Written by Roselyne Onyango- Global Initiative for Economic Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR)| RELI Africa’s Equity and Inclusion thematic Group co-lead
This year, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) under the theme “Fostering disability inclusive societies for advancing social progress” will not be business as usual for Kenya.
Kenya enacted a new Persons with Disabilities Act 2025, a law won through persistent advocacy to recognise a more rights-based approach to disability as per the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2008. This law is stronger, clearer, and more enforceable than anything we have ever had. Combined with the revised National Gender Policy, it finally recognises a long-ignored truth: women and girls with disabilities face unique barriers that require deliberate solutions and the application of an intersectional lens to fully appreciate the challenges this unique social group faces.
For children with disabilities, exclusion often begins long before they reach the school gate; through the discriminatory attitude of teachers, peers and society, lack of specially trained teachers, inaccessible infrastructure (ramps, toilets) and unavailable accessible learning materials. The 2019 Census recorded persons with diabilities as just 2.2% of Kenya’s total and only 0.8% of primary school and 0.8% of secondary school learners. Yet, disability advocates have fiercely challenged these figures pointing to cultural stigma, narrow survey questions and systematic gaps that hide the true scale of need. This statistical invisibility is not merely a data problem, it has undermined budget planning and provison of essential public services including education, for Persons with Disabilities.
RELI Africa’s Equity and Inclusion Thematic Group was established for precisely this purpose. Our members work to dismantle barriers and to transform access to education so the principle of ‘“leave no one behind” becomes reality.
The vision of a disability-inclusive society capable of advancing social progress is not an abstract concept: it is built through inclusive equitable education.
Education is the only systemic intervention that guarantees children with disabilities the right to learn and prepares society to uphold inclusion. A truly accessible school yields two transformative outcomes:
- It equips children with disabilities with the essential knowledge, skills and confidence required for productive participation, fundamentally breaking the cycle of poverty and dependence.
- It shifts attitudes, as learners grow up experiencing diversity, cultivating empathy, collaboration and respect that are essential foundations for inclusive societies.
RELI’s Equity and Inclusion members champion this shift by moving beyond simple attainment of increased enrolment by advocating for genuine learning opportunities and approaches that ensure that the school curricula are flexible and accessible to all learners through investing in teacher training and assistive technologies (braille materials to sign language interpreters and accessible classrooms). We also champion for systemic attitude change by advocating for inclusive education policies, sustained budget commitments and accountability mechanisms and therefore through these efforts we are not just fulfilling a human right; we are intentionally shaping a generation of inclusive leaders, employers and policy makers.
Thus, achieving the theme of “Fostering disability-inclusive societies” is no longer a voluntary ideal; it is a legal obligation. The Persons with Disabilities Act, 2025, provides a comprehensive blueprint and a powerful enforcement framework that must now be utilised to drive social progress.
- National and county policymakers must adhere to the Act’s mandate to ensure free and compulsory basic education for every child with a disability, backed by adequate resource allocation specifically for disability training and assistive technology procurement. The law further mandates that schools must adapt their infrastructure and curricula, and failure to comply is now subject to strong penalties.
- The Ministry of Education together with other relevant stakeholders must immediately move to implement the Act’s requirements for reasonable accommodations and accessible learning environments, ensuring access to learning aids and adapted facilities. This means empowering learners with disabilities while shifting the society’s mindset from viewing disability as a deficit to seeing it as strength.
- Finally, Civil Society Organisations, including RELI, must serve as crucial accountability and monitoring partners. Our role is to collect evidence, disseminate best practices and work with the restructured National Council for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD) and the Ministry of Education to enforce the Act’s rights-based shift across education.
A call to action
- To the Budget Appropriations Committee of the National Assembly and the National Treasury: disability mainstreaming in planning and budgeting is now the law. Excuses no longer apply.
- To public and private employers: reasonable accommodation is no longer optional kindness or charity, it is a legal duty.
- To the media: amplify the stories of women and children with disabilities who will now access justice because the law now recognises intersectional discrimination.
- To every Kenyan: inclusion starts with you. Demand accessible services. Call out discrimination when you see it.
The law is here. The people and political will must follow!
We must stop treating persons with disabilities as an afterthought and start treating them as rights-holders. A law that lives on paper changes nothing. A law that is implemented changes lives. The letter and the spirit of the law must work in tandem!
