CDB urges stronger disability inclusion across Caribbean

The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) on Monday urged regional governments to make disability inclusion central to their development agendas, warning that persistent systemic barriers continue to marginalise people with disabilities despite growing public awareness.

On day two of the Caribbean Disability Conference at the Wyndham Grand Barbados in St Philip, CDB President Daniel Best said a 2025 regional disability assessment report underscored the urgent need to dismantle systemic barriers that continue to exclude the disabled community from full participation in society.

The four-day conference brings together policymakers, advocates, and people with disabilities to strengthen inclusion efforts across the region.

“Persons with disabilities are faced with harsh realities of voicelessness, invisibility, neglect, isolation, prejudice, and abuse,” Best said. “Moreover, families and caregivers are confronted with elevated levels of emotional strain and mental health challenges as they seek access to basic services and opportunities for their children, spouses, parents, relatives, friends, neighbours, and or acquaintances who are persons with disabilities.”

He added: “Persons with disabilities continue to face systemic barriers and social exclusion,” explaining that these barriers impose significant challenges for their survival, well-being, protection, and development. Despite progress in some legislative frameworks and public discourse, the practical realities ranging from inaccessible infrastructure and inadequate social protection to limited inclusive education and employment paint a troubling picture of unmet commitments.”

Emphasising that disability can affect anyone, Best reminded the audience that “disability isn’t a distant reality for others — it’s a possibility for any one of us”.

The CDB president later presented a cheque to the Barbados Council for the Disabled (BCD) to support initiatives addressing the needs of the disabled community. The funds are intended to assist with the purchase of assistive technologies, training and other projects to improve accessibility and opportunities for people with disabilities.

BCD President Patricia Padmore-Blackman said the funds would assist “innovation for persons with disabilities in terms of technical and technological advancement”.

She highlighted the recently launched Legacy Project, which aims to benefit people with disabilities and trainers in the technical field.

“This venture will help us progress the work that we have already started years ago and continue to do,” she said. “This is an occasion when we as persons with disabilities come together with advocates, policymakers, parents, all kinds of persons who are interested in the work for persons with disabilities.”

Following the April Global Disability Summit in Berlin, Germany, the CDB reaffirmed its commitment to advancing disability inclusion across the Caribbean.

CDB Vice President of Operations Isaac Solomon reaffirmed the bank’s commitment to inclusive, equitable and rights-based development. He noted that the 2025 summit highlighted the urgent need to place people with disabilities at the centre of development efforts and said the bank is ready to support its borrowing member countries in ensuring that at least 15 per cent of their national development programmes incorporate disability inclusion.

Best highlighted the CDB’s model Special Education Needs and Inclusive Education Policy and Strategy (SEND Policy), designed to help transform traditional education systems into inclusive ones that account for differences and diversity in the classroom.

“Advancing inclusivity means transforming education systems from traditional general education to inclusive practices that account for differences and diversity in the classroom,” he explained. “It is widely recognised that there are groups of learners within our region who, due to their situational characteristics and circumstances, are likely to be excluded from quality educational provision and are therefore at risk.”

Best said the bank will continue providing development financing for early identification and intervention, curriculum adaptation, and infrastructure to support persons with special needs. Over the past five years, the CDB has also developed disability inclusion tools — including a disability inclusion checklist and a user assessment — to strengthen inclusive practices across its projects.

Reaffirming the CDB’s stance, Best declared: “Inclusion is not charity. It is justice.”

(LG)