Caribbean Content

Within Caribbean societies, persons with disabilities encounter significant challenges to their survival, well-being, safety, and development. Despite constituting a considerable proportion of the populations in the region (15%), persons with disabilities face harsh realities, including voicelessness and invisibility; and elevated levels of abuse, stress and isolation. Hence, urgent action is needed to address these barriers and promote inclusion.

Regional Disability Challenges

The Caribbean Development Bank’s Disability Assessment in Borrowing Member Countries (2025) identified key gaps and barriers, including:

The rights of persons with disabilities are not mainstreamed in the State’s policies and programmes.

Persons with disabilities do not have adequate access to essential health, good quality education and social services

Persons with disabilities experience limited access to employment opportunities and accessing important information from service providers

Simply moving around within their communities is a major challenge for persons with disabilities.

Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) Commitments

CDB has and will continue to demonstrate its ongoing commitment and investment opportunities to the Caribbean region’s growing communities of persons with disabilities. The CDB Policy Brief (2025) outlines key recommendations to make Caribbean societies truly inclusive:

Regional and National Disability Assessments, Policies and Strategic Plans to advocate for the rights, dignity and respect of persons with disabilities

Inclusive Education, Training, Health, Social Protection and Economic Infrastructure Projects for improved quality of life, safety and descent work for persons with disabilities

Digital and Disaster Readiness Programmes for ensuring well-being, increased voice and agency for persons with disabilities,

By implementing these short-, medium- and long-term actions, CDB commits to collectively paving the way for a region that values and includes persons with disabilities and thus providing them more opportunities for their contribution to personal, community and national development.