Global Disability Summit 2022: committing to change - Light for the World International

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The Global Disability Summit 2022 offers a crucial opportunity for governments, civil society and businesses to step up their actions for disability inclusion. Expectations for new commitments on the rights of people with disabilities are high. Light for the World will play its part.

Action on inclusion

More than 1.2 billion people in the world have disabilities, 80% live in low- and middle-income countries.

It is high time that disability rights are respected everywhere and that participation of people with disabilities is secured.

While we expect governments and the whole development sector to take serious action, we at Light for the World will also play our part. To contribute to change for people with disabilities, we have put together our own 22 commitments to the Global Disability Summit.

Our commitments

Light for the World’s commitments range from antidiscrimination and gender equity to actions around education, employment, health, climate action and humanitarian relief.

Over the coming four years we will implement these commitments and monitor progress. We will do this with our amazing partners, including: the International Disability Alliance, national and local Organisations of People with Disabilities, partners such as the Austrian Development Cooperation and Inclusive Futures / UK aid, local civil society, and the public and private sector.

Here is a short summary of Light for the World’s commitments, in pictures.

a group of about 20 South Sudanese members of the disability rights community. They pose for a group photo in front of a low building and make signs with their hands.

We commit to working with Organisations of Persons with Disabilities from community to international level. We will campaign together for deaf representation in the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. And we will support OPDs’ human rights monitoring, their internal processes, and their leadership in policy-making.

12-year-old Burkinabé boy sits in class with a smile, surrounded by his friends. Alira is of small stature and has a high forehead.

Light for the World supports learners with disabilities. Our efforts will include advocacy for better funding for inclusive education, increased access to assistive technology, teacher training packages and toolkits for gender and inclusive budget planning.

Ugandan boy Justine Basilica gets his eyes examined by a woman wearing an orange shirt. He is wearing exam spactacles to assess his visual acuity.

Light for the World wants everybody to have access to good eye health. We will strengthen health care systems in Ethiopia, Burkina Faso and Mozambique, making sure that services are inclusive and of high quality for all.

Young Ugandan woman laughing and showing her products - reusable menstruation pads

We commit to supporting employment and income opportunities of people with disabilities. Until 2025 we want to directly reach 9,000 young people and adults with disabilities. 53% will be women.

4 Mozambican adults wade through a flooded street. At the rear is an older man with one leg and crutches.

People with disabilities are at high risk in any humanitarian emergency. We commit to reducing our own ecological footprint while at the same time delivering inclusive humanitarian relief programmes. We will also support mainstream actors in making their actions disability-inclusive.