About International Development and Disability (IDD)

What is Inclusive Development?

Inclusive development ensures that all people, including people with disabilities, participate fully at all levels of the development process – as decision-makers, implementers, program participants and beneficiaries. 

An inclusive development paradigm recognizes that nations cannot achieve their full potential for economic development or democracy without fully embracing the diversity of all communities.

Disability leaders and human rights activists over the past decade have called for international development actors to address the inclusion of people with disabilities within their overarching mandates.  This approach advocates for disability inclusion to be mainstreamed throughout the development agenda, rather than only through specialized, disability specific programs.  Inclusive development incorporates the input and experience of people with dis¬abilities throughout the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of policies, programs and projects worldwide.

Inclusive development acknowledges that the exclusion of people with disabilities undermines poverty reduction programs, and that the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will not be met unless the needs of people with disabilities are addressed throughout the development agenda. Development efforts that do not include 15% of the world’s female population – disabled women and girls – cannot be effective in meeting goals for poverty reduction, education, maternal and child health and gender equity.  

Why is Inclusion of People with Disabilities Critical to the Development Process?

There are more than one billion people with disabilities in the world, or 15 percent of the global population, and of these an estimated 80 percent live in developing countries. In every part of the world, people with disabilities and especially women with disabilities are represented disproportionately among the poorest of the poor. Institutional barriers, cultural practices, lack of access to education, employment, services, and community, as well as gender discrimination, social stigma and marginalization contribute to an environment of exclusion. These barriers become strikingly apparent in developing countries where:

• One out of five people living on less than a dollar a day has a disability (World Bank).
• Ninety per cent of children with disabilities do not attend school (UNESCO).
• Only 1% of disabled women in the global south are literate (UNDP).
• 80 – 90 % of persons with disabilities of working age are unemployed, compared to 50-70 % in industrialized countries (UNEnable).

Leadership potential of people with disabilities an untapped resource:  Despite these barriers, people with disabilities are moving into leadership roles as activists, lawyers, educators, politicians and professors. These resources are often overlooked or inadequately tapped by the development community.

Women and girls with disabilities:  Just as gender inclusion is critical to the achievement of equitable and sustainable development, inclusion of women and girls with disabilities must be prioritized in order to meet development goals.  Disability, gender and poverty impact access to education, employment and HIV/AIDS, maternal and reproductive health, and anti-violence programs. Women with disabilities must have access to the gender-focused development programs that are empowering and addressing the needs of women around the world.

Partnership with disabled leaders and Disabled People’s Organizations is crucial for ensuring that development is inclusive, and that inclusion of people with disabilities is based in a human rights framework.  Empowering disability leaders and building the capacity of their organizations is essential for ensuring that the voices of people with disabilities are heard by the community, by government and by development organizations.

United Nations Tool to Promote Inclusive Development

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (UNCRPD) formally recognizes disability rights as human rights, a milestone for the disability rights movement worldwide. The Convention offers a major tool for the implementation of inclusive development strategies by governments, the UN and other international development agencies, by endorsing inclusion of people with disabilities across all development programs, rather than as a stand-alone thematic issue.

Mobility International USA (MIUSA)

MIUSA is dedicated to empowering people with disabilities around the world to achieve their human rights through international development and international exchange. 

MIUSA has been involved in the international development community since 1998, pioneering technical assistance to development professionals at headquarters and in the field. We have partnered with major development actors such as Mercy Corps, Trickle Up and American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), providing training and consultation to support their efforts to institutionalize inclusive policies and practices.  We have worked with USAID Missions and USAID implementing partners, providing knowledge and in-country training on inclusion of people with disabilities in on-the-ground programs. 

MIUSA is an active member of InterAction, the largest alliance of U.S.-based international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) focused on the world’s poor and most vulnerable people. InterAction works to overcome poverty, exclusion and suffering by advancing social justice and basic dignity for all. An InterAction member for over 10 years, MIUSA has ensured that inclusion of people with disabilities is on the international development agenda as an integral element of the empowerment of communities. MIUSA established the first Disability Inclusion Award, convened the InterAction Disability Working Group, and served as a catalyst for developing InterAction’s Private Voluntary Organization Standards on Disability.

MIUSA serves as a bridge between development and disability communities, and has successfully influenced our development partners to expand their commitments to diversity to include people with disabilities. We have brought development and disability organizations together in more than 20 countries including Albania, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Jordan, Mali, Uganda, and Zambia, across development sectors including: 

• Democracy and governance 
• Education
• HIV/AIDS
• Gender and disability
• Reproductive health
• Tourism

MIUSA’s alumni network includes 2000 disability rights leaders from more than 100 countries, who are charting new territory in human rights, and changing attitudes, policies and practices in every region of the world. Our extensive database of more than 1000 community-based, disability-led organizations offers a vast NGO resource for consultation, capacity building, and partnerships for our colleagues working in international development.  MIUSA has an extensive network of disabled women leaders with expertise in a range of development issues around the world, alumni of our Women’s Institute in Leadership and Disability (WILD) program.

For more information about these services please contact:
development@miusa.org