Quality evidence key to reducing poverty among disabled: Speakers

Speakers at an international conference on the economic inclusion of persons with disabilities emphasized that high-quality, context-specific evidence is essential to designing strategies that effectively reduce poverty and promote economic participation among people with disabilities.

Globally, an estimated 1.3 billion people live with disabilities and are disproportionately affected by both monetary and multidimensional poverty. They face persistent barriers to education, decent work, and social protection, along with additional costs associated with disability that are often inadequately addressed, the speakers noted.

The two-day conference was jointly organised by the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), and the Programme for Evidence to Inform Disability Action (PENDA) at BRAC University. The event brought together researchers, policymakers, practitioners, donors, and persons with disabilities to examine evidence-based approaches to economic inclusion, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.