Global Stocktake of the IASC Guidelines on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action

In June 2026, the global Stocktake of the IASC Guidelines on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action was officially launched. This stocktake is coordinated  by the Disability Reference Group (DRG) in collaboration with the IASC Secretariat,  funded by the German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO) as part of  “Phase 4 – Leave no one behind!” and conducted by the independent consultancy hera (Right to Health and Development) on behalf of Humanity & Inclusion (HI). For greater details on the stocktake, you can refer to the executive summary.

Adopted in 2019, the IASC Guidelines were developed to make disability inclusion a core component of humanitarian action. Since then, they have contributed to increased recognition of disability inclusion across humanitarian policies, coordination structures, financing mechanisms, and data systems. However, progress has remained uneven across contexts and sectors.

The stocktake aims to assess how the Guidelines have been applied in practice over the past five years, identify factors that have enabled or constrained their uptake, and generate recommendations to strengthen disability inclusion within the evolving humanitarian architecture and Humanitarian Reset context.

The exercise brings together a broad range of stakeholders, including Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs), UN agencies, NGOs, coordination actors, donors, and governments. It combines desk research, a global online survey, key informant interviews, consultations, and in-country deep dives to gather evidence on how the Guidelines have been understood, adopted, and operationalised across humanitarian responses.

For the purpose of the stocktake, a temporary working group within the DRG was founded for technical advice. It is chaired by the IASC Secretariat and Humanity & Inclusion (HI), and includes the International Disability Alliance (IDA), the Coalition of Ugandan Activists on People with Disabilities (CUAPWD), the World Institute on Disability (WDI), United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), World Food Programme (WFP), International Organization for Migration (IOM), OxfamNovib, Christian Blind Mission (CBM), Global Disability Fund (GDF), and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Running from April to November 2026, the stocktake is being implemented in four phases. Following an inception phase between April and May 2026, during which the analytical framework, methodology, and tools were developed, the exercise moved into desk research and primary data collection between May and July 2026. This includes the global survey, consultations, and key informant interviews. Three country-level deep dives will take place in September 2026 to further explore implementation experiences across different humanitarian contexts. The final phase, running until November 2026, will focus on consolidating findings, developing recommendations, and producing the final report to support disability-inclusive humanitarian action in the context of the Humanitarian Reset.

Findings and recommendations will be presented in a final report in late 2026, providing practical guidance for humanitarian actors on advancing the implementation of the Guidelines and ensuring that persons with disabilities remain at the centre of humanitarian action.

Learn more about the stocktake: https://disabilityreferencegroup.org/