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MPs welcome DFID’s response to their Report on Disability and Development  

• Special Report: Disability and Development (PDF)
• Special Report: Disability and Development HTML
• Inquiry: Disability and Development 

Commenting on DFID’s response to the International Development Committee’s Report on Disability and Development, published today, Rt Hon Sir Malcolm Bruce MP, Chair of the Committee, said:

“We are very pleased that DFID endorses our key recommendations to:

• Increase the size of its central disability team, appoint a senior disability champion, and strengthen disability guidance and training;
• Step up its work with disabled people in humanitarian emergencies; and
• Increase the role of disabled people in disability policy making.”

DFID also proposes to publish a disability framework, setting out a clear commitment, objectives and timescales for strengthening its work with disabled people.

Commenting further, Sir Malcolm added:

“A new disability framework has the potential to transform DFID’s impact on some of the world’s very poorest people. We welcome the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State’s commitment to ensure that the framework will make disability a built-in feature of future policy. However, the planning done over the next few months will be critical.

“DFID recognises that reaching disabled people is central to tackling extreme poverty: we trust the framework will set ambitious goals that reflect the scale of this challenge.

“To make the framework stick, we urge DFID to report disaggregated results for disability, as it does for gender – and to require its partners to do the same.

“We also welcome this week’s announcement that DFID will allocate a further £39 million to the eradication of preventable blindness. We hope DFID continues this focus on preventing and treating disabling conditions in its forthcoming review of health spending.”