Monthly updates on PENDA activities - June 2026

PLA-D “Tusubola programme” – together we can!

PLA-D brings together community-based groups of people with disabilities and supporters. They meet to collectively identify key problems in relation to health/healthcare access facing people with disabilities, develop and implement solutions to improve healthcare access, and evaluate their progress.

How do PLA-D groups work?

1. Identify: Group members collectively identify the key problems they face in accessing healthcare.
2. Plan: The group develops an action plan, designing solutions based on their own priorities and knowledge.
3. Act: Group members implement their solutions within the community.
4. Evaluate and share: Progress is reviewed and shared with the wider community to build broader support for action.

The PLA-D resources are now available on our website, including:

• PLA-D Facilitation Manual
• Designing  a PLA-D programme - recommendations (guide)
• Picture Cards - Lusoga
• Picture Cards - English
• PLA-D Reporting Forms
• Activity and output monitoring dashboard – available upon request
• PLA-D training presentations – available upon request

We are undertaking a large cluster-randomised controlled trial of PLA-D as part of PENDA. This month, we are completing the endline survey, which will run through July – watch this space for results of impact coming soon!

Learn more about the programme through this short film on our website! 

January 2026

We’re in the final year of PENDA, and the focus is on wrapping up evaluations and disseminating findings.

To kick off the year, we’re looking forward to hearing from collaborators, academics, policymakers and the wider community at the International Conference on Economic Inclusion for Persons with Disabilities on 18 and 19 January in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Organised jointly with colleagues at the BRAC Institute for Governance and Development (BIGD), the conference will explore evidence and good practices on “what works” to improve livelihoods and reduce poverty among people with disabilities

Read the full January 2026 newsletter

February 2026

Last month, the International Conference on Economic Inclusion for Persons with Disabilities was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh, led by our partners at the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD). With over 300 attendees across two days, the event brought together representatives from academia, government, civil society, development actors, funders and the media, including nearly 100 persons with disabilities. The event was covered in the Dhaka Tribune, among other local media outlets. A huge thank you and congratulations to the team at BIGD for a successful event!

In Nigeria, the cluster randomised controlled trial evaluating IFPLAN has now entered the endline data collection phase. IFPLAN is an inclusive sexual and reproductive health project aimed at reducing unmet need for family planning among women of reproductive age with disabilities. IFPLAN was implemented in Kaduna City, Nigeria by Inclusive Futures, with the evaluation led by ICED in partnership with OPM Nigeria.

OPM Nigeria currently has data collection teams in the field gathering endline data from women with and without disabilities on family planning outcomes. We are grateful to everyone involved for their continued commitment and look forward to sharing results as the study progresses.

Read the full February 2026 newsletter

March 2026

The final PENDA evaluation—a study evaluating the disability assessment, determination, and certification programme in Sierra Leone—has started.

Last week, we trained key informants and will proceed with a population-survey to further identify potentially edible people in the community. In March, we’ll run assessment centres to test how the newly developed CAT tool performs. 

Read the full March 2026 newsletter

April 2026

Cally Tann and Nat Scherer were in Rwanda last week to present findings from a cluster randomised trial evaluating the PDC/Baby Ubuntu programme, which provides early care and support for children under five at risk of developmental disabilities. The participatory event brought together caregivers, policymakers, non-governmental organisations, organisations of persons with disabilities and health providers to reflect on the findings and aid further analysis and write-up. Formal dissemination, including results from the process and economic evaluations, is planned for November 2026.
They were joined by Clelia Goodchild, a visual anthropologist and documentary filmmaker, who is developing a series of short films to capture the PDC/Baby Ubuntu trial and its impact. Here is a sneak peek of Clelia in action!

Cally and Nat also delivered refresher training with the trial enumeration team in preparation for a second endline data collection. Following the initial endline, control clusters have now received the intervention, and this next phase will assess longer-term outcomes.

Over in Sierra Leone, Sara Rotenberg and Islay Mactaggart successfully trained Impairment and Chiefdom Assessment Teams, who will now carry out 1,500 in-depth assessments of people with disabilities identified through key informants and a population survey in the coming weeks. These assessments will generate new evidence on how a community-based approach to disability identification and assessment compares with more medicalised models used for certification. We look forward to sharing these results as the final PENDA evaluation wraps up.

Read the full April 2026 newsletter

May 2026

In Uganda, preparations are underway for the Participatory Learning and Action for Disability (PLA-D) endline data collection. In-person training for the data collection team will begin this week in Iganga, and data collection is expected to start shortly after in Luuka district. The endline will provide important insights into the implementation and outcomes of the PLA-D approach, helping to strengthen the evidence on what works to support disability inclusion in practice. Project collaborators and partners also gathered in Luuka last week to donate 60 wheelchairs to community members with physical disabilities — read more in a media article covering the handover.

If you’re curious to see early insights from the project, you can watch a recording of our April webinar, where we screened the short film Tusobola: We Can. Following the screening, project partners reflected on what they are seeing so far in Luuka ahead of the final trial results.

Read the full May 2026 newsletter

2025 PENDA Activities

January 2025

This month we will be visiting Tanzania, to support the trial on how to reduce school-based violence for children with disabilities. We will also be going to Uganda, both to observe the community groups working to improve access to healthcare for people with disabilities, and to disseminate the findings from the Uganda Disability Inclusive Poverty Graduation programme.

