The Global Disability Summit in Berlin on April 2-3 will serve as a crucial platform for advancing disability rights worldwide. It aims to bridge policy gaps, promote accessibility, and secure concrete commitments to disability inclusion from governments and stakeholders.
According to the World Bank, at the beginning of this decade, approximately 85 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean were living with some form of disability, representing nearly 15% of the region's population. Despite these numbers, there remains an outstanding agenda in implementing strategies that ensure access to community services, guaranteeing their inclusion in society and the exercise of their right to independent living.
The Global Disability Summit is an important forum where governments from all regions of the world, organizations of persons with disabilities, and civil society come together to discuss concrete actions that governments should commit to on various issues. The goal is to secure tangible commitments and establish follow-up mechanisms to assess progress.
Leading up to the summit, regional meetings have shaped the global agenda. In December, Latin American and Caribbean countries held a regional summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where organizations of people with disabilities, governments, and other actors defined urgent priorities for the region, resulting in a regional call to action. Among the most critical were inclusive education, economic inclusion, disaster risk management, and social protection, with a particular focus on establishing comprehensive care and support systems for people with disabilities and older people.
A key demand in the regional call to action is the creation of formalized care and support systems for people with disabilities and older people. These systems serve two essential functions. First, they recognize and value the millions of caregivers and support people, mainly women, who provide unpaid care work and support, with women contributing around 74 percent of unpaid care work across most countries. Many caregivers lack recognition, social security, or financial compensation, reinforcing gender disparities and economic inequality. Addressing this issue requires individual countries to create both systems and a source of funding to provide fair compensation, social protections, and adequate working conditions, among other necessary measures.
Second, care and support systems need to ensure that people with disabilities and older people who require assistance can actually live independently with autonomy and the support they need to achieve this.. Historically, policies have been designed without direct input from those affected, leading to exclusionary and ineffective models.
The involvement of people with disabilities themselves in shaping these systems is essential to ensure that services respect their rights, choices, and dignity. The Latin American Call to Action highlights the need for people with disabilities and older people to actively contribute to these policies, ensuring that care and support systems promote independence rather than dependency and align with human rights frameworks.
The distinction between care and support is essential and was formally recognized in United Nations General Assembly Resolution 77/317, which established the International Day of Care and Support. While care is often associated with assistance in daily tasks, support emphasizes autonomy and the active participation of people with disabilities and older people in their own lives. Recognizing both aspects allows for a comprehensive approach that upholds human rights, fosters self-determination, and promotes community inclusion.
As we approach the Global Disability Summit, Latin America and the Caribbean are calling for urgent action. Governments, international organizations, the private sector, and civil society should work together to establish comprehensive, inclusive, and sustainable care and support systems for people with disabilities and older people. These systems should recognize caregivers' contributions and respect the autonomy of those receiving support.
To make these systems a reality, governments should consider concrete policy measures. One such measure is the adoption of Centers for Independent Living, which have been developed in various regions since the 1960s. Countries such as Sweden, Australia, Japan, the United States, and Costa Rica have implemented different models, but all share a fundamental principle: they are managed by people with disabilities and provide a broad range of services.
These centers promote autonomy by offering training in independent living skills, references for personal support services, assistance in finding accessible housing, and support for educational and workplace inclusion. Additionally, they play a crucial role in facilitating the deinstitutionalization of people with disabilities and older people, ensuring their full participation in community life. By prioritizing such models, governments can create sustainable, rights-based solutions that truly empower those who require care and support.
The Global Disability Summit is an opportunity for real commitments. Decision-makers should prioritize the voices of people with disabilities and older people and their representative organizations, ensuring that care, support, and disability policies translate into tangible actions and inclusive practices that promote their full participation in society.