Three Agency Disability Rights Leaders Unpack USAID's New Disability Policy

To mark International Day of Persons with Disabilities today, we spoke with Katherine Guernsey, Agency Disability Rights Coordinator; Donald Steinberg, former Expert Advisor to the USAID Administrator; and Joshua Josa, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Strategist, who discuss the objectives of the 2024 USAID Disability Policy, its implementation, and their perspectives on disability.    

USAID recently launched an updated Disability Policy. How does the 2024 “Nothing Without Us: USAID Disability Policy” better position USAID to address challenges and opportunities for persons with disabilities, and why is this important?

Katherine Guernsey: We’re proud that USAID was one of the first development agencies in the world to adopt a policy on disability and development in 1997. However, after 20-plus years it was due for an update! 

The new policy responds to extensive feedback from stakeholders, especially persons with disabilities themselves. As a result, the policy includes more background and framing of disability concepts, to help USAID staff and our implementing partners better understand the relevance of disability inclusion to achieving our development goals. We have expanded the list of guiding principles beyond nondiscrimination alone. There is also more content about how to make the policy a reality—to help bridge the gap between important but lofty principles and practical implementation. Our goal for the policy is to help colleagues start to understand opportunities for inclusion across every sector of USAID’s work, and better prepare them to collaborate with disability-led organizations in removing societal barriers and supporting the meaningful inclusion of persons with disabilities across all areas of life. 

The policy emphasizes “Nothing Without Us.” What does that mean in practice, and how can we move beyond performative gestures to truly engaging with and supporting persons with disabilities?

Donald Steinberg: “Nothing Without Us” recognizes that all of USAID’s programming and interventions are relevant to persons with disabilities, and vice-versa; and so we should be intentional in addressing disability inclusion across both our disability-focused and broader programming. 

In practice, this means being a good ally. As an ally, my job isn’t to empower persons with disabilities–they are fully capable of empowering themselves, and they communicate with unique authority and authenticity. Instead when my position of power makes me a gatekeeper to opportunities, I can open doors, and ensure they have the resources, training, mandate, and backing to pursue our common agenda. 

Being an ally also means checking your privilege at the door. Share your insights but don’t dominate the conversation, interrupt, or “able-splain.” Do your homework in advance. Study the new policy; read Judy Heumann’s “Being Heumann,” Susan Sygall’s “No Ordinary Days,” and Sefakor Komabu-Pomeyie’s “I’m Able.” Then ask your Disability 2.0 questions. 

Remember, none of us has this all figured out. Far from it. I make frequent mistakes, and I apologize often. It comes with the territory. But the satisfaction that comes from engaging as an ally, especially at groundbreaking times like the release of USAID’s new policy, is boundless.

 What are actionable steps readers can take to support the Disability Policy?

Joshua Josa: This year’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities theme is “Amplifying the leadership of persons with disabilities for an inclusive and sustainable future.” This fits well with the words of Ganesh Singh of Guyana, who is quoted in the new policy saying, “As an organization and as persons with disabilities we do not want tokenism. We want meaningful engagement as equal partners in the process.” 

There are many practical steps readers can take to support this approach and move the policy from paper to practice. 

Take USAID’s Disability-Inclusive Development 101 E-Learning Course to learn more about disability concepts and trends in development. Read the Disability Communications TIPS to learn more about respectful representation of persons with disabilities. Meet and build collaborative partnerships with disability-led organizations. Assume that persons with disabilities can and should be included in programming, and budget accordingly within available resources. Consider how concepts like Universal Design (UD) can inform accessible program design and implementation for all people, and how reasonable accommodations can support access where UD alone is insufficient. 

Promote a representative workforce inclusive of staff with disabilities. Societal barriers and discrimination against persons with disabilities are not inevitable. 

Together, we can amplify the leadership of persons with disabilities to benefit equitably from our work as equal partners; and in turn, benefit from their unique perspectives and maximize the impact of our development efforts. 

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Katherine Guernsey is the Agency Disability Rights Coordinator. Katherine is responsible for advising the Agency on disability inclusion at both the program and policy levels, and manages the Agency’s Disability Program funds.

Donald Steinberg has been the Expert Advisor to the Administrator and focused on expanding locally-led development, re-aligning U.S. policies with the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals, and promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Joshua Josa is an Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Strategist working to strengthen the design and implementation of efforts, Agency-wide, for increased effectiveness and impact.