February 2025

This month, we are in Uganda to observe the healthcare worker training on disability – which is a participatory course co-led by a healthcare worker and a person with disabilities. We are also visiting the community groups of people with disabilities established to identify and overcome barriers to accessing healthcare! A team is also in Rwanda this week, for work on the Ubuntu trial of early intervention for children at high risk of developmental disabilities.
 
We are holding the first dissemination events for our DIG Uganda project – including a webinar on February 19 (details below). Join us to find out more!

March 2025

At PENDA, we are not satisfied just with publications! We want to use our findings to inform policy and practice, and dissemination of research is key. For instance, the Disability Inclusive Ultra-Poor Graduation (DIG) evaluation findings were presented to a large group last month in Uganda, but also as a webinar (recording here). And BRAC – the main implementer – has published resources on the DIG approach here. Also, this month, we are partners AMREF are disseminating lessons from the PLA-D approach in Uganda at the Africa Health Agenda International Conference. And Andrew Ssemata has been invited to present at the Zero project on the healthcare worker training programme on disability developed and implemented in Uganda.   

New Resources

Our collaborator BRAC have produced a resources on the Disability Inclusive Graduation (DIG). This resource highlights considerations to be made when designing, implementing, and evaluating a Disability Inclusive Ultra-Poor Graduation Approach encompasses learnings taken from the Disability Inclusive Graduation (DIG) project in Uganda implemented by BRAC, Humanity and Inclusion, and the National Union of Women with Disabilities of Uganda (NUWODU).

Click here to read.

April 2025

This month, we are conducting the endline in Kenya for our trial evaluating the impact of a micro-entrepreneur scheme for people with disabilities, implemented by Light for the World as part of the DID-IF programme. This programme promotes the economic empowerment of people with disabilities through our “InBusiness” initiative. The initiative brings together disability inclusion advocates with public and private sector institutions to co-create sustainable ways of engaging people with disabilities in employment, business and education while creating shareable models of good practice.  

May 2025

The ’Missing Billion’ study in Luuka district, Uganda is using several approaches to improve access to healthcare for people with disabilities. At the heart are Participatory Learning and Action for Disability (PLA-D) groups, which are community-led platforms enabling people with disabilities to identify barriers to healthcare and co-create solutions. Alongside, the study implements inclusive healthcare system strengthening interventions, such as, training healthcare workers on disability-sensitive care and conducting accessibility audits in health facilities. This intervention is being evaluated by PENDA, using an RCT and process evaluation.

Last month, a high-level delegation from Uganda’s Ministry of Health, led by Dr. George Upenytho, Commissioner for Community Health Services visited the project.

“This work speaks directly to the vision of the Ministry in ensuring that no one is left behind in access to health services,” said Dr. Upenytho. “We do not want the name ‘The Missing Billion’ to end with this project or remain only as a research initiative. We should work together with MRC, Amref, and the Ministry of Health to scale up these interventions to other districts and improve inclusive healthcare access across the country.”

Mr. Mubangizi Andrew, Assistant Commissioner for Disability and Rehabilitation, echoed the sentiment.

“I am excited to see people with disabilities organized in groups, this is a testament to their collective strength and ability to work together towards improving their own health.”

The Ministry team also commended the study’s inclusive healthcare worker training and healthcare facility accessibility audits for being practical, participatory and mindset-shifting, qualities that are essential for real change within the health system.

June 2025

We are holding two dissemination events of PENDA findings this month – both attended by the legendary Mark Carew! First, he is off to India, to share the findings from the DE-WORM study – which shows that children with disabilities are missing out on school-based health interventions. Then, he is going to Bangladesh, together with Hannah, to present the findings from the Star Plus intervention implemented to support youths with disabilities into employment!

Congratulations to Clarisse Chancele – who successfully defended her PhD in Sociology at the University of Dschang, Cameroon. She was supported by the PENDA programme for doctoral students with disabilities! 

July 2025

We held two dissemination events of PENDA findings this month.

First, in India we disseminated the findings from the De-Worm study, which showed that school-based health interventions exclude children with disabilities, but that they can be reached with additional community outreach. 

Then, we were in Bangladesh disseminating findings from the Star Plus study, which showed that livelihood interventions work to improve employment engagement of youths with disabilities. Thank you to all the partners in the work, and the OPDs and other stakeholders who attended!

Our trial in Rwanda is evaluating the impact of early intervention to support children with developmental disabilities (“PDC/Baby Ubuntu”). The endline data collection for the trial is now underway! And the preliminary findings were presented several times last month at the European Academy Of Childhood-onset Disability (EACD) and International Alliance of Academies of Childhood Disability (IAACD) conference in Heidelberg, Germany (including pre-conference workshop and mini symposium!), the THRIVE conference in London, and the Neonatal Society Summer Conference!

Read up on all the above projects and all our other work on our website!

August 2025

Momentum is building across PENDA, with 11 evaluations up and running across the programme in collaboration with a wide range of partners. Last month, we held two field visits for PENDA projects.

Sara Rotenberg and Islay Mactaggart visited Sierra Leone for our new evaluation of approaches to identify people with disabilities for social protection enrolment, using more participatory and less clinical approaches.

Hannah Kuper visited Uganda to observe the ongoing Missing Billion Project, specifically the interventions being implemented by people with disabilities to improve their access to health services. It was wonderful to see the chickens being reared, tomatoes grown, and roads improved! Congratulations also to MRC Uganda’s Abdmagidu Menya who presented to NIHR on how Community Engagement activities were undertaken within this project.

September 2025

PENDA will wrap up by the end 2026, so we are finishing up our evaluations and will focus heavily on disseminating our findings in the coming year.

