Galvanizing Support for Education at the Global Disability Summit

Today at the Global Disability Summit, we have an opportunity to ensure education for all. But we cannot achieve our goals of universal education and human rights if we leave children with disabilities behind.

This is the very foundation of our collective global efforts to build a better world through the power of education. 

As partners come together for the disability summit, Education Cannot Wait (ECW) and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) are calling on leaders worldwide to galvanize support for children living with disabilities in crisis settings and fragile contexts. 

Education is a pathway toward peace and resilience. When access to quality education is more equitable, societies experience greater social cohesion and political stability. This reduces negative cycles of displacement and continued armed conflict. 

Coordinated and impactful investments in inclusive education can lift up those left furthest behind and protect the rights of children living with disabilities in some of the most challenging circumstances worldwide.

This is an unprecedented global challenge. There are 240 million children living with disabilities worldwide today. Many are denied the opportunity to benefit from the life-transformative power of quality, inclusive education, according to a joint paper prepared by education partners following a multi-stakeholder dialogue in advance of the Global Disability Summit. 

Children in humanitarian crises and fragile contexts are most at risk. According to ECW’s recent Global Estimates Report, the number of school-aged children in crises worldwide requiring urgent support to access quality education has now reached 234 million.An estimated 85 million children and adolescents affected by crises are out of school, at least 20 percent of whom – 17 million – are living with disabilities. 

The needs and rights of these learners must be at the heart of crisis response plans. Such inclusive approach supports governments, civil society organizations, and humanitarian and development partners to meet the education needs of children with disabilities while building resilient, equitable and inclusive education systems for the future. 

As leaders and disability stakeholders gather this week to bolster global commitments towards disability inclusion, ECW and GPE are calling for partners to support inclusive education for children in emergency and fragile contexts by promoting an equitable multi-year financial allocation to highly marginalized children, including girls and boys with disabilities. 

Most importantly, we call for the active engagement of persons with disabilities and their organizations in emergency preparedness, responses and resilience frameworks, as well as in national planning and policy processes. 

The systematic collection and use of data and evidence on disability with other relevant factors must also be prioritised to better understand intersecting barriers to access, participation and learning in emergency contexts. Knowledge and evidence about best practices must be available and widely shared. 

We must redouble our efforts to strengthen education systems to be inclusive of all children, including those with disabilities, and provide targeted interventions to support the full participation of children with disabilities in learning. 

The Global Disability Summit presents a vital opportunity to renew our commitment and continue to advocate to prioritize disability-inclusive education across humanitarian and development aid initiatives and follow through on the global promise to leave no one behind. This opportunity must not be missed. Education for all must truly mean education for all.