Disability and inclusion

Everyone has the right to healthcare, education, citizenship and work opportunities. Help us to address inequality and create an inclusive world where every person can take part and thrive.

Emmanuella, who uses a wheelchair, took part in the IT Bridge Academy programme in Nigeria.

Worldwide, 1.3 billion people have a disability. Despite this, disability inclusion is a neglected area of global development.

Disability discrimination and stigma mean that people with disabilities often face barriers to their human rights. Income, gender, age and other factors can increase this inequality.

Disability inclusion has been a vital part of Sightsavers’ work for more than 75 years. Our projects include health equity, stigma reduction, economic empowerment, inclusive education, citizenship and data.

We help make health systems stronger and more accessible, and support people to make informed decisions about their health. Working with parents, schools, local partners and governments, we make education more inclusive. We support people with disabilities to access training and work, improve working conditions and aim to strengthen economies.

Our expertise in inclusion

Our programmes prove that transformative change is possible when education is inclusive. Children with and without disabilities benefit and thrive when they can learn and play together.

Across Africa and Asia, we work with schools, children, teachers, parents, communities, governments and organisations of people with disabilities. We provide and promote inclusive education, and ensure that inclusive policies are at the heart of every education system.

More about inclusive education

We support people with disabilities, particularly women and young people, to gain training and skills. We strengthen economic systems so that people with disabilities are protected from exploitation and exclusion, and recognised as central to building sustainable and inclusive economies.

Our work includes employment and entrepreneurship, decent work and labour rights, inclusive social protection and community finance.

More about inclusive employment

We work with many partners to promote health equity for people with disabilities. These partnerships include health agencies and ministries, organisations of people with disabilities, and the World Health Organization.

We conduct programmatic, research and influencing work at country, regional and global levels. This helps to strengthen health systems, making them more inclusive and accessible for all.

More about inclusive health

We work with disability organisations to ensure that people with disabilities are meaningfully engaged in political and civic life. We support people to take part in inclusive elections and decision-making processes.

We campaign for development to be inclusive of people with disabilities. This includes supporting countries to ratify the African Disability Protocol. We also promote inclusive legislation.

More about inclusive citizenship

We work with governments to promote inclusion for women and girls, particularly those with disabilities. We want to make sure all women and girls can access education, health services and treatment, and take part in political processes.

Our social and behaviour change projects address negative attitudes, including gender discrimination. Our family planning programmes support women and girls to make informed choices about sexual and reproductive health.

More about our work with women and girls

Our programmes address stigma and discrimination that stops people accessing their human rights. We provide opportunities to empower individuals, influence social attitudes and norms, and share knowledge to help strengthen organisations and systems.

We use social and behaviour change frameworks to increase demand for inclusive and accessible services. This helps address stigma, bias, social norms, negative stereotyping and misinformation.

Read our stigma reduction guidance
A woman with a physical disability sits in a motorised wheelchair.

Join our campaigning

At Sightsavers, we run global, regional and national campaigns that fight for a fairer world. While our projects promote disability inclusion and challenge discrimination, our campaigning calls for the rights of people with disabilities to be upheld around the globe.

Support our campaign work

We have a wealth of inclusion knowledge

Meet our experts

How we’re making an impact

A woman leans over to fix a knitting loom while another woman, who is seated, watches.

We promote economic opportunity

In Uganda, our programme is opening up job opportunities for young people with disabilities and helping to reshape the regional economy.
About the Anyim Maber project

Three students sit a desk in a classroom wearing school uniform. One of the children has a physical disability.

We ensure schools are inclusive

We’re working with the Ugandan Ministry of Education and Sports to improve inclusive education through teacher training and development.
Our education project in Uganda

A woman sits at a desk talking to another person.

We support inclusive citizenship

In Ghana, a project implemented by Sightsavers Ireland has helped to strengthen disability organisations, using a female mentoring model.
Read about the project in Ghana

A woman wearing a black headscarf and tunic smiles while leaning against a wall.

We led the Inclusive Futures initiative

The Inclusive Futures initiative brought together a powerful alliance of experts working on disability and eradicating poverty.
More about Inclusive Futures

A woman using a mobility scooter is surrounded by her three children.

We make healthcare more accessible

A project led by Sightsavers changed community attitudes and supported women with disabilities to access family planning services in Nigeria.
Visit Inclusive Futures

Denis walks through dense, green foliage.

We focus on disability-inclusive climate action

Many of our inclusion programmes address the disproportionate impact of climate change on people with disabilities.
Our climate action work

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How you can help

In many countries, women, girls and people with disabilities face stigma and discrimination every day and are denied basic human rights.

We’ve already supported more than 400,000 people with disabilities to receive training in rights, skills and employment. But we still need your help.

Charity donations, legacies, corporate partnerships and gifts from charitable foundations are a vital source of funding. We also welcome opportunities to work in partnership with governments, institutions and development organisations.

We’re committed to leaving no one behind

Inclusive data at Sightsavers