Sightsavers influences the development and implementation of health, education and inclusion policies at local, national and global levels.
Policy and advocacy
At Sightsavers, policy change is a global priority delivered by our country offices, the policy and advocacy team and technical teams.
While more than 1.3 billion people worldwide have a disability, people with disabilities are often denied their basic rights and excluded from decision-making. Our policy work aims to improve outcomes in eye health, education, social inclusion, economic empowerment and neglected tropical diseases for everyone, particularly people with disabilities.
We promote international frameworks and treaties such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. We also provide technical support to governments, enabling them to adopt laws and policies in line with international disability frameworks that help them to fulfil their commitments and ensure no one is left behind. Partnerships with other organisations help us promote and advance inclusive policies at a global level.
Policy and advocacy are also key to Sightsavers’ mission to deliver sustainable programmes that ensure people with and without disabilities can continue to fully enjoy their rights beyond our work.
View our latest advocacy data
Our advocacy outcomes dashboard showcases the latest information on advocacy and policy from our country offices in Africa and Asia.
View the dashboardWe fight for equality for people with disabilities
Join our Equal World campaignOur key policy and advocacy achievements
- Disability is now included within mandatory processes and major funding streams at the World Bank.
- The UN General Assembly unanimously adopted the resolution “Vision for Everyone”, which placed eye health as key to achieving the SDGs for the first time.
- Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone became champions of the Inclusive Data Charter.
- Bangladesh, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Uganda and Zimbabwe acceded to the Marrakesh Treaty.
- Uganda developed and implemented the National Disability Inclusive Planning Guidelines.
- Kenya, Pakistan, Zambia and Zimbabwe integrated the Washington Group questions into their censuses.
- The electoral code in Senegal was revised to ensure people with disabilities can access polling stations.
- Sierra Leone and Liberia launched new national eye health policies.
- Pakistan introduced 67 disability-focused indicators into the national SDG reporting system.
View our disability and gender markers data
Our dashboard provides a data visualisation on the disability and gender markers used by members of the OECD Development and Assistance Committee.
Visit the dashboardLearn more about our key achievements
Read our annual summariesLatest from policy and advocacy
Going beyond health: the role eye care plays in the SDGs
Eye health has an impact on numerous Sustainable Development Goals, and has a ripple effect that improves gender equity, education, economic and health outcomes.
Fiona Lawless, December 2023
Lifting the rock on inclusive data: Sightsavers and the Inclusive Data Charter
We spoke to Dominic Haslam, Sightsavers’ director of policy and programme strategy, about the launch of our second Inclusive Data Charter Action Plan and how it reaffirms our commitment to inclusive data.
Sightsavers, November 2023
How inclusive education can create a more equal and sustainable future
As learners with disabilities are disproportionately affected by global crises such as climate change, we're urging governments to build more resilient education systems for everyone.
Mariana Rudge, September 2023
A leap in the right direction: takeaways from the Women Deliver conference
The event served as a platform for myself and other Sightsavers colleagues to engage in discussions about how to dismantle barriers and tackle the obstacles impeding progress around women’s rights.
Hannah Dawson, September 2023
First anger, then action: why you should sign the Feminist Accessibility Protocol
In my years as a disability advocate, I’ve learned that getting angry needs to be accompanied by getting active. We wanted to advise organisations on how to do better to include women and girls with disabilities.
Gertrude Oforiwa Fefoame, July 2023
Why disability rights are integral to the Sustainable Development Goals
Sightsavers’ Saleck Ould Dah and Ujala Sarfaraz highlight two key issues around disability inclusion that are hampering efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
Sightsavers, June 2023
