Global Disability Summit 2022: Progress on implementation of commitments

First held in London in July 2018, the Global Disability Summit (GDS) started a movement across the globe, inspiring governments and a variety of stakeholders to commit to strengthen and contribute to disability-inclusive development.

We’ve worked with the GDS Secretariat to report progress toward Summit commitments. To mark the one-year anniversary of GDS2022, we produced with the GDS Secretariat this Progress Report. The report shows that GDS2022 has had a positive impact on disability rights and disability inclusion, building on the legacy set by the first GDS in 2018. Self-reported data indicates that one-tenth of the 1,412 GDS2022 commitments have been delivered. Delivery of the remaining GDS2022 commitments is also far advanced, with one third of the commitments reported to be at least half complete. Progress towards GDS2022 commitments has prompted greater investment in inclusive education. Progress has also: helped to make routine health services more inclusive of and accessible to persons with disabilities; created employment opportunities for persons with disabilities; ensured that social protection schemes better target persons with disabilities; and strengthened consideration of persons with disabilities in humanitarian actions.

Alongside the direct impact of GDS2022 commitments, the 2022 summit also indirectly helped to strengthen commitments to disability rights and disability inclusion. GDS2022 prompted a disability rights lens to be applied to two prominent areas of global development and humanitarian action that previously overlooked disability – health and climate change. GDS2022 also pushed new voices and partnerships to commit to strengthening disability inclusion. Given that more stakeholders made commitments at GDS2022 than at GDS2018, the Global Disability Summit would appear to be successfully broadening ‘ownership’ of disability rights.

Looking ahead, there is also now a growing focus on GDS2025. GDS2025 provides a golden opportunity to strengthen disability rights and the focus on disability inclusion even further, building upon progress made toward GDS2022 commitments.