In Asia and the Pacific, 750 million men,women and children, accounting for approximately 16 per cent of the total population in the region, live with some form of disability. The number is expected to rise over the next decades as a combined effect of population ageing, chronic health conditions and other factors. Despite this substantial figure, individuals with disabilities often find themselves unnoticed, unheard, and uncounted, contributing to their marginalization. The ability of governments in Asia and the Pacific to implement public policies and programmes that promote inclusion and address the barriers facing persons with disabilities, is shaped by the availability of high-quality and disaggregated data.

While current data collection tools and methodologies provide valuable insights, they often face several limitations including fixed question sets, small samples and a narrow focus. As a result, disability data often fail to reflect the complexity and diversity of disability, leading to the exclusion of vulnerable populations and hindering a comprehensive understanding of the disability landscape. To establish true inclusion, a robust disability data system is vital. This system should assist in identifying policy needs, policy development, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. To ensure its efficacy, a degree of harmonization is crucial. This harmonization can be achieved through a concise set of shared questions integrated into data tools, covering the spectrum of information essential for their diverse aims.

The aim of this policy brief is to provide insights and recommendations on the structuring of a disability data system that effectively serves multiple purposes. This system is intended to capture the intricate nature of disabilities and offer data for monitoring populations, designing and implementing inclusive policies and programmes. The policy brief emphasizes the need for coherent data collection methods across various sources and instruments. By advocating for a common core set of questions to identify individuals with disabilities, the brief seeks to enhance data consistency, facilitate comparisons between data sources, and enable more accurate policy formulation and assessment. The overarching goal is to create a comprehensive disability data framework that contributes to a more inclusive society by addressing the diverse needs and challenges faced by persons with disabilities.