Inclusive Futures | Programmes

Inclusive Futures was the UK government’s flagship disability initiative. It ran disability-inclusive programmes and generated evidence-based resources for development professionals.

Thirty-year-old Hussaina has a physical disability. She took part in Inclusive Futures’ family planning project in Kaduna, Nigeria.

One in six people worldwide have a disability – yet millions are still excluded from education, employment, health services and decision-making. Even today, disability remains one of the most neglected areas of global development.

Under the leadership of Sightsavers and the International Disability Alliance, Inclusive Futures brought together global development partners, people with disabilities, and the public and private sectors in Bangladesh, Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda. It proved that disability-inclusive development transforms lives, is cost-effective and delivers lasting results.

From 2018-26, the initiative:

Reached 3.8 million people with disabilities and 17.5 million other people.
Improved access to education, healthcare and livelihoods.
Embedded inclusion in government systems and leveraged at least £9.7 million in disability commitments from national and local governments.
Increased the evidence base of what works – and what doesn’t – to reach people with disabilities.

Inclusive Futures programmes were funded by UK aid and, previously, USAID.

Inclusive Futures’ lasting impact

A man and woman stand inside an industrial-sized polytunnel with green leafy crops.

Higher incomes and reduced poverty

Inclusive Futures proved that people with disabilities contribute to economic growth when supported through inclusive design, training and accessible workplaces. In Kenya, household finances of business owners in our project increased by 30% for at least a year. In Bangladesh, employment increased by 33% and earnings by 50%.
Visit Inclusive Futures to learn about inclusive livelihoods

In a classroom, a teacher speaks to a group of young children sitting in a circle.

More children with disabilities in school

The initiative invested £11 million in inclusive education in five countries to train teachers, identify out-of-school children and help families to navigate services. In Nepal, all children will now be assessed for disabilities in primary school. In Bangladesh, disability inclusion is now required in school improvement plans in 2,444 primary schools.
Visit Inclusive Futures to learn about inclusive education

Four women wearing colourful head scarves look very happy. One woman holds a family planning leaflet.

Greater access to healthcare services

Inclusive Futures worked with partners to ensure healthcare facilities and services were accessible. In Nigeria, our model to make sexual and reproductive health services more inclusive has been adopted by the Kaduna state government, and 56,000 people with disabilities are now able to enrol into health insurance schemes.
Visit Inclusive Futures to read more about family planning

A man with earphones around his neck smiles while another man holds a boom mic up to him.

Reduced stigma and more inclusion

From community dialogues to radio dramas, Inclusive Futures addressed two root causes of exclusion: stigma and discrimination. In Nigeria, we partnered with BBC Media Action to adapt a popular radio drama to address disability stigma, reaching 3.9 million adults. Nearly 75% of regular listeners felt more confident challenging stigma.
Visit Inclusive Futures to learn about disability stigma

The Inclusive Futures initiative showed disability inclusion was not just possible, but is one of the smartest, most transformative investments in global aid.

Thanks to its influencing with organisations of people with disabilities (OPDs), the initiative had already generated £9.7 million in additional government investment to disability inclusion by July 2024 from national and local governments. This includes:

£1.8 million commitments to early childhood development by county governments in Homa Bay and Turkana in Kenya.
£6.3 million commitment in Kaduna state, Nigeria, to meet the sexual and reproductive health rights of women and girls with disabilities.

What works for disability inclusion

A woman wearing a black chador smiles while sitting on a sofa.

In partnership with OPDs, Inclusive Futures produced more than 170 resources to address the global evidence gap in disability-inclusive development.

A UK aid-funded research programme, the Programme for Evidence to Inform Disability Action (PENDA), carried out randomised control trials to identify the most effective interventions.

Inclusive Futures has provided technical advice to UK government officials worldwide. Learnings have been shared across the development sector and at international forums, including the United Nations.

See our work in action

In Nigeria, our inclusive family planning project delivered in partnership with BBC Media Action and women-led OPDs reached more than four million people.
Learn about the project on the Inclusive Futures website

From 2018-26, Inclusive Futures reached nearly 3.8 million people with disabilities and more than 17.5 people without disabilities – changing lives and reducing inequality.
Read about our impact on the Inclusive Futures website

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Expertise from the initiative

Putting disability inclusion into action

Abhilasha Sharma, Inclusive Futures’ monitoring, evaluation and learning manager, reflects on working on an inclusive programme.
Read Abhilasha’s blog

Busting disability inclusion myths

Pascale Hall, Inclusive Futures’ senior learning adviser, discusses how the development sector can debunk myths about disability inclusion.
Read Pascale’s blog

Why disability inclusion is under threat

Sightsavers’ Johannes Trimmel and the International Disability Alliance’s José Viera explain why it’s becoming harder to create a more equal world.
Read Johannes and José’s blog

Inclusive Futures partners

Inclusive Futures was a consortium led by Sightsavers and the International Disability Alliance. It brought together international NGOs working across disability, poverty reduction and media, as well as more than 200 OPDs and leading research organisations.

Together we pooled our skills and expertise to transform the lives of people with disabilities and build the global evidence base on disability-inclusive development.