Blog Posts
-
Bringing assistive technology to market in Kenya
Harrison KamauApril 28, 2026KenyaCase Studies and ReportsOn 14 April 2026, GDIHub convened an AT Commercialisation Workshop at Senses Hub in Kenya. The goal was blunt: to map the four systems that determine whether an assistive technology product ever reaches people living with speech impairments and the broader disability community or stalls somewhere between customs and a tender committee.
-
The ‘third wheel’: bringing sustainable e-mobility to wheelchair users in Nairobi
Annamae MuldowneyApril 14, 2026KenyaCase Studies and ReportsIn Kenya, 42% of people with disabilities face mobility challenges, yet the country's urban environments remain largely inaccessible. That’s around 400,000 citizens with mobility impairments tackling uneven roads, inadequate public transport, and inaccessible infrastructure, becoming further isolated. Addressing these gaps is crucial to creating an inclusive, accessible future in Nairobi. This is the mission we’re working to on our pilot project: Smart Mobility.
-
What We Learned Running Inclusive AI Innovation Sprints in Africa (And What We’d Do Differently Next Time)
Global Disability Innovation HubMarch 31, 2026Kenya, Ghana, UgandaCase Studies and ReportsOver the past year, we’ve been running a series of innovation sprints focused on inclusive AI for speech technologies in Africa — first in Ghana, then in Kenya, and now beginning in Uganda. The goal was simple to state, but harder to achieve: to support local innovators to build meaningful solutions for people living with speech impairments, using AI and speech technologies that actually reflect local languages, contexts, and lived realities. What we learned along the way wasn’t just about models, datasets, or apps. It was about how innovation actually unfolds when you put real people, real constraints, and real expectations into the room.
-
Inclusive and Resilient Addis Ababa – A Vision in the Making
Mikaela Patrick, Shivani Gupta, Bala NagendranMarch 30, 2026EthiopiaAT2030 ResourcesThe Global Disability Innovation Hub (GDI Hub) under the UK International Development-funded AT2030 programme and the Global Disability Fund’s (GDF) Resilient and Inclusive Cities Hub (RICH) has kicked off an inclusive city pilot in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Building on GDI Hub’s multi-year research in six cities globally on inclusive infrastructure, this two-year pilot project will further validate the gaps highlighted by ‘Inclusive Infrastructure and Cities: A Global Comparison Report’ and test recommendations from the ‘Delivering Inclusive Design in Cities: A Global Action Report’. This blog outlines an overview of Addis Ababa’s context, how we are building local engagement, and the way forward in understanding what shapes inclusive cities.
-
How Digital Skills Are Shifting Power for Women Living with Disabilities in Kisumu.
Harrison KamauMarch 30, 2026KenyaCase Studies and ReportsCaroline Oreo founded Semi Forum for Women with Disabilities to address precisely these gaps. The Forum brings together women living with various forms of disability from across the sub-county, organising them around shared advocacy, peer support, and critically a table banking model in which members pool savings of KES 3,000 per person to build collective financial capacity. Caroline also coordinates with affiliated disability self-help groups across multiple sub-locations, connecting members who would otherwise remain isolated.
-
How Digital Skills Are Rewriting the Story of Disability-Led Organisations in Rural Kenya: Paul Olan’g
Harrison KamauMarch 30, 2026KenyaOlan'g is the founder and Executive Director of the Kenya Disabled Information Advisory Centre (KEDIAC) a community-based organisation working with persons living with various forms of disability in Nyando Sub-County, Kisumu County. KEDIAC works across 25 individual members and 15 affiliated disability groups, reaching an estimated 600 people across the region.
-
Beyond access, beyond impact – what about ‘lifechanging’ AT?
Gifty Ayoka, Dr Ellie Cole, Professor Sylvia Esther Gyan, Dr Ernestina TettehMarch 26, 2026GhanaCase Studies and ReportsWhat happens when someone receives assistive technology (AT)? The impact of AT is often only thought of as changes in functioning. This impact, while clearly important, may not capture the whole story. Another question which is asked less often: does the AT help the person to do what matters most to them? Does it enable them to achieve their goals and aspirations? We are therefore asking a simple question: how does AT become lifechanging?
-
Bridging global and local innovation: Rethinking assistive technology in Nepal
Royal Academy of Engineering, Professor Nerrolyn Ramstrand, Professor Pramod ShresthaMarch 20, 2026NepalCase Studies and ReportsIn October 2025, the Academy hosted the AT2030 Frontiers Symposium event on community-led assistive technology. The event co-chairs, reflect on the experience and key learnings.
-
Nepal recognizes wheelchair users and people with disability to become a certified wheelchair technicians.
RAM CHANDRA THAPAMarch 4, 2026NepalCase Studies and ReportsA month long hybrid training on “Wheelchair Service Provision, Repair and Maintenance” is successfully completed in Kathmandu, Nepal. Today, representatives from the Ministry of Health and Population (Nepal), GDI Hub, ISWP, Motivation India, Centre for Disabled Children Assistance (CDCA), Sundar Dhoka Sathi Sewa (SDSS) wrapped up the training program with a closing ceremony event.
