The International Disability and Development Consortium (IDDC) has said that disability inclusion is everyone’s responsibility, not just the job of a few specialised agencies.
Andrea Pregel, Co-chair, Inclusive Health Group, IDDC, made this statement during the 66th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW66).
Mr Pregel said, “everyone in the development sector needs to do their part to ensure the rights of all people with disabilities, particularly adolescent girls with disabilities, are upheld.
“If we are serious about achieving Universal Health Coverage and other SDG targets, we need more investments.
“We need better collaboration between mainstream agencies, organisations of persons with disabilities, and development partners with disability inclusion technical expertise.
“We need more quality evidence on what works to make programmes and policies more inclusive.”
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) include seven targets that explicitly refer to persons with disabilities.
Agenda 2030 is underpinned by the leave no one behind principle, which means none of the SDGs can be genuinely achieved unless people with disabilities are included.
The 2030 Agenda for sustainable development is clear that disability must be included with regard to access to development programming and the realisation of human rights.