Publications

What happens when key stakeholders for inclusive clean energy access delivery, who have never met, are brought into the same room? That is exactly what we set out to explore in Nairobi through a workshop hosted by the Transforming Energy Access Disability Support Service (DSS).

In April 2026, the Transforming Energy Access (TEA) platform convened 40 members in Nairobi, Kenya, including people with disabilities, representatives from organisations of persons with disabilities n(OPDs), Transforming Energy Access partners, and disability innovators for a hands-on workshop titled ‘Co-Designing Disability-Inclusive Energy Access’. Designed and delivered by the Global Disability Innovation (GDI) Hub, London, with Senses Hub, Nairobi, as the local engagement partner, a series of interactive sessions explored key needs, barriers, and opportunities to maximise the impact of the clean energy transition for people with disabilities. 

The TEA platform is working to integrate a gender equality, disability, and social inclusion (GEDSI) lens into key decision-making and project activities, tracking results, and supporting a just and inclusive clean energy transition that leaves no one behind.

The GEDSI Toolkit and other training resources presented on this page are aimed at promoting and enabling socio-economic development, growth and poverty reduction, and supporting equal access to the benefits of modern, affordable and reliable energy. It was developed primarily with TEA platform partners in mind, though contains tools and guidance that can be valuable to others in the wider sector.

Video creation has become a global medium for self-expression and communication. However, due to its inherently multimodal nature, the video production process can pose significant barriers for creators with sensory impairments . Worldwide, an estimated 596 million individuals are blind or partially sighted (BPS), and ≈ 70 million are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) .

This Resource Guide was developed jointly by the Global Disability Innovation Hub (GDI Hub) and the Inclusion Advisory Group (IAG), which is an initiative of CBM Global Disability Inclusion. We would like to acknowledge the contributions of the 15 sector experts who participated in interviews during the initial consultation phase in 2023, offering valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities for inclusion across urban climate action, nature-based solutions, and energy transition

Climate change is the defining challenge of our time. Its impacts are widespread, but they are not experienced equally. Persons with disabilities – who represent over one billion people globally are disproportionately affected by climate-related risks, yet remain underrepresented in climate policy, planning, and action. This Resource Guide is a practical response to that gap. And it brings something new to the field of climate action: a clear, practical focus on how disability inclusion can be embedded across specific climate action sectors. From energy and urban development to nature-based solutions and disaster risk reduction, it showcases real-world examples that demonstrate what is possible when inclusion is intentional. These examples are still too rare and too often undocumented. 

By highlighting them, this guide aims to inspire and equip climate practitioners to act, then document and share those actions to drive learning across sectors. The guide is grounded in dialogue, with organisations of persons with disabilities, climate actors, and development partners, and reflects a growing recognition that inclusive climate action is not only a matter of rights, but of resilience and resourcefulness. This is reflected in the growing momentum for official recognition of a disability constituency with the UNFCCC; a vital step to ensure that persons with disabilities can shape the policies which impact their lives. As organisations committed to disability inclusion and innovation, we see this guide as both a comprehensive resource and a starting point to build more evidence. There is an urgent need for deeper collaboration between disability and climate actors to generate and share knowledge, build mutual understanding, and strengthen inclusive practice. Through partnerships, dialogue, and joint learning, we can ensure that persons with disabilities are not only supported to be resilient to the impacts of climate change, but are active participants in shaping a more just and sustainable future.

Over the past two decades, smartphones have evolved from simple communication devices to powerful, multifunctional tools that can significantly enhance the lives of disabled individuals. As assistive technology (AT), smartphones offer a wide range of functionalities, including accessibility features, applications, and Internet connectivity, that allow disabled individuals to overcome various accessibility barriers. Unlike traditional physical assistive devices, such as braille readers and hearing aids, which are often expensive and difficult to obtain in low-resource settings, affordable smartphones are widely available in lower and middle income countries (LMICs), such as Transsion, Xiaomi, Oppo, and Realme [51, 65], which run on Google’s Android operating system, allowing a certain level of consistency across different smartphone manufacturers and models.

The Global Systems for Mobile Technology Association (GSMA) estimates that approximately 85% of the African population owns a mobile phone. Although the ownership of feature phones (button phones without Internet-enabled applications) continues to increase rapidly, there is also a more modest but steady uptake in smartphone ownership. A recent GSMA report estimates smartphone ownership between 42% and 56% of adults across various Sub-Saharan African regions, with rates expected to reach 80% to 92% by 2030 [23]. However, this number is significantly reduced for disabled individuals; in Kenya, smartphone ownership by disabled individuals is only 12% compared to 41% non-disabled population (a 72% gap in smartphone ownership)[22]. The gap, termed the ’digital divide’ is largely due to persistent challenges, including awareness, affordability, accessibility, and digital literacy [18, 39, 47, 64].

Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) technology has transformed human-human and human-computer communications. It facilitates understanding through real-time speech captioning [1], [2] and supports hands-free computing (e.g. email dictations, emails, online information retrieval, and automatic language translation). ASR is used to control smart home activities, such as changing television channels, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and adjusting lighting. Although it continues to be useful, most of these technologies do not cater to speech diversity and are often optimized for ‘standard’ or typical speech. Therefore, they fail to benefit individuals with impaired speech such as dysarthria, stammering, or cleft palate who often experience reduced ASR accuracy. Prior studies have demonstrated the potential benefits of speech recognition technologies in English for distinct impaired speech[2], [3], [4]. 

