New Inclusive Education Initiative for children with disabilities announced by DFID, Norad, and the World Bank

On the occasion of this week’s Global Disability Summit, and recognizing that children with disabilities continue to be among the most marginalized and excluded from education opportunities, a new Inclusive Education Initiative (IEI) was announced on 26 July by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID), the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), and the World Bank.

U.K. Secretary of State for International Development, Penny Mordaunt, said, “All children deserve a quality education, and yet far too many children with disabilities are left behind. It is vital that globally we step up our efforts to enable children with disabilities to fulfill their true potential. That is why I am pleased to back this initiative, which will help provide essential expertise and support.”

Hosted by the World Bank, the IEI will collaborate and partner with stakeholders such as UNICEF, the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), civil society, and academia. The initiative will support countries to strengthen disability-inclusive education planning, implementation, and monitoring of learning outcomes for children with disabilities by supporting and encouraging partnerships, promoting data collection, investing in teachers, and aggregating evidence of practice and solutions at scale.

“In many low- and middle-income countries, regulation and policies on disability and inclusion in the education system remain aspirational. School participation and learning outcomes for disabled children and adolescents are lagging. We support the Inclusive Education Initiative with an aim to catalyse real change in the lives and prospects of children and youth with disabilities,” said Norway’s Minister for International Development Nikolai Astrup.

“When children with disabilities are left behind they may never reach their full potential,” said Kristalina Georgieva, Chief Executive Officer, World Bank. “We are happy to host the Inclusive Education Initiative, so we can make inclusion the norm and provide every child with the same opportunity to go to school, learn, and succeed.”

For more information on the World Bank Group’s commitment on disability inclusion, please see: World Bank Group Announces New Commitments on Disability Inclusion.

Original source: World Bank
Published on 26 July 2018