Disability policy is changing fast in Arab countries. Several countries have or are in the process of changing their disability laws, have already developed disability inclusion strategies or are in the process of doing so. Countries have also adjusted their institutional frameworks to conform with the requirements of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
 
In this context, several countries are currently in the process of revising their disability assessment and determination procedures – away from medical models towards multi-dimensional assessments. Several approaches exist for such kind of multi-dimensional assessment, but no blueprint exists.

It is understood that better inclusion of persons with disabilities is a key enabler for countries to make better progress on achieving the SDGs. Eleven SDG targets  explicitly mention persons with disabilities, and several additional targets either subsume persons with disabilities under "vulnerable groups" and/or recommend disaggregation by disability status in the meta-data.

ESCWA has compiled an Arab Disability Indicator Framework, which allows for better tracking disability status across SDGs. However, a majority of those indicators depend on better administrative data on disability, for which a revised assessment is required.
 

Meeting Details

Workshop on Disability Assessment, Concept Note and Agenda

Meeting Report

Summary Report: Fourth meeting of the ESCWA Committee on Social Development Inter-Sessional Group of Experts on Disability (IGED)