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Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) Global Policy Forum

The annual Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) Global Policy Forum took place from 1 to 4 September 2026 in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, under the theme ‘Resilient Economies, Inclusive Future’.

Throughout the Forum, representatives of the International Disability Alliance and the Pacific Disability Forum (PDF) attended sessions on future-proofing financial inclusion, financial health as a foundation for an inclusive future, policy innovation and impact.

Throughout these engagements, IDA and PDF met with financial regulators, policymakers and partners to advance the key priorities of organisations of persons with disabilities. These included:

  • Establishing the preconditions necessary for the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the financial sector.
  • Formalising the role of OPDs in regulator-led working groups to drive the implementation of National Financial Inclusion Strategies.
  • Generating disability-disaggregated data to address persistent barriers to financial inclusion.

Participation at the GPF aligned with IDA's 2025-2030 Impact Strategy and its continued emphasis on financing for disability-inclusive development. It built on recent achievements, including contributions to the BarrierFree Finance Initiative Guide for Financial Service Providers and advocacy at the Fourth International Conference for Financing for Development in Seville.

IDA continues to carry forward the message that all stakeholders, including policymakers and financial regulators, must work in partnership with OPDs and fulfil the central promise of the intergovernmentally agreed Sevilla Sevilla Commitment, which reaffirmed the imperative of ensuring access to finance and economic opportunities for persons with disabilities.

two smiling men standing against the poster of the event

This means ensuring that financial inclusion is extended to persons with disabilities. It involves strengthening digital and financial literacy, consumer protection and regulation for persons with disabilities to address persistent barriers. And crucially, it requires a recognition that financial access is just one aspect of financial health and creating real improvements in the lives of persons with disabilities globally.

In the margins of the Forum, IDA and PDF were pleased to meet with the national umbrella organisation of persons with disabilities, the Papua New Guinea Assembly of Disabled Persons (PNG ADP). Discussions centered on the added costs of disability and the importance of global commitments matching lived realities in the Pacific.

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