While this benefits English speakers, it is imperative to extend similar technologies to low-resource languages (LRLs). LRL communities have limited access to assistive technologies and speech and language therapy (SLT) services [5], [6], [7]. Hence, the availability of ASR technologies in LRLs will facilitate effective communication for those with speech impairments, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where there are insufficient speech therapy resources [7]. This study is part of a larger initiative that seeks to collect, validate, and create a large corpus of impaired speech in LRLs. It reports the findings of a pilot study in the Akan language from Ghana, by discussing the methods, challenges, and lessons learned from the data collection, validation, and testing of the dataset to adapt ASR models.

Assistive technology (AT) plays a vital role in promoting independence, inclusion, and improved quality of life for people globally [1–3]. Yet, over 1 billion people worldwide lack access to AT, particularly in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) where access is as low as 3% [4]. In 2016, to address this large and global need, the World Health Organisation (WHO) launched the Priority Assistive Products List (APL), a model list of fifty essential assistive products [5]. Modelled after the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines, the WHO Priority APL aimed to strengthen health systems and advance Universal Health Coverage (UHC) through improved AT provision, while also mobilising resources and stimulating market competition [5,6]. The WHO APL provides a guiding framework for countries to develop National APLs, tailored to local contexts and priorities [7,8]. These National APLs can inform local policies, resource allocation, and service delivery strategies, ultimately improving access to AT not only for people with disabilities but all who benefit from AT. Research has demonstrated that increased availability of assistive products can contribute to achieving multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including poverty reduction, improved health outcomes, and enhanced educational and employment opportunities for persons with disabilities [7]. This underscores the importance of National APLs as tools for promoting UHC and social inclusion [6]. Despite the availability of the WHO Priority APL since 2016, country-level adoption of National APLs has been limited. By 2020, no African countries had developed National APLs. Between 2021 and 2024, work was done with several governments to develop and launch the first-ever National APLs, yet many African countries have yet to initiate this process [9]. Given this, the need for knowledge sharing across the international setting regarding the process, barriers, facilitators, and learnings from implementing National APLs is key [10].
 

The first Global Report on Assistive Technology (AT) [47] found that 2.5 billion people need AT today, a figure likely to rise to 3.5 billion by 2050, yet in some countries, access is as low as 3% for those who need it. Therefore, many people are still without access to the AT they need to carry out activities of daily life, and this is especially true for the 28-49% of people globally with communication disabilities [30]. In the last decade, digital devices, and especially smartphones with accessible applications, have become increasingly important as AT for the billion of disabled people worldwide, as they offer a variety of tools that enable people to address access barriers experienced in daily life [7, 8, 51, 52, 60, 61]. In contrast to often more costly and less available dedicated assistive devices such as Braille readers or digital communication boards, low-cost Android smartphones are available in most of the Global South through a variety of different providers [49, 70]. However, to date studies looking at the use and impact of smartphone applications to support the needs of people with communication difficulties in the Global South are still relatively scarce [6, 18, 42].

Impaired speech makes communication challenging and is compounded by stigma, which can isolate or marginalise people [19, 71]. Often, people who have impaired speech will be understood by and communicate with and through trusted individuals, limiting their speech to others due to the risk of ‘failing’ to communicate within a social exchange, leading to a feeling of inferiority and reduced participation in the moment and cumulatively over time [16]. These issues can also be more pronounced in Ghana and other countries in the Global South where disability stigma and other systemic failures contribute to lack of access to support and subsequent further marginalization [27, 73, 74].

The 2024 Paralympic Games present a unique cultural moment to amplify the voices and stories of persons living with disabilities. To leverage this global event, the Global Disability Innovation Hub partnered with Shujaaz, an Emmy award winning partner based in Kenya to create a comprehensive initiative that explores and highlights the cultural impact of disability beyond the realm of sports. As part of this work Shujaaz collected data from Kenyans aged 18-24 across the country to understand:

• To what extent young Kenyans are aware of, positive about, participating in disabled sports
• To what extent young Kenyans are aware of, positive about, making use of assistive technology.

The Inclusive Infrastructure sub-programme, led by GDI Hub, recognises that the built environment, the world where we live, dictates our ability to use the AT we need. Access to the built environment is a fundamental human right, protected by the UN CRPD. However, the world we have designed and built presents a multitude of barriers and challenges for many, including persons with disabilities.

Disability is diverse, encompassing physical, sensory, and intellectual disabilities. Likewise, the experiences of people with disabilities—and the barriers they encounter when trying to access or benefit from material, financial, or social opportunities—vary greatly. Just as diverse are the ways in which these barriers can be removed. Hence, an explicit focus on disability is key to delivering an inclusive energy transition that leaves no one behind.

This Briefing Note sets the context, rationale, and recommendations for strategically integrating disability inclusion and accessibility in energy transition, Gender Equality, and Social Inclusion (GESI) programming and delivery. Particularly, this frames a Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) approach for the Transforming Energy Access (TEA) platform and partners and presents eleven recommendations for action.

Globally, 1 in 6 people experience disability (16%), 80% of whom live in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). Disability occurs when people with impairments lose the opportunity for equal participation in society because of social and environmental barriers. In the context of climate change, disability can be a cause and consequence of energy poverty, as households of people with disabilities in LMICs are commonly larger, poorer, and in rural areas, where they may require more heating or cooling.

This White Paper titled ‘Opportunities for Disability-inclusive Energy Access’ underscores the need for inclusive energy transition measures to prevent socio-economic exclusion and discrimination, particularly among people with disabilities. This also outlines opportunities for powering assistive technology with clean energy and creating accessible clean energy solutions across eight sectors, including 1) home appliances and information and communication technologies (ICTs); 2) built environment and cities; 3) transportation; 4) healthcare; 5) education; 6) green jobs; 7) humanitarian sector and reconstruction; and 8) energy infrastructure.

This will serve as a reference for energy access innovators, practitioners, and policymakers to identify potential entry points for their contribution to disability-inclusive energy transition.