Disability-inclusive programs can significantly reduce poverty among persons with disabilities while improving access to education, according to new research presented in Dhaka on Tuesday, with researchers and policymakers calling for stronger coordination to translate evidence into policy and practice.
The findings were shared at an event organized by the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), BRAC University, and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), which brought together researchers, policymakers, development practitioners, persons with disabilities and their representative organizations, and development partners to discuss evidence on advancing economic and educational inclusion.
Presenting findings from an evaluation of BRAC's Disability-Inclusive Ultra-Poor Graduation (DIUPG) program, researchers said participating households experienced significant improvements in economic well-being, including higher per capita monthly income and household expenditure.
The program had an even greater impact on persons with disabilities, increasing employment by 21%, working hours by 27%, and earnings by 30%, demonstrating its effectiveness in reducing poverty and improving livelihoods.
Researchers also presented findings from an evaluation of Sightsavers' Shikhbo Shobai program, saying the holistic education initiative was helping make education more inclusive for children with disabilities in Bangladesh.
According to the organizers, around 1.3 billion people worldwide live with disabilities and experience disproportionately high levels of poverty and social exclusion, while an estimated 240 million children with disabilities continue to face significant barriers to quality education that limit their future economic opportunities.
In Bangladesh, inadequate inclusive infrastructure, limited teacher capacity, and financial constraints continue to hinder educational participation for children with disabilities, despite evidence that inclusive education can improve employment prospects and earnings, they said.
"There is a two-way relationship between disability and poverty. For households with persons with disabilities, lifting themselves out of poverty is considerably more difficult. We need to address poverty and disability together," said Dr. Imran Matin, executive director of BIGD.
While noting that cash transfers are an important right for persons with disabilities, Matin said efforts should go beyond financial assistance.
"Transfers are certainly important—they are a citizen's right for persons with disabilities—but we don't want to stop there. We want to go beyond cash transfers," he said.
Tahera Jabeen, social development adviser at the British High Commission in Dhaka, said the UK remained committed to advancing disability-inclusive development by strengthening the link between evidence and practical action.
She said initiatives such as the Programme for Evidence to Inform Disability Action (PENDA) were helping strengthen the evidence base on effective interventions while supporting their practical application to inform policies and programs across sectors in Bangladesh.
Dr. Mark Carew, assistant professor at the International Centre for Evidence in Disability at LSHTM, said the findings showed BRAC's Disability-Inclusive Ultra-Poor Graduation Program was helping persons with disabilities move out of poverty, while Sightsavers' Shikhbo Shobai program was making education more inclusive for children with disabilities.
The event also featured a discussion on inclusive education, including findings from an evaluation of the Shikhbo Shobai program and comments from Dr. Muhammed Mahbubur Rahaman of the Institute of Education and Research at the University of Dhaka and president of the Bangladeshi National Alliance of Disability Professionals.
Speaking during the closing panel discussion, Salma Mahbub, founder general secretary of B-Scan, said children with disabilities continued to fall behind because of a shortage of trained teachers and called for greater investment in inclusive education.
"We've been talking about inclusive education for many years now, yet children with disabilities continue to fall behind in schools because of a shortage of trained teachers," she said, adding that teacher training in assistive teaching methods remained inadequate.
Responding to the discussion, Mohammad Nazmul Ahsan, joint secretary (Planning and Development) at the Ministry of Social Welfare, said the government's approach was based on a life-cycle framework that integrates social safety nets and support services throughout a person's life.
He said special education was not viewed in isolation but as part of a broader social protection system combining financial assistance with sustainable support to promote long-term stability for persons with disabilities.
Moderating the session, Dr. S. M. Zulfiqar Ali, research director at the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, said stronger collaboration among the government, NGOs, civil society organizations, the private sector, and other stakeholders would be essential to advancing disability inclusion, with the government taking the lead.
Concluding the event, Dr. Morgon Banks, associate professor of disability research at LSHTM's International Centre for Evidence in Disability, said the next step was to translate the lessons from the research into sustainable action so that inclusion becomes standard practice in Bangladesh and beyond.
