Resources

The WG has built a network of partnerships and collaborations to aid in fulfilling its mandate. These include National Statistical Organizations (NSOs), Disabled People’s Organizations (DPOs) and [International] Non-governmental Organizations ([I]NGOs) as well as National Development Ministries.

The WG questions are intended to be administered individually to each person selected to be a respondent in a data collection. In some population censuses or sample surveys, only specific members of the household are selected as a...

The question sets developed by the Washington Group on Disability Statistics (WG) are intended to be embedded in other ongoing data collections. This might be a census or a survey, for example a Labor Force Survey (LFS), Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES), Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), or Living Standard Measurement Study (LSMS). These guidelines focus specifically on the WG modules and are intended to accompany the guidelines already developed for these ongoing surveys. Standard interviewing best practices will apply.

The inclusion of persons with disabilities in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has become an uncontested priority with the principle of ‘leaving no one behind’ in sharp contrast with the past when people with disabilities were largely excluded from the global development agenda. To ensure people with disabilities are not left behind, sufficient data must be collected so that all person-level Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicators can be disaggregated by disability status. This will allow for the comprehensive monitoring of the well-being and inclusion of persons with disabilities, and the advancement of their rights.

This document is intended to illustrate that countries can, with available data, disaggregate a number of SDG indicators by disability status.

The report summarizes the results obtained from 39 WG member countries on disaggregated SDG data for 13 selected indicators.

The overriding principle of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), officially known as Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, is global eradication of disadvantage through the improvement of situations for all peoples. To ensure that “no one is left behind”, the chapeau of the SDGs notes the importance of disaggregating data by characteristics associated with exclusion and vulnerability, including disability. The SDGs contain 17 Goals, with 169 targets, including specific indicators related to disability. As the WHO/World Bank World Report on Disability and much subsequent research has shown, people with disabilities disproportionately live in poverty and are excluded from social and economic activities. Without disaggregation by disability status, it is not possible to monitor the progress and outcomes of the implementation of the 2030 agenda activities in a way that documents if people with disabilities are indeed being left behind or not.

Inclusion is the guiding principle of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which includes the pledge to leave no one behind and to create a “just, equitable, tolerant, open and socially inclusive world in which the needs of the most vulnerable are met”. The commitment to inclusion specifically addresses persons with disabilities and is consistent with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Adopted in 2016, the CRPD affirms equal rights for all people, regardless of their disability status, and puts forth a development agenda for ensuring full inclusion in all aspects of society.