One of the interventions that we are evaluating is the InBusiness programme in Kenya, implemented by Light for the World. The project is working with entrepreneurs with disabilities to start their own business. Watch this video by Light for the World Kenya to learn more about Legei’s Journey to Financial Independence through Inclusive Business — and watch this space for our dissemination of findings starting towards the end of this year!

Another trial evaluated the impact of the Disability Inclusive Poverty Graduation Programme in Northern Uganda. We have posted the findings of the short-term economic impact as a working paper at Trinity Economic Papers, and the impacts on social participation and health outcomes are online.

We are also planning our new International Conference on Economic Inclusion for Persons with Disabilities, which will be held on 18 and 19 January 2026 in Dhaka, Bangladesh, together with the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD). Jointly organised by ICED and the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), the conference will bring together academics and practitioners working on disability and economic inclusion, as well as people with disabilities and their representative organisations, policymakers, and donors. Call for abstracts and registrations will be circulated later in September.  

October 2025

Sarah Marks will be in Nigeria this month to collect data for the IFPLAN trial, which aims to promote inclusive sexual and reproductive health and rights for women with disabilities in Kaduna city, Nigeria.

A new blog by Inclusive Futures (UK aid’s flagship disability inclusion initiative, led by Sightsavers and the International Disability Alliance) reflects on progress made and the threats facing disability inclusive development. Robust evidence, including findings from PENDA’s randomised controlled trials, shows that when disabled people have equal access to opportunities and services, they achieve outcomes on par with their peers. Generating and sharing this type of high-quality evidence is essential to inform policy and sustain momentum towards disability inclusive development.

November 2025

Through PENDA, we continue to generate evidence on “what works” to reduce poverty among people with disabilities through economic inclusion. The International Conference on Economic Inclusion for Persons with Disabilities, organised jointly with BIGD, will take place on 18 and 19 January 2026 in Dhaka. Abstract submissions are now open until 15 November, with registration and travel bursary details to follow later this month.

Last month, Sarah Marks visited Nigeria to complete data collection for the IFPLAN trial, a disability inclusive intervention aiming to increase family planning access for women with disabilities. While preparations are underway for the endline data collection, Sarah will present a poster on the baseline findings from the trial at the International Conference on Family Planning in Bogota, Colombia on 6 November.

The In-Business programme in Kenya is now disseminating findings back to participants, led by Light for the World Kenya through the Inclusive Futures consortium. Read an update on how the programme has benefitted microentrepreneurs with disabilities.

December 2025

In Nigeria, Sightsavers and partners completed implementation of the IFPLAN project interventions in late October. Dissemination of early findings is ongoing, with Sarah Marks presenting baseline results at the International Conference on Family Planning in Bogota, Colombia. Preparations are now underway for the endline survey: virtual training for data collectors began last month, followed by in-person training this week.

The PLA-D trial in Uganda is also moving into its final stages. The last meeting of the PLA-D cycle takes place this month and endline process evaluation data collection is in progress. We were pleased to welcome Gertrude Namazzi from Makerere University to LSHTM in late November for a baseline writing and endline planning workshop.

We were also in Laos for the cash-plus programme to deliver endline training and collect data, accompanied by colleagues from the UK Foreign Commonwealth Development Office. While in Vientiane, Mark Carew, Nathaniel Scherer and PENDA collaborators from the Lao Tropical and Public Health Institute presented at the 10th Adolescent Research Day conference, sharing findings from the baseline survey.

As we approach the final year of PENDA, the focus turns to maximising impact and supporting policy use of the evidence generated.

2024 PENDA activities 

January 

We now have 11 evaluations up and running, across the PENDA programme, working with a wide range of partners. Find out more information from the PENDA site on our research page:

In the past month, two further protocols from our studies have been published, describing in full the planned impact evaluations of a family planning programme for women with disabilities in Nigeria, and a micro-entrepreneur scheme for people with disabilities in Kenya. We are currently deep into planning for our forthcoming baseline studies in Rwanda and Uganda!

February 

This month, we are preparing to conduct the endline of the impact evaluation of the STAR+ programme – a disability-targeted livelihood intervention in Bangladesh. We are also preparing for the baseline of the impact evaluation of the Baby Ubuntu in Rwanda – a programme of early assessment, care and support for children at risk of developmental disabilities.

April

Last month, we started data collection for the baseline of the impact evaluation of the Baby Ubuntu in Rwanda – a programme of early assessment, care and support for children at risk of developmental disabilities. The research is conducted in collaboration with Lifetime and Partners in Health. A team of 17 data collectors are working to sample 1,400 children across three districts, Burera, Kamonyi, Gakenke.
 
We held a webinar to disseminate the findings from the process evaluation of the Hygiene and Behaviour Change Consortium – established to assess the inclusion of people with disabilities and older people in the COVID-19 response. Catch the short film summarising the findings here.

Finally, Mark Carew leads the process evaluation work across the PENDA portfolio. He has now been appointed as Co-Theme Lead for Process Evaluation for the LSHTM Centre for Evaluation. It is an exciting opportunity to mainstream disability further within LSHTM research!

June

Last month, we started the fieldwork for the baseline of our new study in rural Uganda. It is an impact evaluation of a community-based participatory group intervention to improve access to healthcare for people with disabilities. The baseline study in Rwanda is going well, for the evaluation of interventions to support the needs of young children with developmental disabilities and their families. We have completed the endline of our interventions in Bangladesh (inclusive employment) and Uganda (inclusive poverty graduation programme), working with BIGD in Bangladesh, and hope to share the results soon!  

