Sightsavers has launched a global campaign calling on the United Nations to ensure that the work of all its agencies is fully inclusive of people with disabilities.

The campaign, #EqualUN for an equal world, was launched during the annual Commission on the Status of Women, held at UN headquarters in New York.

Speakers at the event included Megan Smith, (International Disability Alliance and Sightsavers); Stephanie Ortoleva (Women Enabled International); Monjurul Kabir (UN Women), Meenakshi Balasubramanian (Equals, an Indian disability organisation); Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, Permanent Representative of Ghana to the UN, and Tegan Brink, Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of Australia to the UN.

In a blog about the aims of #EqualUN, Tessa Murphy, Sightsavers’ Campaign Manager, said: “Despite global recognition that people with disabilities – who make up 15 per cent of the global population – are vulnerable to being left behind in efforts to eradicate poverty, not enough progress has been made to ensure their inclusion and active participation… We are officially launching the campaign at the Commission on the Status of Women, an annual event held at UN headquarters in New York, to reflect the disproportionate impact the deprivation of rights has on women and girls with disabilities.”

Find out more about the #EqualUN campaign