Enhancing healthcare access for people with disabilities: lessons from partnerships between organisations of people with disabilities and international non-governmental organisations

Summary

This article draws on learnings from the Inclusive Futures (IF) programme, a £42 million eight-year programme that supports the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development office’s disability inclusion and rights strategy. The programme generates evidence, research and learning on what works to include people with disabilities in global development and humanitarian responses. It innovates and scales disability inclusive development approaches in health, education and livelihoods and tackles negative stereotyping and discrimination. This includes a strong focus on engaging and supporting women and girls with disabilities. Together with learning from IF and illustrative examples from our projects in the field, we show how partnering with organisations of people with disabilities (OPDs) is an essential requirement for projects that seek to improve access and outcomes for people with disabilities in health care.

This article is part of the supplement ‘Sightsavers at 75: delivering impact through health and inclusion research’ in the journal International Health, published in collaboration with the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in celebration of Sightsavers’ 75th anniversary.