Kenya stands at a crossroads for disability inclusion.[File, Standard] Kenya stands at a crossroads for disability inclusion.

With the passage of the Persons with Disabilities Act (2025) in May 2025, the country holds one of the most progressive legal frameworks on disability in Africa.

This legislation comes amidst unprecedented global momentum on disability rights.

Rarely do domestic reform and international opportunity align so closely.

Kenya now has the chance to demonstrate what real, resourced, accountable disability inclusion looks like, not only for its citizens but for the world.

The 2025 Act is transformative because it reframes disability inclusion as a national development priority, rather than a welfare concern.

It mandates that national and county governments integrate disability considerations across all sectors , including education, health, employment, justice, infrastructure, and political participation.

This holistic take marks a departure from the fragmented approach in the past and ensures that services and infrastructure are accessible to everyone.

The shift is urgently needed.

The 2022 Kenya Demographic Health Survey estimates 5.2 per cent of the population (2.7 million Kenyans) has some form of disability, rising to 7.8 per cent of those aged 5–19 years old.

The consequences of exclusion are stark; the 2023 Support Needs Assessment Report by the State Department for Social Protection finds 55 per cent of all children with disabilities are not attending school.

These children are excluded not because of a lack of potential, but because of barriers to services and participation.

Kenya’s legislative shift comes just months after the 2025 Global Disability Summit (GDS) in Berlin.

A major outcome of the Summit was the Amman-Berlin Declaration on Global Disability Inclusion, endorsed by 103 governments (including Kenya), international and regional organisations, and UN entities.

This declaration urges that 15 per cent of all Official Development Assistance (ODA) programmes in a country support disability inclusion by 2028, an ambitious but achievable benchmark.

Kenya has long positioned itself as a leader in the global disability inclusion agenda.

It co-hosted the first GDS in 2018 in London and at the 2025 Summit, pledged to strengthen disability-responsive public budgeting.

With UNICEF, Germany, and 74 other governments, Kenya endorsed a roadmap to transform disability inclusion from aspiration to action.

The establishment of a Joint Helpdesk, funded by the German Federal....