Alma ( aged 10) learning sign language at ASDC. © CBM/ASDC

Let’s ensure Official Development Assistance is effective in promoting disability-inclusive education

Nafisa Baboo, CBM Global Advisor for Inclusive Education, and Ingrid Lewis, Director of the Enabling Education Network, summarise CBM’s investigation into the state of Official Development Assistance concerning disability-inclusive education. May the findings ignite a sense of urgency and inspire you to use your voice to advocate for a more effective and equitable use of ODA to uphold the right to inclusive education.

Introduction

Funding is being squeezed across continents and sectors, so inevitably education funding is declining. Of the 240 million children with disabilities worldwide, many are denied the chance to benefit from the transformative power of quality, inclusive education. We can’t change this or achieve Sustainable Development Goal 4 without focused investment in disability-inclusive education. We must understand the role Official Development Assistance (ODA) plays in this process. At the third Global Disability Summit (GDS) we need world leaders to commit to fund inclusive education.

The disability policy marker

In 2018, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Development Assistance Committee (OECD-DAC) introduced the non-compulsory ‘disability policy marker’ within its Creditor Reporting System (CRS). It monitors the extent to which ODA aims to be inclusive of persons with disabilities. DAC members  track their projects on a scale from 0 to 2:

  • 0 (‘not targeted’) – no disability inclusion focus;
  • 1 (‘significant’) – inclusion and empowerment of persons with disabilities are significant project objectives;
  • 2 (‘principal’) – inclusion and empowerment of persons with disabilities are the principal objectives.

 

Which donors were assessed?

The investigation listed the top 20 bilateral donors and then removed those not using the disability marker for at least 50% of their projects. Among the seven excluded donors were the top three bilateral donors (2021–2022) – Germany, the USA and France – revealing that substantial amounts of education ODA are not marked using the disability marker. The remaining donors were investigated: Austria, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, plus EU institutions as the only multilateral currently using the disability inclusion marker.

Findings

1. Disability-inclusive education remains underfunded by donors

In 2022, DAC members disbursed almost $11.5 billion in aid, but only 14% (just under $1bn) aimed to be disability inclusive. There was almost no change since 2019. A third of aid had no disability inclusion objectives and over half of education ODA did not apply the disability policy marker.

2. Donor performance varies greatly

Donors varied in the share of their ODA that had disability inclusion objectives (e.g., Sweden 66%, Norway 30%). Regarding aid volume, the EU disbursed by far the largest volume of education ODA with disability-inclusive objectives (almost $400m).

3. Donors using the marker are getting better over time

Levels of use of the marker (by those actually using it) increased noticeably since 2019. For example, Denmark and Canada went from 0% in 2019 to using the marker on 100% and 92%, respectively, of their education aid in 2022.  

4. Key issues in education need more attention

Early childhood education (ECE) remains vastly underfunded and falls behind in disability inclusivity. From the aid disbursed to ECE in 2022, only $1.8 million scored 2, and only $12.3 million scored 1 on the disability marker.

Organisations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) were almost absent in the projects recorded in the disability marker data.

The principle of ‘do no harm’ is only recommended in the OECD-DAC handbook on the disability inclusion policy marker. This leaves the door open for exclusionary practices like special schools to go undetected whilst scoring 1 or 2 in the marker.

No DAC aid disbursed in 2022 supported the principle aim of inclusion for sector budget support. Sector budget support enables systemic change which is urgently needed to ensure education becomes disability inclusive.

Summary of recommendations

1. Reach

  • All bilateral and multilateral donors must start using the marker and have a timetable for its introduction.
  • Donors already using the marker should work towards 100% of their ODA being marked.

2. Quality

  • The disability policy marker should become mandatory within two years.
  • A negative mark should be considered to capture evidence of education projects that do not uphold the ‘do no harm’ principle.
  • The marker should include a code relating to OPD engagement.

3. Purpose

  • ODA should embrace the twin-track approach, supporting disability-specific and systemic actions towards inclusion. Increasing the share of funding allocated to education projects that score significantly or principally on the disability marker will help achieve this.
  • All donors should aim for 50% of their education ODA receiving a positive disability marker score.

 

Final thoughts

The futures of millions of children with disabilities depend on us investing in disability-inclusive education. ODA plays a vital role in this, which is why we need to improve and increase education funding. We need consistent investment, with clear, ambitious and rigorously measured disability inclusion targets. We need all governments and donors to embrace the use of the disability policy marker and support its constant development and improvement. Let’s build momentum at this GDS by demanding that ODA is used to create meaningful change in the lives of children with disabilities in low- and middle-income countries.

Policy Brief: Let’s make Official Development Assistance to disability inclusive education count

  • Promoting disability-inclusive education Policy brief - Accessible

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    Explore the urgent need for investment in disability-inclusive education to improve the life trajectories of 240 million children with disabilities worldwide. Learn about the challenges faced, the impact of declining education funding, and the necessity for both system-wide and disability-specific actions to meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4.

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