Beyond a seat at the table: towards disability equity in Asia-Pacific
by
Setareki Macanawai and
Jane Edge
7 September 2023
Disability advocates from Vanuatu (CBM Australia)
While there has been some progress in our region for people with disabilities in the last decade, it has been far too slow, and was set back by the pandemic, leaving people with disabilities even further behind. People with disabilities remain among the poorest and most marginalised in any given place at any given time, including in the Asia-Pacific region.
Included? Sometimes. A seat at the table? Occasionally. Full and equal participation and leadership? Rarely.
People with disabilities were hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic – in terms of both impacts on health and on livelihoods. People with disabilities are more vulnerable to the growing effects of climate change. The scale of national budget investment to support people with disabilities remains stubbornly low across the region. And in 2021-22, just 2.5% of Australia’s aid expenditure was attributable as disability inclusion.
So – how do we shift the dial?
The Australian government is about to start development of a new strategy to guide disability inclusion in its development work, to be called the ‘Disability Equity and [...]