Assistive technology can revolutionize development, learning and participation: It’s time children everywhere have access.

Seeing. Hearing. Communicating. Moving freely. Many of us take these for granted. But what if you are a child who experiences difficulties in one, or more, of these areas? 
 
In a fairer world, you would have the support of assistive technology to reach your full potential, helping you function, be independent, participate in society and guarantee your overall well-being.  
 
There are an estimated 240 million children with disabilities worldwide. In low- and middle-income countries, more than 90 per cent of children don’t have access to the assistive technology they need. For children in humanitarian emergencies, the lack of assistive devices can be fatal. 

Compared with the general child population, children with disabilities are:  

• 25% less likely to receive early stimulation and responsive care;  
• 25% less likely to attend early childhood education;  
• 47% more likely to be out of primary school;  
• 42% less likely to have foundational reading and numeracy skills; and  
• 49% more likely to have never attended school. 

The major barriers to assistive technology access include the high cost of products and services, limited availability in key markets, and a continuing lack of financing at the country and global levels.

The benefits are undeniable 

Affordable and appropriate assistive technology can enable children and their families to overcome exclusion and stigma, while market-shaping activities (like negotiating better prices or making them more available) can help overcome their barriers to access.  

In Rwanda, for example, the Government worked with UNICEF to support national programmes in screening for hearing impairments and to provide children with affordable and high-quality hearing aids. UNICEF’s Supply Division was able to reduce the cost of hearing aids in Rwanda by 94 per cent, from US$2,000 to US$118 per product. In many cases, this allowed children to hear their parents, friends and teachers clearly for the first time, transforming their lives with new-found confidence. 

Investing in assistive devices not only significantly transforms individual well-being but also offers substantial economic benefits to entire societies. For every US$1 invested, society receives a return of US$9, making it an impactful financial decision for governments and funders.  
 
Disability inclusion represents a powerful business opportunity that can unlock new customer segments and drive significant social and economic returns. 
 
Access to hearing aids, prostheses, eyeglasses and wheelchairs can notably promote equity for hundreds of millions of people in low- and middle-income countries. For a child who needs one of these four products, sustained provision can yield around US$100,000 in her or his average increased lifetime income. This is equivalent to an annual average of US$1,900 per person, or just over 25 per cent of average per capita income across Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). 

The foundations are already established for delivering assistive technology to children everywhere.

Access to assistive technology as a global development theme can be traced to the first Global Disability Summit, held on 24 July 2018. Hosted by the Government of the United Kingdom and co-hosted by the International Disability Alliance and the Government of Kenya, the Summit celebrated the achievements and rights of people with disabilities, and highlighted the role that innovation and technology can play to improve their lives.

Following on the World Health Assembly’s unanimously agreed resolution in 2018, the World Health Organization and UNICEF published the Global Report on Assistive Technology in 2022 – presenting the first comprehensive dataset and analysis of assistive technology access in 70 countries. The Global Report and AT2030’s ‘What Works’ report, among other recent publications, identify key actions with the potential to transform the assistive technology sector, including to:

• Continue market making and shaping– Markets need to be shaped and informed by health ecosystem-level thinking, such as universal health care, which can help reframe issues, boundaries and constraints to making assistive technology more accessible. 
• Update and maintain the accessibility of digital solutions– Along with keeping pace with evolving needs and new technologies, it is essential to raise awareness about the availability of digital products. Manufacturers and developers should continue to mainstream accessible features – such as factory-installed screen readers, magnification capability, hearing aid compatibility and voice control – so that everyone can effectively and efficiently use digital devices and internet platforms to the fullest extent. 
• Develop innovative policies related to financing– It will be vital to make sure that government budgets in low- and middle-income countries have resources earmarked for assistive technology products and services. This means including them as a priority in public and private health and social insurance coverage. Reducing taxes and duties on these products is also among the many policy changes that can create new markets and open a world of opportunity for persons with disabilities. To help advance momentum in this regard, the International Finance Corporation and GDI Hub launched  a guide on investing with a disability lens  at the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (COSP) in June 2024. 

These and other crucial goals are being supported by multiple organizations and platforms, including: Global Disability Innovation (GDI) Hub, an academic research and practice centre that aims to accelerate disability innovation and create ecosystems to accelerate change; UNICEF, which leverages its partnerships, expertise and resources to strengthen systems for increasing assistive technology access in both development and humanitarian contexts; the AT2030 programme that tests ‘what works’ to improve access to life-changing assistive technology for all; ATscale, the Global Partnership for Assistive Technology, which catalyses action to ensure that, by 2030, an additional 500 million people in low- and middle-income countries get the life-changing technology they need; and the World Health Organization’s Global Cooperation on Assistive Technology (GATE) initiative, which envisions a world where assistive technology is universally accessible to everyone, everywhere.

It’s time to redouble our efforts

The technology is changing rapidly. Product costs are being reduced while reliability is being enhanced. And AI-based tools – when developed and applied responsibly, with children’s rights and best interests in mind – have great potential to power the assistive technology revolution faster, further and more frugally. 
 
The time is ripe for partners from the public sector, private sector, multilateral development banks and development organizations to invest in disability-inclusive health services and assistive technology. The Sustainable Development Goals will remain incomplete without the meaningful inclusion and active engagement of children and people with disabilities. Together, we can bridge the financing and capacity gaps to unlock their potential, open schools and public spaces to foster a culture of inclusivity and equality and deliver benefits where they are most needed. We cannot take this for granted.