The Asian Development Bank was conceived in the early 1960s as a financial institution that would be Asian in character and foster economic growth and cooperation in one of the poorest regions in the world. History

ADB assists its members, and partners, by providing loans, technical assistance, grants, and equity investments to promote social and economic development. Our Work

ADB is composed of 67 members, 48 of which are from the Asia and Pacific region. Members

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  • The Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Strategy 2030 advances social inclusion and human development, particularly of poor and vulnerable groups, under the Strategy’s operational priority area of addressing remaining poverty and reducing inequalities. ADB supports global and national efforts to accelerate implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Incheon Strategy to “Make the Right Real” for Persons with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific, and to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
  • We commit to incorporate disability inclusion in universal health coverage strategies and reforms and design of “future” hospitals and health facilities (2019 onwards)
Theme: Other
Year: 2018
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  • Undertake an assessment and define a strategic framework for ADB on disability to support the new corporate Strategy 2030 (2019)
  • Engage in coordinated advocacy for disability-inclusion via membership in the Global Action on Disability Network (2018 onwards)
  • Actively participate in intergovernmental meetings related to the implementation of the Incheon Strategy (ongoing) 

Timeframe and/or implementation plan: Ongoing, 2018 onwards

Theme: Eliminate Stigma and Discrimination
Year: 2018
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  • Conduct a review of existing education portfolio, to identify the gaps and potential to more effectively support inclusion of the most marginalized children in society, including out of school girls and boys with disabilities (2019)
  • Support innovations to expand the quality, scope and range of accessible materials and teaching approaches for learners with disabilities, and make their physical environment more accessible via universal design (2019) 

Timeframe and/or implementation plan: 2019 

Theme: Inclusive Education
Year: 2018
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Skills development for decent work 
Invest in accessible vocational training programs for people with disabilities, and in building the capacity of both government and private training institutions (ongoing)

Timeframe and/or implementation plan: Ongoing

Access to financial services
Conduct research on developing inclusive insurance markets to make available risk management products which cover low-income households in case of death or serious disability (2020-2022)

Timeframe and/or implementation plan: 2020-2022

Theme: Routes to Economic Empowerment
Year: 2018
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  • Undertake an analysis of data on social protection coverage for persons with disabilities in the Asia and Pacific region from ADB’s social protection indicator database (2019)

Timeframe and/or implementation plan: 2019

Theme: Data Disaggregation
Year: 2018