The World Bank has made strides on disability inclusion over the course of the last decade with the inclusion of disability into its Environmental and Social Framework (ESF), the inclusion of disability as a cross-cutting theme in IDA19, and with the commitments that the Bank made during the first Global Disability Summit (GDS) in 2018. The GDS commitments have raised the profile of disability at the Bank and have led to more thoughtful consideration of how to make projects accessible and inclusive. Global Practices (GP) such as the Education GP and the Transport GP, among others, have set goals to make their projects and programs disability-inclusive, paving the way for persons with disabilities to access and benefit from these projects.
With the upcoming second GDS in Norway in 2022, the Bank has an opportunity to increase the percentage of its projects that are inclusive and accessible in both their design and implementation. In order to achieve its twin goals of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity, the Bank must continue to make progress on accessibility and inclusion across its operations and work with governments to design and implement projects with persons with disabilities in mind. The Bank should make strong ambitious commitments around accessibility and inclusion at the second GDS and continue working to achieve the commitments it set at the first GDS in 2018.
BIC and the International Disability Alliance (IDA) will engage with the Bank in the lead up to the second GDS in 2022 and push the Bank to put forth a set of robust commitments. More information about the World Bank’s commitments at the first GDS can be found here, and additional information about the second GDS summit is available here.