On the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, BIC commends the World Bank for taking steps to systematically integrate disability into its projects and programs through setting ambitious targets for disability inclusion. These goals will require the Bank to look at how its projects have overlooked persons with disabilities in the past and to determine how persons with disabilities will be able to benefit from World Bank projects and programs moving forward.
The World Bank has committed to:
These commitments lay the foundation for disabled persons organizations and civil society to hold the Bank accountable for inclusive education and inclusive public transportation projects, among others. We recognize that in many sectors there is quite a long way to go to ensure education projects are truly inclusive, as many leave out students with disabilities. We also know that many public transportation projects are not designed using principles of universal access and are therefore not accessible for persons with disabilities. BIC looks forward to working with the international disability community to push the World Bank to design and implement inclusive projects and programs, with persons with disabilities involved throughout all stages of the project lifecycle. Only with the support of the disability community in helping to design, implement, and monitor projects will the Bank be able to achieve these commitments.
