Interested in other areas of Sightsavers? Visit Sightsavers.org

Language selection

We use Google Translate as a service to provide you with different languages to choose from. Being an automated tool, it may occasionally make mistakes.

Select language:
Campaigns
Close search bar
TAKE ACTION
News / Disability rights /

Our campaign highlights from 2024

December 2024

It’s been a big year for disability rights and so much has been achieved around the world. But none of this would have been possible without your support!

Here are some of our highlights from 2024.

Watch our video to learn more about Equal Zimbabwe.

Equal Zimbabwe

Since its launch in February, Equal Zimbabwe has already achieved an unbelievable amount:

  • The Persons with Disabilities Bill was quickly added to the legislative agenda, which is a key step to it becoming law
  • We supported the launch of the parliamentary caucus on disability which was introduced by the speaker of parliament
  • Zimbabwe signed and ratified the African Disability Protocol

Visit the Equal Zimbabwe campaign site

Equal Bangladesh

Equal Bangladesh is a coalition campaign that launched in 2023 and called for the National Disability Act 2013 to be implemented to ensure disability rights are embedded into national legislation.

In 2024, as a result of our campaigning and wider work:

  • The Ministry of Social Welfare took visible steps towards disability legislation and set agendas for high-level national committees and appointed disability focal points
  • We were honoured to partner with the government’s key agency for disability affairs to establish disability committees in two divisions of Bangladesh, which brought the national commitment to a regional level

Visit the Equal Bangladesh campaign site

Watch the video to find out what activists from across Bangladesh got up to when they met in March.

Watch our ADP campaign video to learn more about the landmark treaty.

African Disability Protocol

We’ve been campaigning since 2022 to ratify the African Disability Protocol (ADP). The protocol will protect disability rights for the 80 million people with disabilities living on the continent.

In June 2024, the Republic of Congo became the 15th country to ratify the ADP, which means it is now legally binding across the whole of the African Union.

We’ve also created new opportunities for cross-organisational partnerships, such as with the African Disability Alliance, African Disability Forum as well as the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights.

Find out more about the African Disability Protocol campaign

Equal World global campaign

Our key call this year has been demanding that the barriers that prevent the participation of young people with disabilities in decision-making processes be removed.

  • We partnered with organisations of people with disabilities and created a ‘10 point plan’ for the UN’s Summit of the Future
  • We screened our short film, ‘Equal World?’, at the Summit of the Future, which was followed by a panel discussion with our youth champions who shared the stage with the UN assistant secretary-general for youth affairs
  • ‘Equal World?’ was then shortlisted for a Smiley Charity Film Award: you can help us win by voting

Learn more about the Young Voices campaign

Photo: three men and two women seated on a stage. One man is speaking into a microphone.
Equal World youth ambassador James Casserly speaking at the ‘Equal World?’ film panel event in New York.
Angela Rayner and Sightsavers’ Ross Gilligan at the Sightsavers stand during the Labour Party Conference.
Angela Rayner and Sightsavers’ Ross Gilligan with a copy of The Changing Times newspaper, which features young people with disabilities.

UK Parliament

We attended the UK Labour Party conference and showcased the vast range of Sightsavers’ work from disability rights to eye health. Our exhibition achieved high visibility from parliamentarians and was visited by Angela Rayner, the UK’s deputy prime minister, and other cabinet ministers.

We also presented the Equal Bangladesh campaign to the Scottish Parliament’s cross-party group on Bangladesh in the presence of Members of the Scottish Parliament, the high commissioner and assistant high commissioner of Bangladesh to the UK, academics and business leaders.

All of this has been achieved in 2024 and so much more! Let’s continue the fight together in 2025 and beyond.

If you haven’t already done so, you can sign up to receive our emails below and become part of our global community of supporters fighting for a more equal world.

Read all our latest news stories

Campaigns news

Want to hear more about the Equal World campaign?

A young girl, who has albinism, sitting in a classroom. She is wearing a face mask.
Eleven-year-old Noutene, who has albinism, attends an inclusive school in Mali.
Brighten up your inbox! Sign up for regular updates and join our global community of supporters fighting for a more equal world.
Campaigns

Equal World: Our campaign for disability rights

  • News
  • Voices
  • Where we campaign
  • Why we campaign
  • About us
  • Accessibility
    • Privacy policy Modern slavery statement Terms and conditions

    © 2025