Inclusive employment across the globe has been prioritised by numerous institutions and governments. According to Handicap International, inclusive employment “refers to all activities which enable an individual to gain access to decent remunerated work.” Yet, in low-to-middle income countries, LMICs, more than 80% of persons with disabilities are unemployed. However, it is unclear what exactly the impact of inclusive employment is for Persons with Disabilities as there is very little information available in LMICs with the majority of the existing research focussing on the impact of inclusive employment for employers. This brief aims to synthesise the evidence available to answer the question as to what impact inclusive employment has on persons with disabilities and what can be done to overcome some of the core challenges.

Globally, there are 108 million people living with intellectual and development disabilities (IDD). Evidence repeatedly shows that people with IDD are more likely to experience co-morbidities, yet tend to face several barriers to access health care services. This has resulted in a widespread health inequality, with evidence from high-income countries indicating that people with IDD live on average 20 years less compared to those without intellectual disabilities. It is clear that people with IDD are also at substantially higher mortality risk from COVID-19, particularly people with Down Syndrome. The global COVID-19 pandemic has also contributed to further challenges to the physical and mental well-being among people with IDD as well as people with disabilities in general. In this brief, we have summarised the current evidence on strategies that would facilitate the safety and well-being of people with IDD.

About 800 million people live with disability in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). Only 10-15% of people with disabilities who require assistive technology have access to them, especially in LMICs settings. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) mandated the provision of assistive technology as a fundamental right of people with disabilities. However, despite the ratification of the UNCRPD by most countries including LMICs, the issue of limited access to assistive technology among people with disabilities in LMICs remains unresolved. The assistive technology delivery process typically involves multiple steps including taking initiative, assessment of needs, selecting the assistive solution, authorization, implementation, management, and follow-up in each setting. Any challenge along the delivery process could be problematic. This brief aims to identify strategies that promote access to assistive technology in LMICs.

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is valued as one of the most revolutionary human rights legal instruments. The CRPD follows decades of work by the United Nations to change attitudes and approaches towards persons with disabilities, from viewing persons with disabilities as “objects” towards viewing persons with disabilities as “subjects” with rights. The development of the CRPD involved close consultation and active participation of persons with disabilities and their allies, which resulted in an advanced and innovative human rights treaty.  Article 12 in the CRPD focussed on legal capacity and challenged the very idea of what it means to be a person: to have rights and to be able to exercise those rights. However, doctrine remains uncertain about the real consequences of the implementation of Article 12 in the CRPD. Most of these discussions have been conducted by Global North scholars on their practices and policies. Policies and practices from the Global South are rarely included in these discussions. However, countries in the Global South have started Reforms (radical legislative changes) on the matter: comprehensive reforms (on several aspects of life) or specific reforms (on certain issues, like mental health). It is necessary to take into account their experiences and discussions in order to implement correctly Article 12 CRPD, having in mind their socio-economic context and the realities of their legal systems.