A February report by the Australian arm of NGO RESULTS International criticises the World Bank for its lack of consideration of gender and disability in its education projects. It argues that the Bank “is lagging in its implementation of robust gender policies” compared to similar projects by the Asian Development Bank and the Australian Agency for International Development, and points to “significant gaps between policy rhetoric and ‘on-the-ground’ implementation.” Furthermore, it found that Bank projects have “minimal equity and access implementation for disabled persons”, and that children with disabilities are “truly being left in the margins”. The report recommended incorporating gender and disability policies in education programmes at the country level, enhanced monitoring and accountability at the country level, consideration of gender and disability at the design and budgeting stage, and the “scaling-up” of gender and disability interventions.
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World Bank lagging on gender and disability
5 April 2012