In its role as a global children’s charity, UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, has developed the Disability Inclusion Policy and Strategy (DIPAS) as a roadmap to removing barriers for children living with disabilities.
Through intensive internal and external consultations, UNICEF has determined the following six key strategic priorities:
- Prevention of stigma and discrimination
- Improvement of disability inclusive services, programs and workplaces
- Access to comprehensive community care and support services
- Access to assistive technology
- Disability inclusive action in humanitarian, emergency and fragile contexts
- Full and meaningful participation of persons with disabilities
The organisation is wasting no time, with actions being implemented as early as this year, including the development of a divisional/regional action plan scheduled for December 2023.
Other actions include:
- Increase organisational budget by 10 per cent by 2030 to fund improved disability inclusion across its program and operations
- All offices to progressively increase the number of employees with disabilities by at least two per cent by 2025
- All regional offices to have at least one dedicated full time disability specialist by 2025
- Mainstream disability inclusion into media communications and advocacy by 2025
- 75 per cent of UNICEF staff are trained in disability inclusion by 2025
Click here to view the full DIPAS.
