March 2025 Global Initiative Disability Rights

UNICEF's Push for Disability-Inclusive Research

Ensuring No Child is Left Behind: A groundbreaking initiative to transform how we study and support children with disabilities worldwide

The Stark Reality

Understanding the scale of exclusion faced by children with disabilities

2.4B

Children face systemic barriers worldwide

30%

Of disabled children in sub-Saharan Africa are included in education statistics

<10%

In low-income countries have access to assistive technologies

3/160

Studies on school violence adapt methods for disabled children

A New Approach

Research With Children, Not On Them

Participatory Methods

Moving beyond traditional research approaches to actively involve children with disabilities as co-researchers and decision-makers in studies that affect their lives.

Nigeria Example: Disabled children used games and drawings to co-create "school inclusion checklists," bypassing language barriers and creating more authentic insights.

Data Revolution

Transforming how we collect and analyze data to capture the real experiences of children with disabilities, moving beyond simple counts to meaningful impact measurement.

Ethiopia Innovation: Now tracks assistive technology usage patterns, not just distribution numbers, revealing critical gaps in long-term support and maintenance.

Ethics Overhaul

Reimagining research ethics to ensure culturally appropriate consent processes and meaningful participation of children with disabilities and their families.

Brazil Initiative: Projects involve caregivers as co-researchers, ensuring culturally adapted consent processes and community ownership of research outcomes.

Inclusive research isn't an outcome—it's the foundation

UNICEF's Beyond Barriers Report

Global Impact Examples

Real-world applications of inclusive research methodology

Uganda

Disability Cash Transfers

Combined disability cash transfers with community rehabilitation programs, boosting family resilience. Evidence-based scaling now requires comprehensive inclusive research to replicate success.

Nigeria

School Inclusion Checklists

Children with disabilities co-created assessment tools using games and visual methods, resulting in more accurate and actionable school accessibility evaluations.

Ethiopia

Assistive Technology Tracking

Revolutionary data collection methods now monitor long-term usage patterns of assistive devices, revealing critical maintenance and support gaps previously invisible.

Brazil

Community Co-Research

Caregivers and families participate as equal research partners, ensuring cultural sensitivity and community ownership of findings and recommendations.

The Road Ahead

UNICEF urges governments and organizations worldwide to transform their approach to disability research

Budget Allocation

Allocate 5-10% of child research budgets specifically to disability inclusion initiatives

Youth Representation

Include disabled youth in ethics boards, following Uruguay's 20% representation model

Methodology Reform

Adopt participatory research methods that center children with disabilities as experts

Data Standards

Implement comprehensive data collection that captures real experiences, not just statistics

"True inclusion means rebuilding systems with disabled children, not squeezing them into broken ones."

— Disability Rights Advocate