From disability card to disability management information systems for inclusive social protection, care and support (COSP19 Side Event)

As social protection, care and support systems expand across low- and middle-income countries, governments increasingly need practical, rights-aligned mechanisms to identify children and adults with disabilities and assess both their support needs and the related needs of caregivers and support providers. These systems are essential for enabling access to benefits, services, referrals and accommodations, and for generating the data required for planning, budgeting, monitoring and accountability.

To accompany these efforts, UNICEF, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), the Center for Inclusive Policy (CIP), Humanity & Inclusion (HI), in cooperation with the Digital Convergence Initiative (DCI) and other partners, have developed an initial roadmap on the administrative identification of persons with disabilities and their needs for inclusive social protection, care and support in LMICs. The development of the roadmap was financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Some country research activities informing the discussion, including work in Sierra Leone, were financed through the PENDA programme, supported by the United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (UK FCDO).