Our new report shows that the European Union EU is falling far short of its obligations and commitment to deliver disability-inclusive humanitarian aid. The report, which analyses data from 2023, shows that progress has stalled. Most strikingly, it shows that the European Investment Bank did not report a single disability-related activity in 2023.
The report, ‘No Time to Lose: Assessing EU Official Development Assistance (ODA) for Disability Inclusion, 2018–2023’ reviews the most recent data submitted to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC) using its disability marker. This marker indicates whether an aid activity has disability inclusion as a main objective, a significant objective, or no objective at all.
In 2023, 63% of development aid activities funded by the European Commission were not disability-related in any meaningful way. This marks the first time since 2018 that progress has stalled after several years of gradual improvement. The picture is even more worrying when looking at spending: the share of disability-related development aid has now fallen for two consecutive years.
Meanwhile, the European Investment Bank, which manages nearly one-fifth of EU development aid, did not report a single disability-related activity in 2023. That means more than 3.3 billion euros of development aid failed to take disability into account.
Our analysis also estimates that between 2019 and 2023, approximately 49 billion of EC development aid did not meaningfully consider disability, highlighting a systemic exclusion of millions of persons with disabilities.
Equally concerning is the almost complete absence of activities with disability inclusion as a main objective. Out of 1,364 activities in 2023, only five were designed with disability inclusion as their primary purpose.
This lack of targeted investment sidelines disability-specific priorities, from accessible health systems to inclusive education, social protection, and humanitarian responses. Without dedicated programmes, the EU cannot fully address the persistent and unique barriers that persons with disabilities face.
We are calling on the EU to:
- Rapidly increase the number and value of disability-related ODA activities, aiming for full alignment with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persnons with Disabilities (CRPD).
- Substantially expand programmes where disability inclusion is the main objective, including through intersectional approaches.
- Ensure meaningful consultation and active involvement of representative organisations of persons with disabilities at all stages of development aid planning and implementation.
With global aid budgets under pressure and crises multiplying worldwide, disability-inclusive ODA has never been more essential. This report delivers a clear message: the EU has no time to lose.
- Read the report ‘‘No Time to Lose: Assessing EU Official Development Assistance (ODA) for Disability Inclusion, 2018–202′
Contact
Marion Steff, EDF international cooperation