Join a powerful, unprecedented alliance for better eye health for all.
Join IAPB-
Choose an alternate language here
Press Release
BENSHEIM, GERMANY – December 7, 2016 – CBM will launch “Inclusion Counts: The Economic Case for Disability Inclusive Development” on December 7, 2016, at the European Parliament in Brussels as part of the European Disability and Development Week (EDDW). This is the second book in CBM’s publication series on disability-inclusive development (DID).
Can governments and other development actors afford to continue excluding women, men, girls, and boys with disabilities?
How can investment in inclusion benefit persons with disabilities, their families and society as a whole?
This publication addresses these questions and challenges the commonly held perception that DID interventions are financially unfeasible or are too difficult to achieve, particularly in low-income countries.
“Inclusion is a process which requires collaboration and participation of governments, international development organizations, persons with disabilities and their representative organizations”, said David Bainbridge, CBM International Director. “CBM and all these stakeholders have a role to play in ensuring international cooperation is inclusive and accessible for all persons with disabilities, particularly those living in developing countries”.
“Inclusion Counts” centres on a comprehensive review conducted in 2014 by the International Centre for Evidence in Disability (ICED) at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) on the economic costs of exclusion and gains of inclusion of people with disabilities.
Using the findings of the study, the publication provides evidence to the link between poverty and disability and shows how exclusion of persons with disabilities not only propagates economic and social marginalization, but also results in costs to persons with disabilities, their communities, and societies as a whole.
“Inclusion Counts” focuses on the benefits of inclusion in three sectors: health, education, and work, key areas for reducing poverty and fostering long-term gains for individuals, governments, and societies. Through practical examples illustrating the impact of inclusive practices in these three crucial areas, the book demonstrates how investments in inclusion lead to increased participation in society, sustainable livelihoods, higher productivity and increased GDP of a country. Gains that neither governments nor development actors can ignore.
“Disability-inclusive health, education, and work and livelihood can trigger economic gains for entire societies”, said Bainbridge. “The launch event at the European Parliament is a valuable platform to discuss the findings presented in the book with EU decision makers, organizations of person with disabilities and other NGOs”.
The debate will happen via a panel discussion hosted by MEP Heidi Hautala, The Greens/European Free Alliance and moderated by CBM with the participation of David Bainbridge, CBM International Director; Jemimah Kutata, an activist and representative of the Association for the Physically Disabled in Kenya; and Morgon Banks, Research Fellow, International Centre for Evidence in Disability, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