July

Last month, fieldwork is still ongoing for the baseline of our new studies in Uganda and Rwanda. We are busy disseminating results, including through the workshops in Nigeria and planned conference in India (read about it above!). We are also planning two further trials to get the total number up to 13 – watch this space for more information!

August

In news this month…. eleven trial baselines down and two to go! We are delighted that we have finished the baseline for our randomised controlled trial in Rwanda, and are almost there in Uganda! Now we are having the fun job of analysing the data, and finding out what works to promote disability inclusive development!

September

In news this month…. We are wrapping up the baseline of our study in Uganda, where we are aiming to identify up to 5000 people with disabilities, including 2000 for an in-depth study, to investigate what works to improve access to healthcare. We are also busy analysing the data on the completed trials – so watch this space for forthcoming results!

Our next Penda-supported conference is the 8^th International Conference on Disability and Development – “Strengthening Research and Evidence on Disability” in Hyderabad, India, 23-24 November, 2024. Registration is open until 31 October, and abstract submission until 30 September. More information here. 

October

In news this month…. Training is complete and data collection is starting soon for a new PENDA trial. This trial will explore whether a mainstream primary school-based violence prevention intervention in Morogoro in Eastern Tanzania is also effective for children with disabilities. This is an important topic as evidence shows that children with disabilities are 3-4 times as likely to experience violence compared to children without disabilities, however there is a lack of information on what works to prevent violence amongst children with disabilities. For instance, a recently completed systematic review by our group (led by Emily Eldred) found of 160 trials of school-based violence programmes globally, but only 3 disaggregated impacts by disability.
 
Our next Penda-supported conference is the 8^th International Conference on Disability and Development – “Strengthening Research and Evidence on Disability” in Hyderabad, India, 23-24 November, 2024. Registration is open until 31 October, and abstract submission until 30 September. More information here and register here.

November

In news this month… We will complete endline data collection for the Tanzania violence trial at the end of this month. The study evaluates the impact of a mainstream school-based violence prevention intervention for children with disabilities, and we are excited to start the analysis in 2025.
 
Andrew Ssemata presented on “Utilising community-based participatory learning and action to improve healthcare access for people with disabilities: Lessons from a cluster-randomized controlled trial in Luuka district, Uganda” at the LSHTM trials day in Uganda.
 
Our next Penda-supported conference is the 8^th International Conference on Disability and Development – “Strengthening Research and Evidence on Disability” in Hyderabad, India, 23-24 November, 2024. More information here.

December

FAO International Day of Persons with Disabilities event

On the 3rd December, Morgon Banks participated in an FAO event on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

The FAO, the Permanent Representation of the United Kingdom, Permanent Representation of Australia and the Permanent Representation of New Zealand, hosted the event to explore the challenges and opportunities associated with efforts to achieve disability-inclusive agrifood systems transformation, and persons with disabilities in the South-West Pacific Region.

Click to watch the full recording of the session (Morgon's talk starts from 00:44:22).

International Conference on Disability and Development

We are delighted at the success of our International Conference on Disability and Development with PRASHO in India. There were around 100 delegates, presenting fantastic talks, and it was featured in the Indian press.

2023 PENDA activities

January 2023

• We are super excited to be co-hosting a conference with Stellenbosch University in May 2023. Details and call for abstract above!
• Fieldwork is almost complete for the baseline of the evaluation in Nigeria to assess the impact of an inclusive family planning programme in the lives of women with disabilities.
• Read on for new key publications from PENDA

March 2023

• We are super excited to be co-hosting a conference with Stellenbosch University in May 2023. Details and call for abstract above!
• Fieldwork is underway in Kenya this month to evaluate the effectiveness of a livelihood programme to support micro-entrepreneurs.
• We are planning for our final follow up of the disability inclusive poverty graduation programme in Uganda later in the summer.

May 2023

• Fieldwork finished in Kenya this month to evaluate the effectiveness of a livelihood programme to support micro-entrepreneurs.
• We are poised to start training in Laos for the impact evaluation of a cash-transfer programme for children with disabilities, in collaboration with UNICEF and the Laos School of Public Health
• The process evaluation has been complete of the “Star Plus” inclusive livelihood programme in Bangladesh
• We are super excited to be co-hosting a conference with Stellenbosch University in May 2023. The website for the conference is live: http://stellenboschdisabilityresearch.com/ 

July 2023

• Fieldwork underway in Laos for the impact evaluation of a cash-transfer programme for children with disabilities, in collaboration with UNICEF and the Laos School of Public Health.
• Baby Ubuntu is a programme to establish support groups for caregivers of young children with neurodevelopmental disabilities. This initiative will be implemented in Rwanda (with Partners in Health), embedded within a case finding exercise. We will evaluate the impact of the intervention through the PENDA programme – with baseline fieldwork due to commence towards the end of this year.
• Read the latest ICED newsletter for papers published this month from PENDA!