-
Beyond Ramps: Three Policy Frameworks for Disability-Inclusive Cities, Energy, and Climate Action
Bala NagendranFeb. 10, 2026GlobalThis blog summarizes key messages from Bala’s talk at Access & Opportunity Learning Lab, Session 4: Policy Frameworks to Foster Inclusion.
-
Co-Creating Inclusive and Resilient Cities: The Way Forward from COP-30 [Disability, Climate & Cities blog series]
Bala NagendranJan. 20, 2026This is the first in our new Disability, Climate & Cities blog series - reflecting on COP30 and upcoming climate research projects. Throughout our engagement across the summit, our message was clear: inclusive design and innovation as a mindset and methodology are key to implementing climate solutions that work for all, including people with disabilities, and co-creating resilient urban futures...
-
Hidden At Home: Can we Unlock Inclusive Education for Girls with Developmental Disabilities in Ethiopia
Dr Dilisha Patel, Rebecca Joskow, Regina BortoniDec. 30, 2025EthiopiaCase Studies and ReportsEthiopia has made strides in expanding access to girls’ education through national commitments to Education for All (EFA) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG4). However, access gaps for children with disabilities remain, as the Ethiopia’s Ministry of Education (MOE) estimated that only 11% of children with disabilities were enrolled in primary education (ESDP, 2021). While this figure refers broadly to children with disabilities, the challenges are particularly acute for girls with disabilities. Global evidence shows that “girls with disabilities are more likely to be out of school than both boys with disabilities and girls without disabilities. They are the most excluded group of learners due to multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination” (UNGEI, 2021).
-
Beyond Stigma: What happens when sport, assistive technology and storytelling meet
Jennie WongDec. 30, 2025GlobalThis article reflects on the Para Sport Against Stigma AT2030 programme, as global partners, experts, innovators and advocates joined together in London to share learnings. This piece explore how change rarely comes from a single breakthrough. More often, it comes from sustained attention, and from communities willing to sit with complexity and imagine systems differently.
-
More Than Games: Why Sport Must Matter in the Assistive Technology Agenda
Loughborough UniversityOct. 8, 2025From policy forums to playing fields, the Region 5 Youth Games exposed a persistent gap: if sport is left out of assistive technology systems—and AT left out of sport—then inclusion remains incomplete. This blog explores the relationship between AT and sport, and why it matters for inclusion.
-
Inclusive Climate Infrastructure: Turning Dialogue into Action – Climate Action!
Annamae MuldowneyOct. 6, 2025GlobalInclusive climate infrastructure means that the systems we build to adapt to climate change (energy, transport, green and blue spaces, communication networks) are planned and managed so that everyone, including people with disabilities, can use and benefit from them. It is not an add-on or a specialist track of climate action. It is about anticipating diverse needs from the outset and co-creating solutions with those most at risk.
-
IncluCity: Inclusive Cities Pilot to be launched in Addis Ababa
Shivani GuptaOct. 1, 2025EthiopiaThe Inclusive Design team at the GDI HUB is preparing to launch the first Inclusive City Pilot in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in collaboration with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and the RICH initiative by the Global Disability Fund. The pilot will build on our Global Action Report, which is the result of four years of research across six cities on three continents. It will test the implementation of the research findings and adapt the global learnings to local contexts.
-
IncluCITY Webinar Series
Sophie GlickmanAug. 15, 2025By 2050, 70% of the world’s population will live in cities, amplifying challenges such as climate impacts, informal settlements, and barriers to essential services for people with disabilities. To address these issues, the Global Disability Innovation Hub (GDI Hub) launched the IncluCITY webinar series, convening experts and community leaders to share practical, real-world strategies for building inclusive urban environments, drawing on insights from its Delivering Inclusive Design in Cities: A Global Action Report.
-
New Study Aims to Transform Eye Care Accessibility in Kenya and Beyond.
Harrison KamauAug. 8, 2025KenyaA new research study is underway to evaluate an innovative, low-cost eyeglass distribution model that could significantly expand access to vision care in underserved communities across Kenya and beyond. This study conducted in collaboration with Dot Glasses is part of the UK International Development-funded #AT2030Programme, delivered in partnership with Senses Hub. It aims to generate critical academic evidence to support the long-term scalability and sustainability of the Dot Glasses model.
-
Co-Creating Disability-Inclusive Climate Solutions
Bala Nagendran, Aishwarya SoniJuly 30, 2025We at the Global Disability Innovation Hub (GDI Hub) hosted a full-day in-person roundtable event on Monday, 23 June 2025 at University College London, Marshgate Campus, during the London Climate Action Week. The event was planned as part of our research project titled “Disability-inclusive Solutions for the Climate Crisis: Leveraging Urban, Infrastructure, and Assistive Technology Research” in partnership with the Bartlett Development Planning Unit, funded by the UK International Development (AT2030 Programme) and UCL Grand Challenges.
-
IncluCITY 4: Climate resilience and innovation for inclusive cities
Bala NagendranJuly 22, 2025GlobalIn this fourth webinar, we will be focusing on climate resilience and innovation for inclusive cities. This project focuses on the need and opportunities for disability inclusion within the climate adaptation, mitigation, resilience, and innovation narratives and actions. It situates inclusive cities within the larger just transition ambition
Next Page