CBM welcomes Government’s response to recommendations on disability and development

Last week the Government responded (open link in new tab) to the International Development Committee’s (IDC) report on the Department for International Development’s (DfID) work on disability (open link in new tab). CBM welcomes the Government’s acceptance of most of the report’s recommendations, including a number that we had called for in evidence submitted to the IDC.

The IDC is a committee of MPs that scrutinises the Government’s performance on international development. From December 2018 to July 2019, they conducted an enquiry into a range of topics across DfID’s work on disability and made 39 recommendations for the Government to consider.

The inquiry covered a range of topics including outcomes of the Global Disability Summit, DfID’s Disability Inclusive Development strategy, data and evidence on disability, disability inclusion in humanitarian contexts and mental health. CBM submitted written evidence to the inquiry (open link in new tab) and Dr Julian Eaton, CBM’s Mental Health Director, gave gave oral evidence in Parliament (open link in new tab) in Parliament.

The Government accepted the majority of recommendations from the committee, commenting that ‘The Committee’s inquiry has added to the growing global momentum on disability inclusion and the learning will contribute to progress within DFID and more widely.’

A number of recommendations made by CBM, and highlighted in the Committee’s report, have been accepted by the Government. These include:

  • An increase in spending on disability specific interventions, as well as mainstreaming disability through a number of programmes
  • An increase in technical expertise across DfID departments and programmes, including through the employment of more people with disabilities
  • Greater consultation of people with disabilities and their representative organisations, across development and humanitarian settings
  • More attention paid to the rights of women with disabilities and greater linkage of DfID’s disability work with DfID’s Strategic Vision for Gender Equality (open link in new tab)
  • Greater attention on data gaps in mental health
  • Increased accessibility to safeguarding measures in DfID programming for people with disabilities
  • Application of the same standards for disability inclusion to all government departments spending aid money

Additionally, the Government accepted the recommendation to re-publish the Disability Strategy delivery plan with greater detail and more measurable outcomes. DfID’s Disability Team has already engaged CBM and other members of Bond’s Disability and Development Group to revise the plan, and this is due to be completed by the end of the year.

Image: Nusula Amalemo takes a ride in a new wheelchair provided by CBM UK, at her home in Namutumba, Uganda. ©CBM/Trenchard.



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