People with disabilities, life project starts with education and work

Access to financial resources, health care, water and sanitation, information and communication technology (ICT), as well as food security, inclusive and equitable quality education, gender equality, accessible mobility, full and productive employment and decent work. Nine years after the 2030 Agenda deadline, the UN's "Disability and Development Report 2024", released on 20 November, shows that people with disabilities are falling behind in the path that countries are pursuing. Progress for persons with disabilities is insufficient on about 30 per cent of the goals, while on 14 per cent of the goals progress has stalled or even worsened. On balance, among the 118 indicators considered in the report to assess progress towards the 63 goals of the 2030 Agenda identified as relevant for persons with disabilities, only 5 indicators show improvements consistent with the targets to be achieved. And the occasion to take stock is the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, which is celebrated on 3 December.

Financial independence, which can provide both life choices and protection from the risk of poverty, remains among the most difficult goals to pursue. People with disabilities are less likely to be part of the labour market. It is estimated that 1.3 billion of the world's population (one in six) experience a significant disability. Of these only three in ten are active in the labour market and when they are, they earn less than their peers, according to the latest International Labour Organisation (ILO) report. The document reveals that working disabled people receive on average 12% less than their colleagues and that three quarters of this gap (9%) cannot be explained by differences in education, age and type of work. In low- and middle-income countries this 'disability wage gap' is as high as 26%, and almost half cannot be explained by socio-demographic differences. The situation is worse for women with disabilities, who also face a substantial gender pay gap compared to their male counterparts.

And work is among the fundamental points of the Solfagnano Charter signed at the end of the first G7 dedicated to disability and held in Umbria last October. The text reaffirms the countries' commitment to promote independent living; support inclusive education, employment and decent working conditions; ensure the availability and adaptability of services within the community; and promote the use of new accessible services and inclusive technologies. "Work, autonomy and independent living, and services are some of the eight priorities of the Solfagnano Charter, as is the valorisation of the talents and skills of each person and what accompanies the cultural and civic leap we are making. The goal is to guarantee everyone full participation in the civil, social and political life of our country and to promote a new outlook to invest in people's abilities and not their limitations, offering opportunities and leaving no one behind,' comments Minister for Disability Alessandra Locatelli.

Italy is moving in this direction with the disability reform approved last July and which in January will enter the 12-month experimental phase in nine provinces: Brescia, Trieste, Forlì-Cesena, Florence, Perugia, Frosinone, Salerno, Catanzaro and Sassari. "In these weeks, training has begun in view of the experimentation of the reform that will start on 1 January 2025 in the nine provinces identified. This is a unique opportunity to innovate the system for taking charge of and caring for people with disabilities, which overcomes the fragmentation between health, social and socio-healthcare responses thanks to the Life Project," Locatelli explains.

For the life project to have a solid foundation, it is necessary to start in childhood and ensure that children with disabilities also have the right to study. To this end, investments are needed both to break down architectural and technological barriers and to guarantee support teachers to all those who are entitled to them. "From 2025, thanks to the Single Fund for Disability that we have set up and which currently has an endowment of 700 million euros, the highest in the history of this ministry, we will finance a line dedicated to the transport of students with disabilities to support territories facing growing needs. We have just allocated 223 million for autonomy and c and we are working on a call for over 250 million euro for the employment inclusion of people with disabilities that also takes into account the housing dimension," the minister explained.