As the UNICEF Office of Research-Innocenti, we conduct research to inform policymaking and implementation. This project brief summarizes our research on children with disabilities in humanitarian settings.

1. PROJECT BRIEF
Children
with Disabilities
in Humanitarian Settings
How can research help
children with disabilities
living in humanitarian settings?
©
UNICEF/UN0251359/Herwig

2. Overview
One billion people in the world have a with disability
and 150 million of those are children.Those figures
are expected to double by 2050. In humanitarian
settings, the situation is grave with emergencies
disproportionately occurring in contexts with the
highest existing prevalence of child disability.Those
children are among the poorest members of the
population and one of the most marginalized and
excluded groups in society.They face daily discrimi-
nation in the form of negative attitudes, and through
lack of adequate policies and legislation. About half
of all children who have disabilities do not go to
school.They are effectively barred from realizing
their full potential.
Approach
Research is key to understanding how to maximize
opportunities for children with disabilities. It exposes
the barriers that prevent children from enjoying
their rights and provides answers to how we can
overcome obstacles for all and deliver humanitarian
programmes that put all children first.
We work to support links between the development
and humanitarian disability agenda by co-developing
research projects that deliver answers for practitio-
ners on the ground. In 2019, we reviewed evidence
gaps in humanitarian action that highlighted the need
for more research on the effectiveness of humanita-
rian response in all of its aspects: service delivery;
integration of sectoral interventions; systems
strengthening; and coordination. It also highlighted
ten thematic areas that require evidence generation
through research, including disability.
Previous and ongoing disability research brings
together information and knowledge from global
literature, reports and other credible evidence in the
form of evidence reviews, key informant interviews
and dedicated knowledge workshops.We have also
developed case-studies to corroborate or challenge
findings in evidence reviews and that provide a deeper
dive into the context-specific questions and answers.
Goal
To answer critical questions with a policy or operatio-
nal focus.To work together with subject-matter
experts and knowledge consumers to co-develop
research programmes and translate evidence into
practical, action-oriented recommendations.
Contact Info
Gavin Wood
Manager of Humanitarian Research
gawood@unicef.org
Project Highlights
AssistiveTechnology in humanita-
rian settings (2020–2021)
A review of the available evidence
on the current state of provision of
assistive technology in humanita-
rian settings, e.g. the systems and
services related to the delivery of
assistive products and services;
and investigation of the barriers
to and facilitators of better
delivery.The research underpins a
forthcoming UNICEF-WHO global
report on assistive technology. It
highlighted a positive shift towards
greater inclusion of disability, but
also significant gaps and shortco-
mings where many children with
disability are still overlooked.
Scaling up inclusion through
community level action (2021–2022)
In alignment with the revised Core
Commitments to Children call for
more cross-sectoral working, this
project will (1) conduct a review of
evidence on cross-sectoral program-
mes for children with disability; (2)
develop country case studies to
identify known and potential entry
points for disability inclusion in
cross-sectoral programmes and
undertake an analysis of national
regulatory frameworks (barriers
and enablers); and (3) develop a
conceptual and practicable operatio-
nal model for cross-sectoral program-
ming to strengthen disability-inclusive
outcomes.
Disability inclusion in UNICEF
research (2021–2025)
Innocenti is working with the
Disability Section of Programme
Division to develop a multi-year
research programme to underpin
UNICEF’s disability agenda. It will
focus on inclusive programming
for all children with disabilities
that bridges the humanitarian-
development continuum and
prioritizes secondary analysis and
evidence synthesis of existing data
sources ahead of developing new,
primary research projects.
PROJECT BRIEF