Generating robust evidence on effective strategies to reduce poverty among persons with disabilities is essential for promoting their economic inclusion, speakers said at the International Conference on Economic Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities.
The two-day conference, held at the BRAC Centre in Mohakhali, was jointly organized by the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), and the Program for Evidence to Inform Disability Action (PENDA) on Sunday.
Globally, an estimated 1.3 billion people live with disabilities, a group consistently more likely to experience both monetary and multidimensional poverty. Persons with disabilities often face exclusion from education and decent work, alongside additional disability-related costs that existing social protection and development programs inadequately address.
On the first day of the conference, speakers highlighted the lack of robust evidence from low- and middle-income countries, including Bangladesh, on strategies that effectively reduce poverty and improve employment outcomes for persons with disabilities.
Delivering the keynote address, Dr. Morgan Banks, Associate Professor of Disability Research at the International Centre for Evidence in Disability (ICED) at LSHTM, said excluding adults with disabilities from the labor force results in economic losses ranging from 1% to 8% of GDP across 12 countries. She noted that in Bangladesh, youth with disabilities are five times more likely to be out of both school and work compared to peers without disabilities.
She, however, stressed that reliable evidence—both nationally and globally—on interventions that successfully improve employment outcomes for persons with disabilities remains extremely limited. Dr. Banks emphasized the importance of targeted research and training programs in expanding opportunities for unemployed and impoverished youth with disabilities. Citing BRAC’s STAR+ program, she said participation increased the likelihood of employment among young people with disabilities by 22%.
Speakers warned that without robust evidence, efforts by governments, development practitioners, and donors to promote economic inclusion are less likely to deliver meaningful or cost-effective results, underscoring the need for a shift in how disability inclusion is understood and practiced.
“Inclusivity is not about defining people by what they lack; it is about recognizing where they can contribute,” said Dr. Syed Ferhat Anwar, Vice-Chancellor of BRAC University. “When barriers or gaps are appropriately addressed, their ability to contribute grows even further.”
Tahera Jabeen, Social Development adviser at the British High Commission, reiterated the UK’s commitment to disability-inclusive development. “Through the Program for Evidence to Inform Disability Action (PENDA), we are investing in high-quality evidence that partners and policymakers can use to strengthen access to education, skills, and livelihoods for persons with disabilities in Bangladesh and around the world,” she said.
The conference brings together academics, practitioners, policymakers, donors, persons with disabilities, and their representative organizations to share evidence-based strategies on improving livelihoods, reducing poverty, and strengthening cross-sector collaboration on economic inclusion.