Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the Government is taking to work closely with disability-focused organisations to improve the effectiveness of the UK's efforts to enhance access to education for disabled girls in developing countries.

Working with disability focused NGOs and disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) is central to DFID’s work on Disability Inclusion. DFID’s leading programmes for working with NGOs – UK Aid Direct and UK Aid Match – both include support for disability-focused organisations. DFID’s flagship programme on girls education – the Girls’ Education Challenge – has reached over 45,000 girls with disabilities, in part through working with disability focused organisations such as Leonard Cheshire. DFID continues to learn from experience of what works in reaching girls with disabilities. For example, building on the success of the programme in Kenya, Leonard Cheshire are working with the education ministry to revise the teacher training curriculum and demonstrate to local education ministries how to support girls with disabilities.