion.
• It promotes the development and implementation of gender-sensitive measures and the piloting of innovative approaches for the inclusion of persons with disabilities in selected partner countries.
All project measures are systematically supported by persons with disabilities in their role as ‘Agents of Change’.
Results
In conjunction with civil society, BMZ has developed a new strategy for the inclusion of persons with disabilities in German development cooperation. A total of 84 technical cooperation projects worldwide (as of June 2019) consider the specific needs and abilities of persons with disabilities. Self-run organisations representing persons with disabilities are actively involved in GIZ’s work in certain partner countries. Germany also participates in international processes such as the Conference of the Parties to the UN Disability Rights Convention, the Global Action on Disability Network (GLAD) and the Global Compact on Inclusive and Accessible Cities. In addition, Germany and Finland are jointly supporting the African Union in implementing the African Union Disability Architecture to strengthen the rights of persons with disabilities in Africa.