November 2023

• Access of children with disabilities to school-based interventions: an RCT in Malawi and India
• Impact of a disability-targeted livelihoods programme in Bangladesh: the STAR+ programme
• Disability Inclusive Graduation: a cluster-randomised trial in Uganda
• Disability Inclusive Graduation: a cluster-randomised trial in Bangladesh
• Improving access to family planning in Kaduna City, Nigeria: a cluster-randomised trial
• Impact evaluation of the InBusiness programme to improve the economic empowerment of microentrepreneurs with disabilities in Kenya
• Evaluation of a programme of early assessment, care and support for children at risk of developmental disabilities in Rwanda
• Impact evaluation of a pilot cash transfer programme for households of children with disabilities in Lao PDR
• Hygiene and Behaviour Change: inclusion of people with disabilities and older people in the COVID-19 response
• Improving access to healthcare for people with disabilities in Uganda: A cluster-randomised trial
• Improving access to education for children with disabilities in Bangladesh: an impact evaluation

December 2023

In December, our spotlight was on the evaluation of the programme Hygiene and Behaviour Change: Inclusion of people with disabilities and older people in the COVID-19 response. The evaluation was undertaken by icddrb in Bangladesh, and they worked across five countries, including in depth research in Bangladesh. They found that older people and people with disabilities were often left out of pandemic response, but identified learnings and entry points to avoid this situation in the future. Recent publications, including the final publication are as follows:

• A report on the assessment of WASH and incontinence situation of people with disabilities and older people in Bangladesh
• Hygiene Hub. Summary report on considering disability in COVID-19 hygiene programmes (2020) - DEP (disabilityevidence.org)
• ​​COVID-19 Inclusive WASH Checklist: How can organisations assess whether COVID-19 response programmes are inclusive? | COVID-19 Hygiene Hub Resources.
• Journal article: The inclusion of disability and aging in COVID-19 hygiene behaviour change interventions across LMICs
• Evaluation of Hygiene and Behaviour Change Coalition for COVID-19 Prevention: Inclusion of Disability and Ageing

The final workshop was held in November, and there were more than 15 reports in the national press. Well done to the team!

2022 PENDA activities 

January 2022

Fieldwork is underway in Bangladesh to evaluate the impact of an inclusive education programme. This research has been commissioned out and is led by BRAC institute of governance and development (BIGD), and the University of Cambridge

We are about to start the baseline for a second impact evaluation in Bangladesh, to evaluate an inclusive livelihoods programme called STAR Plus, again working with BIGD.

Both the interventions are implemented through DIDIF – the FCDO funded consortium led by Sightsavers.

March 2022

We had a fabulous visit to Uganda in February – the first overseas trip in two years – to meet with partners on the impact evaluation of the Disability-Inclusive Poverty Graduation Programme. Fieldwork is underway of the baseline of two impact evaluations in Bangladesh (an inclusive education programme and an inclusive livelihood programme).

All three interventions are implemented through DIDIF – the FCDO funded consortium led by Sightsavers.

April 2022

We were busy last month running the 6^th international conference on disability and development: Disability and COVID-19. We were joined by more than 300 delegates, to learn from around 100 contributions about Disability and COVID-19. Access all the information here shortly.

July 2022

• Our new Campbell review is out – a systematic review of effectiveness of interventions to improve livelihood outcomes for people with disabilities in LMICs.
• Fieldwork is underway in Uganda for the follow-up of our trial to assess whether Poverty Graduation schemes also work for people with disabilities!
• We are planning two more trials to start in the next few months – an assessment of how to improve family planning coverage for women with disabilities in Nigeria, and a trial of a livelihood support programme in Kenya.
• Our three PENDA PhDs are continuing to make great progress. Inspired by their success we have expanded the scheme and we are looking forward to welcoming two more PhD students from September! Details to follow soon…

September 2022

• The baseline is now complete for the Star Plus randomised controlled trial in Bangladesh, which investigates whether an inclusive livelihood programme is feasible and effective.
• The endline is now complete for the randomised controlled trial in Uganda, investigating the impact of Disability-inclusive poverty graduation.
• PENDA is supporting a work experience programme for researchers with disabilities at MRC Uganda

October 2022

• We are preparing the intervention on improving access to healthcare for people with disabilities in Uganda, through holding two workshops this month. One of the PENDA impact evaluations will focus on this intervention.
• We are getting ready for the baseline fieldwork in Nigeria for the impact evaluation of an inclusive Sexual Health Programme, led by Sightsavers and partners.
• The three PENDA PhD students will be visiting ICED later this month to work together and get support on their research.

November 2022

• We are preparing to start fieldwork next month for our trial on inclusive SRH services in Nigeria
• *** Save the date *** We are super excited to be co-hosting a conference with Stellenbosch University in May 2023. Details and call for abstract to follow!
• The three PENDA PhD students are visiting ICED later this months to work together and get support on their research.

December 2022

• We are preparing to start fieldwork next month for our trial on inclusive SRH services in Nigeria
• **** Save the date **** We are super excited to be co-hosting a conference with Stellenbosch University in May 2023. Details and call for abstract to follow!
• The three PENDA PhD students are visiting ICED later this months to work together and get support on their research.

2021 PENDA activities

February 2021

People

• Almost 2,000 people registered for the first run of our MOOC - “Global Disability: Research and Evidence”. The next round will be in February/March - sign up here, and please share through your networks!
• The three PENDA PhD students are continuing to make good progress – it is great to have them on board.

Knowledge

• Icddr,b (Bangladesh) have been selected to lead the evaluation of the inclusion of people with disabilities in the Hygiene and Behaviour Change investment of FCDO/Unilever. We are excited to partner with them!
• Also, BIGD (Bangladesh) and the University of Cambridge have started preparing for the impact evaluation of an inclusive education programme in Bangladesh.

Tools

• New briefs are available on the Disability Evidence Portal including on measuring disability in research related to COVID-19 response, and ensuring children with disabilities are not bullied in school. Be in touch if you want to help put together an evidence brief!

March 2021

People

• The three PENDA PhD students are joining the LSHTM Module on Global Disability and Health, and stimulating much mutual learning. Welcome!

