Bond Disability and Development Working Group responds to ICAI report on disability in development

The Bond Disability and Development Group (DDG) have released a statement in response to the Independent Commission for Aid Impact’s rapid review of DFID’s approach to disability in development.

Hannah Loryman, Lucy Drescher and Tamsin Langford, Co-Chairs of the group said:

“This ICAI report comes at a crucial moment. Around one in six people in developing countries live with a disability – one in ten are children. The world has a made a commitment to leave no one behind through the Sustainable Development Goals and we need to make true our promise by ensuring people with disabilities are no longer invisible. We welcome DFID’s leadership in putting disability high on the global agenda, however, we support ICAI’s recommendation that there needs to be a systematic plan to mainstream disability inclusion. We also echo ICAI’s recommendation that Disabled People’s Organisations must be at the heart of all development programming. DFID has made a critical start but this momentum needs to be sustained if we are to see real change in terms tackling the stigma and discrimination around disability, inclusion in education and economic empowerment.

This year, DFID will be hosting the first ever Global Disability summit which will be an important opportunity to showcase the UK’s progress on disability globally but also call on other global leaders to follow suit.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

1. For further information or interviews with Lucy Drescher or Hannah Loryman, co-chairs of the Bond Disability and Development Group (DDG), please contact [email protected] / 0207 793 3970 or [email protected]

2. The Bond Disability and Development Group is made up of likeminded British NGOs working to ensure disabled people are considered in all international development policies. The group brings together professionals from over forty UK-based mainstream and disability-specific organisations with a mission to develop dialogue with the UK government and other influential stakeholders to prevent discrimination and ensure that disabled people are considered and included in all international development policies.

3. Bond is the UK network for organisations working in international development. Bond unites and supports a diverse network of over 450 civil society organisations and allies to help eradicate global poverty, inequality and injustice