Strengthening the collection, analysis, and use of data on persons with disabilities, including citizen data efforts led by organizations of persons with disabilities

There are significant data gaps for persons with disabilities globally. Without data, the situation of persons with disabilities remains unknown and thus cannot be adequately addressed in programs and policies. Moreover, this leads to gaps in measuring impacts, risk factors, changes, and trends of persons with disabilities over time, and this is exacerbated during natural disasters and humanitarian emergencies.

The commitment is aimed at strengthening efforts to collect, analyze and disseminate relevant, accurate, reliable and disaggregated data for persons with disabilities, and further recognize citizen-generated data, including data efforts led by organizations of persons with disabilities.

Activities to achieve this include:

·      Carry out advocacy efforts at all levels to ensure that persons with disabilities and their representative organizations are consulted in the data value chain related to disability data.

·      Connect data stakeholders to exchange information and create evidence-based policies to create sustainable change.

·      Strengthen data capacity in stakeholders, including awareness training for enumerators and data literacy skills for organizations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) using tools such as the disability data advocacy toolkit and disability data workshop for OPDs.

·      Foster processes to ensure available disability data are being used to measure global frameworks, including the SDGs.

Intended outcomes:

·      Data reflect the reality of the lives of persons with disabilities.

·      Increased recognition of citizen-generated data, including data efforts led by organizations of persons with disabilities to fill critical data gaps.

·      Increased collection, analysis, and use of data on persons with disabilities to measure progress of the SDGs.

·      Increased policy changes for persons with disabilities.

We will monitor progress of this commitment by self-evaluation within the three organizations, present findings at the next UNWDF and other UN events, and align this commitment with other global commitments via data initiatives.