Destigmatising Disabilities? Evidence from a Disability-Inclusive Anti-Poverty Program in Uganda

Persons with disabilities (PWDs) are disproportionately excluded from livelihood opportunities, trapping them and their households in perpetual poverty. I study whether a multifaceted program that simultaneously strengthens the ultra-poor’s productive, financial, human and social assets alleviates this exclusion. The program adapts a previously successful anti-poverty intervention to be disability-inclusive. Using a cluster-randomised study in Northern Uganda, I find the program induces a substantial shift from casual labour to farming and non-farm business, particularly among PWDs. This effect is large enough to close the disability participation gap when PWDs are designated as project holders. While the program reduced the social isolation of persons without disabilities, PWDs’ participation in social activities remained largely unchanged. I argue that the program’s personal empowerment effects, without sufficient appreciation of the societal barriers faced by PWDs, may reinforce rather than reduce existing prejudicial views. These findings do not imply disability-inclusive development efforts are futile; rather, they show that deeply entrenched ableism may not be alleviated by a single programme. The economic gains documented here are themselves substantial and represent a meaningful foundation for future efforts.