Knowledge

• Jane Wilbur and Lorraine Wapling presented the Disability and Inclusion in COVID-19 Behaviour Change Programmes webinar to FCDO and HBCC Grantees this week, hosted by FCDO’s CV19 Behaviour Change Forum, the COVID-19 Hygiene Hub and Unilever and co-led by FCDO’s Disability Inclusion team. PENDA have carried out a desk review of HBCC grantee projects to explore how people with disabilities, older adults and their caregivers are included in these and to suggest ways to make these projects more inclusive. Having systematically reviewed 416 documents submitted to FCDO and Unilever by 21 grantees, they identified key learning and recommendations about how to enhance the inclusion of people with disabilities, older adults and their caregivers in COVID-19 interventions. They also shared good practice examples from HBCC grantees to facilitate learning. They are also providing feedback to the HBCC management team.

Tools

• Four Campbell reviews are underway – assessing the evidence for effectiveness of interventions to improve education, livelihood, social inclusion and empowerment outcomes for people with disabilities. Protocols are in submission.

April 2021

People

• Two of PENDA PhD students (Florence and Queen) and Tom Shakespeare co-authored the commentary “Triple jeopardy: disabled people and the COVID-19 pandemic” for the Lancet.
• All three PENDA PhD students completed the LSHTM MSc module on “Global Disability and Health"

Knowledge

• We are developing four Campbell reviews of how to improve outcomes for people with disabilities in low and middle income settings (with respect to education, livelihood, social inclusion and empowerment). The first on livelihood is submitted this month, and we hope will be available soon.

Tools

• The next run of the MOOC Global Disability: Evidence and Research starts May 3. 

May 2021

People

• The second run of our MOOC on Global Disability: Research and Evidence, starts this week. 2,270 people have enrolled on this course so far!

Knowledge

• Fieldwork is poised to start by our partner icddr-b on the inclusion of people with disabilities in the Hygiene and Behaviour Change Consortium response to COVID-19, funded by FCDO and Unilever.

Tools

• Check out the new evidence briefs on the Disability Evidence Portal! New ones on overcoming barriers to accessing rehabilitation and the benefits of inclusive education for children without disabilities.

June 2021

People

• This month we welcome Daniel Dominey on an internship to the PENDA team. He will be sharpening his research skills by conducting large scale data analyses on the healthcare needs of people with disabilities.
• The run of our MOOC ON “Global Disability: Evidence and Research” has completed with 225 learners joining

Knowledge

• Lorraine Wapling and Jane Wilbur conducted a review of Hygiene and Behaviour Change Coalition (HBCC) funded projects, to assess whether they were inclusive of older people and people with disabilities. They have launched a learning brief and report that summarise lessons learned about how COVID-19 prevention programmes can be inclusive of people with disabilities, older adults, and caregivers. They also includes recommendations for organisations that can be applied in all WASH programmes, not just in COVID-19 prevention interventions. 

Tools

• As part of the HBCC evaluation, Jane and Lorraine produced a COVID-19 inclusive WASH checklist. Developed for practitioners, it aims to support the inclusion of people with disabilities, older adults and caregivers in COVID-19 WASH interventions and can be applied when planning, designing, monitoring and evaluating WASH programmes.

July 2021

People

• This month we welcome Daniel Dominey on an internship to the PENDA team. He will be sharpening his research skills by conducting large scale data analyses on the healthcare needs of people with disabilities.
• The run of our MOOC ON “Global Disability: Evidence and Research” has completed with 225 learners joining

Knowledge

• Lorraine Wapling and Jane Wilbur conducted a review of Hygiene and Behaviour Change Coalition (HBCC) funded projects, to assess whether they were inclusive of older people and people with disabilities. They have launched a learning brief and report that summarise lessons learned about how COVID-19 prevention programmes can be inclusive of people with disabilities, older adults, and caregivers. They also includes recommendations for organisations that can be applied in all WASH programmes, not just in COVID-19 prevention interventions.

Tool

• As part of the HBCC evaluation, Jane and Lorraine produced a COVID-19 inclusive WASH checklist. Developed for practitioners, it aims to support the inclusion of people with disabilities, older adults and caregivers in COVID-19 WASH interventions and can be applied when planning, designing, monitoring and evaluating WASH programmes.

September 2021

We are undertaking four Campbell reviews, to consolidate what works for improving outcomes of people with disabilities in terms of education, social inclusion, empowerment and livelihood. This month, two protocols have been published:

• Effectiveness of interventions for improving livelihoods for people with disabilities in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review.
• Effectiveness of interventions for improving social inclusion for people with disabilities in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review.

We have now recruited three PENDA PhD students, who are all African scholars with disabilities. They are all making great progress in their research.

October 2021

We are preparing for fieldwork to collect baseline data for two impact evaluations. The first, undertaken by LSHTM and BIGD is to evaluate the impact of an inclusive livelihood programme in Bangladesh. The second, led by BIGD and Cambridge university is to evaluate the impact of inclusive education in Bangladesh. Both programmes are part of the Inclusive Futures consortium, led by Sightsavers.

December 2021

We are committed to participatory approaches in all we do. We have shared our learning across the group in the publication this month on “Participatory Research in Disability in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: What have we Learnt and what Should we Do?” in the Scandinavian Journal of Disability. We will use these best practices in our PENDA trials.
 
We are progressing with our Campbell reviews. The protocols for the three systematic reviews on effectiveness of interventions for improving educational, livelihood and social inclusion outcomes for people with disabilities in low- and middle-income countries are now published.
 
