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Education for all: addressing marginalisation

Recommendations for the 2010 Millennium Development Goal (MDG) review

Despite overall increases in school participation over the past decade, some children continue to be left behind. Most often left behind are children with disabilities.

UNESCO estimates that one-third of the 72 million children currently out of school are disabled and that 90 per cent of children with disabilities in developing countries do not go to school. World Bank research suggests disability has substantially more impact on participation in education than gender, rural residence or household economic status.

Making education more responsive to the needs of children with disabilities is now one of the most pressing concerns if we are to meet the education MDG.

Children wait to start lessons outside a school in Sierra Leone.

Want to read more about our work?

Sightsavers and disability rights
Veronica Stapleton.
Sightsavers blog

To achieve quality education for all, disability inclusion is critical

At the CIES conference, there were many examples of innovative uses of digital technology, but strategies for reaching children with disabilities were rarely discussed.

Veronica Stapleton, April 2025
Minahil, who wears spectacles, smiles broadly as she sits at her classroom desk.

Sightsavers at the CIES education conference 2025

We attended the conference in Chicago on 22-26 March to share Sightsavers’ expertise, engage with the education community and explore how we can help to transform inclusive education.

March 2025
Sightsavers’ programme officer Salome Njeri Mbugua-Mutua receives the award on stage alongside two academy instructors.

Sightsavers’ IT Bridge Academy wins top-performing academy award

The IT Bridge Academy, which supports young people with disabilities to train for a career in IT, received the accolade from technology company Cisco.

February 2025