BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 20. Azerbaijan’s role as a host of the 13th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) creates an opportunity to demonstrate leadership on inclusive urban development, Director of the Global Disability Fund Secretariat at the United Nations Development Programme Ola Abualghaib said in an exclusive interview with Trend on the sidelines of the forum.
"Azerbaijan’s role as host of WUF13 creates an important opportunity to demonstrate leadership on inclusive and accessible urban development. As the Forum brings global attention to safe and resilient cities and communities, there is a strong opportunity to position disability inclusion as central to that agenda, not separate from it. Cooperation could focus on practical areas such as accessible housing, inclusive public transport, universal design in public spaces, disability-inclusive disaster preparedness, accessible digital city services, and capacity building for urban planners and municipal authorities. It could also include structured engagement with organizations of persons with disabilities to ensure that urban solutions reflect real experiences and priorities," she said.
Abualghaib believes that there is also an opportunity to use WUF13 as a platform for peer learning between cities.
"Azerbaijan and other countries can exchange lessons on what works, identify scalable solutions, and build partnerships with development actors, technical institutions and financing partners. Most importantly, cooperation should aim to leave a legacy beyond the Forum. That legacy could be a stronger commitment to accessible urban planning, practical demonstration projects, improved standards, and long-term collaboration to make cities safer, more inclusive and more resilient for everyone," she added.
Abualghaib went on to add that at WUF13, her key message is that disability inclusion must be treated as a core condition for safe, resilient and sustainable cities, not as a separate social issue or an optional add-on.
"The theme of WUF13, “Housing the World: Safe and Resilient Cities and Communities,” is especially relevant because housing, transport, public spaces, services, disaster preparedness and climate resilience all directly affect the daily lives, safety and dignity of persons with disabilities. From the experience of the Global Disability Fund, one of the clearest lessons is that cities become more resilient when they are designed with persons with disabilities, not merely for them. This means involving organizations of persons with disabilities in urban planning, budgeting, implementation and monitoring from the beginning," she said.
Abualghaib said that her priorities are to highlight three messages: first, accessibility is an investment in better cities for everyone; second, resilience cannot be achieved if persons with disabilities are excluded from housing, infrastructure, early warning systems and emergency response; and third, financing mechanisms must move from commitments to practical delivery at city level.
"Through the Resilient and Inclusive Cities Hub, the Global Disability Fund is already working to support accessible, equitable and future-ready cities. Cities need to move from policy statements to implementation systems. In practical terms, this begins with applying universal design standards across housing, transport, schools, health facilities, public buildings, digital services and public spaces. Accessibility should be built into procurement rules, building codes, infrastructure contracts and urban investment plans, rather than being corrected later at higher cost. Second, cities should work directly with persons with disabilities and their representative organizations. Their lived experience helps identify barriers that technical teams may miss, such as unsafe crossings, inaccessible shelters, lack of sign language interpretation, poor wayfinding, inaccessible public information, or evacuation plans that do not account for people with different support needs.
Third, accessibility must be linked to resilience. This includes inclusive early warning systems, accessible shelters, disability-inclusive disaster risk reduction, climate adaptation planning, and services that remain reachable during crises. The Global Disability Fund’s work through the Resilient and Inclusive Cities Hub is based on the idea that cities must be accessible, equitable and prepared for future challenges. Finally, cities need measurable targets. For example: the percentage of public buildings audited for accessibility, the number of transport routes upgraded, the share of emergency shelters that are accessible, and whether persons with disabilities are represented in urban decision-making bodies. What gets measured is more likely to be financed and delivered," he said.
Abualghaib pointed out that the biggest gap is not only the lack of funding, but the lack of disability inclusion within mainstream financing.
"Too often, disability inclusion is funded through small, short-term projects instead of being integrated into national budgets, municipal investment plans, climate finance, housing programmes, infrastructure loans and disaster risk reduction financing. Another major gap is that accessibility is often considered too late. When roads, housing, transport systems or public buildings are designed without accessibility from the start, retrofitting becomes more expensive and less effective. This is why the Global Disability Fund emphasizes early integration of inclusion into planning, design and financing. There is also a capacity gap. Many governments and cities are committed to inclusion but need practical tools, technical assistance, data, standards and partnerships to translate commitments into implementation. This includes better disability-disaggregated data, stronger accountability mechanisms, and more direct engagement with organizations of persons with disabilities.
Finally, there is a scale gap. Good pilots exist, but they often remain isolated. The challenge now is to move from individual projects to system-wide change. This is why initiatives such as the Resilient and Inclusive Cities Hub are important: the Hub aims to invest USD 250 million in 50 cities by 2030 to advance resilient and inclusive urban development," she explained.
She noted that the Global Disability Fund supports countries by helping them translate disability rights commitments into practical development action.
"This includes technical assistance, policy advice, catalytic financing, partnership building and support for implementation at both national and local levels. In the urban context, the Fund works to ensure that disability inclusion is integrated into areas such as housing, infrastructure, public services, disaster risk reduction, climate resilience and urban governance. Through the Resilient and Inclusive Cities Hub, the Fund promotes stakeholder engagement, collaborative learning and solutions delivery to support inclusive and resilient urban development. A key part of this work is connecting governments, cities, organizations of persons with disabilities, development partners, technical experts and financiers. The Fund helps create the conditions for disability inclusion to be embedded in planning systems, budgets, monitoring frameworks and investment decisions. The Fund also supports countries to move beyond compliance and toward transformation. This means not only asking whether persons with disabilities are mentioned in a strategy, but whether they can access housing, move safely through the city, participate in decisions, receive information during emergencies, and benefit equally from public investment," Abualghaib added.