The new NIHR funded project on “Improving access to healthcare for disabled people in Uganda” will use participatory methods to develop and pilot-test a community-based intervention. A full PENDA randomised controlled trial will then be undertaken to assess whether it is effective at reducing mortality.

2020 PENDA activities

December

People

• We’re excited to launch our new free MOOC - “Global Disability: Research and Evidence” – which will start on 30^th November. We welcome learners who wants learn more and contribute towards research on disability. Sign up here, and please share through your networks!

Knowledge

• Research in Uganda is underway, with baseline fieldwork almost completed for our evaluation of the UKAID funded Ultra-Poor Graduation programme for people with disabilities, implemented by BRAC, HI and other partners.
• The review of the inclusion of people with disabilities in the Hygiene and Behaviour Change investment of FCDO/Unilever is now complete, with constructive feedback given to all projects.

Tools

• Take a look at the Disability Evidence Portal which includes evidence briefs about COVID and other thematic areas impacting the lives of people with disabilities. The Portal now has two briefs in Spanish, courtesy of our friends at CBM.

November

People

• We’re excited to launch our new free MOOC - “Global Disability: Research and Evidence” – which will start on 30^th November. We welcome learners who wants learn more and contribute towards research on disability. Sign up here, and please share through your networks!

Knowledge

• We are in the process of shortlisting for our second grant for the evaluation of hygiene and behaviour change COVID-19 projects. More news to follow later in the year.
• Research in Uganda is due to start shortly to evaluate the UKAID funded Ultra-Poor Graduation programme for people with disabilities.

Tools

• Take a look at the Disability Evidence Portal which includes evidence briefs about COVID and other thematic areas impacting the lives of people with disabilities. The Portal now has two briefs in Spanish, courtesy of our friends at CBM.

September/October

People

• We are putting the finishing touches onto our MOOC on “Global Disability: Research and Evidence” which aims to build capacity of people to contribute towards research on disability. It will launch during the week of Dec 3. It is a three week course, with 2-4 learning hours per week. Sign up here, and please share through your networks!

Knowledge

• We have launched our second commissioning bid for evaluation of hygiene and behaviour change COVID-19 projects. Deadline is October 7. More information here.

Tools

• The Disability Evidence Portal is live. It includes two new briefs about COVID: “How can we measure disability in research related to the COVID-19 response?” and “How can social protection responses to COVID-19 be made disability inclusive?” Additionally, a brief on “Considering disability and ageing in COVID-19 hygiene promotion programmes” has been written for the HygieneHub.

August

People

• We have now selected Stephene Maende from Kenya as the third candidate in our PENDA Africa PhD scheme. He has background in research, strategic planning, policy analysis and impact evaluation of policy interventions/programmes, holds a master of Arts Economics degree from the University of Nairobi, bachelor of Arts from Kenyatta University, certificate in Evaluation of Public Policy from Laval University (Canada) and basic accounting skills (CPA I) from KASNEB. Welcome Stephene.

Knowledge

• Three papers are now online on “Are current approaches to poverty measurement disability-inclusive?” (by Morgon Banks),  “Disability Inclusion Measures” (by Tom Shakespeare et al) and “Rapid Evidence Assessment of what works to improve livelihood outcomes for people with disabilities in low and middle income countries” (by Hannah Kuper et al).

Tools

• The Disability Evidence Portal is live, and Tom Shakespeare wrote a blog about it. It includes two new briefs about COVID: “What are the key considerations for including people with disabilities in COVID-19 hygiene promotion programmes”  and “What do we know about how to support mental health and wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic from past infectious disease epidemics?”

July

People

• Our COVID-global project is ongoing, collecting mostly qualitative, but also quantitative data, on the experiences of people with disabilities during COVID-19 in Uganda, Zambia, Ghana, India, Bangladesh and the UK.
• We are preparing for the baseline of our impact evaluation, with partners, in Uganda on the effectiveness of the Poverty Graduation Programme that is inclusive of people with disabilities.

Knowledge

• PENDA webinar for DFID discussed how to make the COVID-19 response disability-inclusive (webinar here) and commentary to Wellcome Open to learn from the UK experience (paper here).

Tools

• The Disability Evidence Portal is live, and Tom Shakespeare wrote a blog about it. Campbell reviews are underway to assess what works to promote education, livelihood, social inclusion and empowerment for people with disabilities.
• The application has been launched for the third PENDA PhD programme - In Kenya. Application here, deadline June 21.

June

People

• The application has been launched for the third PENDA PhD programme - In Kenya. Application here, deadline June 21.

Knowledge

• A PENDA webinar for FCDO discussed how to make the COVID-19 response disability-inclusive (webinar here) and commentary to Wellcome Open to learn from the UK experience (paper here).

Tools

• The Disability Evidence Portal is live, and Tom Shakespeare wrote a blog about it.
• Campbell reviews are underway to assess what works to promote education, livelihood, social inclusion and empowerment for people with disabilities.

May

People

• The application has been launched for the third PENDA PhD programme in Kenya. Application here – deadline May 24.

Knowledge

• A PENDA webinar for FCDO discussed how to make the COVID-19 response disability-inclusive (webinar here) and commentary to Wellcome Open to learn from the UK experience (paper here).
• Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have had to delay our fieldwork on impact evaluations. We are in discussion with DFID on including new COVID and disability-related research in the meantime.

