UN Flagship Report on Disability and Development 2024

[mango]

"The Disability and Development Report 2024, “Accelerating the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals by, for and with persons with disabilities”, is an update of the 2018 edition of the same flagship report, produced in response to a request by the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution 75/154 of 23 December 2020.

The report indicates that persons with disabilities are often left behind in the efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, with wide gaps persisting between persons with and without disabilities, particularly on food security, health, and access to energy and ICT. Considering COVID-19, the report assesses the different ways the pandemic impacted progress towards achieving these goals and identifies concrete steps forward that is inclusive for all.

Full Report
>> Download the Full Report on Disability and Development (PDF)
English

Introduction
Table of Contents and Contributors
Executive Summary
Goal 1. Ending poverty
Goal 2. Ending hunger, achieving food security and improved nutrition
Goal 3. Ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being
Goal 4. Ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education
Goal 5. Achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls
Goal 6. Ensuring the availability of water, sanitation and hygiene
Goal 7. Ensuring access to energy
Goal 8. Promoting full and productive employment and decent work
Goal 9. Increasing access to information and communications technology
Goal 10. Reducing inequalities and promoting inclusion
Goal 11. Making cities and human settlements inclusive and sustainable (and box on Goals 12, 14 and 15. Ensuring sustainable consumption and production, conserving and sustainably using marine resources and terrestrial ecosystems)
Goal 13. Building resilience and reducing exposure and impact from climate-related hazards and other shocks and disasters
Goal 16. Ensuring peace, justice and strong institutions
Goal 17. Mobilizing partnerships for the goals
Conclusion
Annex & Notes"

https://social.desa.un.org/publications/un-flagship-report-on-disability-and-development-2024

(pdf, 481 pages)

Disability and Development Report 2024
Executive summary, advanced unedited version (pff, 23 pages)
https://social.desa.un.org/sites/default/files/publications/2024-06/Final-UN-DDR-2024-Executive Summary.pdf

 

[mango]

A Swedish opinion piece on this:

Debatt: FN kan beskriva problemet – men inte formulera lösningen
https://www.etc.se/debatt/fn-kan-beskriva-problemet-men-inte-formulera-loesningen

Debate: UN can describe the problem - but not formulate the solution

[...] Inequality has not decreased, rather it has increased during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Out of a total of 118 indicators, only five indicators have shown progress towards the fulfilment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The report recognises that people face discrimination, exclusion and are constantly falling behind. Societal gaps are evident and, not least, there are significant gaps between those with disabilities and those without disabilities in the population.

This is very remarkable.

The gaps are particularly large for women and for people with intellectual and mental disabilities. Similarly, the gaps for people with disabilities living in sparsely populated areas are also evident. The report also notes that COVID-19 has reinforced inequalities in society as people with disabilities have had a lack of accessible information. They lost work and income to a greater extent than other groups in society.

The UN also states that half of the deaths during the pandemic occurred among people with various disabilities.

While gaps are highlighted in the report and increased inequalities have affected people with disabilities in many countries, the concept of solidarity seems to be hardly mentioned in the UN report. This is very remarkable.

The UN notes that gaps are particularly wide in the labour market. Globally, 27% of people with disabilities are employed in the labour market compared to 56% of people without disabilities.

How can more people be included in society? How can sustainability be strengthened and developed to include all people? How do we ourselves see solidarity and the further work to equalise inequalities and create a socially just society?

These are questions I wish the UN had developed in its flagship report. The existence of exclusion and barriers for people with disabilities cannot have escaped anyone. However, we should be talking more about solidarity and disability policy in our public debate. Although the issues are difficult, it is something we owe each other.