Tool

• The Disability Evidence Portal is live, and Tom Shakespeare wrote a blog about it.
• Campbell reviews are underway to assess what works to promote education, livelihood, social inclusion and empowerment for people with disabilities.

April

People

• The two PhD students have been selected, and are starting to prepare their research plans.

Knowledge

• Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have had to delay our fieldwork on impact evaluations. We are in discussion with FCDO on including new COVID and disability-related research in the meantime.

Tools

• There has been a soft launch of the evidence portal. Please share your feedback with us!

March

People

• We have recruited two PhD students, who are women with disabilities from Zambia and Uganda. Welcome to the PENDA team Queen and Florence!

Knowledge

• We have short-listed the teams for the impact evaluation that we are commissioning out, and are planning a second open competition for later in 2020.
• We are busy finalising the protocol for the impact evaluation of the Disability Inclusive Poverty Graduation Programme in Uganda, together with BRAC and HI.
• We are developing the methods for the impact evaluation of the STAR programme for inclusive livelihood in Bangladesh, together with BIGD and DID partners.
• We are wrapping up fieldwork for the school inclusion study in India and Malawi, including the qualitative fieldwork.

Tools

• As mentioned above, we have started to plan for a MOOC on disability research methods.
• The soft launch of the evidence portal is imminent!

February

• Tom Shakespeare has completed visits to Bangladesh and India in January, where he trained researchers about conducting disability-focussed studies.
• Hannah and Calum Davey travelled to Uganda to start planning for an impact evaluation on a poverty graduation programme, in collaboration with BRAC and HI.
• We have recruited our first PhD student in Uganda, and are short-listing candidates for Zambia.
• We are wrapping up fieldwork for the school inclusion study in India and Malawi.
• We are finalising the first version of the Evidence Portal, to guide policy makers on disability-inclusive programmes. 

January 

• Plans of visiting India and Bangladesh, where Tom Shakespeare is conducting training of researchers on disability, and we are furthering our plans for impact evaluation  
• We are preparing to launch our first commissioning project (see above for details)  
• We are interviewing people with disabilities in Uganda to join our PhD programme, and eagerly awaiting the applications from candidates in Zambia.
• Planning webinar series for launch in early 2020.

2019 PENDA activities

December

• We are launching our PhD scheme in Zambia and Uganda.
• We are finalising the plans for the impact evaluations.
• We are making plans to visit India and Bangladesh in January.
• We are collaborating with partners on ongoing fieldwork in India and Malawi within the DeWorm Study.
• We are planning webinar series for launch in early 2020.

November

• Tom Shakespeare and Hannah Kuper visited India to plan for the DeWorm Sub-Study on the inclusion of children with disabilities in school-based health care programmes.
• Calum Davey and Morgon Banks visited Bangladesh to start discussions on the impact evaluation of an informal employment scheme for people with disabilities, which is part of FCDO’s DID project.
• Fieldwork is ongoing in India and Malawi within the DeWorm Study.
• We are launching application to our PhD scheme for researchers with disabilities in Kenya, Zambia and Uganda.

Work is progressing well on development of the Evidence Portal on Disability Inclusive Development!

October

• This month, we will be launching applications to our PhD scheme for researchers with disabilities in Kenya, Zambia and Uganda.
• We will also be starting our webinar series this month. Watch this space!
• Last month, Tom Shakespeare and Hannah Kuper visited Malawi to conduct a joint training of DPO members and researchers on research about disability. We also finalised our plans for our study about whether school-based health programmes exclude children with disabilities – underway in Malawi and India.
• We will be visiting India and Bangladesh to prepare for future impact evaluations on school-based health programmes, informal employment and inclusive education.

Still time to register for the PENDA Conference at LSHTM on November 5-6, 2019 on “Evidence in Disability Inclusive Development”, co-hosted with Sightsavers.

September

• Information is now available about our study to assess whether school-based health programmes exclude children with disabilities – underway in Malawi and India.
• As part of PENDA, we are setting up a working group on “Measuring Inclusion” to share ideas and expertise. If you are interested in participating in the working group, please email Islay Mactaggart for more information.
• Still time to register for the PENDA Conference at LSHTM on November 5-6, 2019 on “Evidence in Disability Inclusive Development”, co-hosted with Sightsavers.

August

People

• We are almost ready to start recruiting for our PhD programme for people with disabilities from African Countries. We will circulate the advert later this summer – please share far and wide!

Knowledge

• Our background paper is now “live”,  explaining our approach to disability inclusion and evaluation.
• Tom Shakespeare has been working with FCDO as a special advisor on their report: “FCDO’s work on disability-inclusive development".
• We have started to make plans to develop an Evidence Portal, where we will display evidence related to disability-inclusive development in a format that is useful for policy and decision makers.
• We are getting ready for our conference in November!

Tools

• We are reviewing tools available to measure participation of people with disabilities, and accessibility of infrastructure, to be used throughout our projects.

July

People

• We are putting the finishing touches onto our PhD programme for people with disabilities from African Countries. We will circulate the advert later this summer – please share far and wide

Knowledge

• We have started our first Impact Evaluation in Malawi! This study explores whether children with disabilities are excluded from school-based, in comparison to community-based, health programmes. We will repeat the same study in India. We will also investigate barriers and facilitators to inclusion of school among children with disabilities, using qualitative and quantitative methods.
• We will be commissioning out 4 impact evaluations to be conducted by external groups. We are aiming to launch the first call later this summer.

Tools

• In the coming years, we will work on developing and refining tools in four areas:– to measure attitudes, accessibility, participation and multi-dimensional poverty. Watch this space!