ICARUS LAC : A Toolkit to measure Universal Accessibility

Overview & Synopsis

This document outlines the critical role of accessibility as a precondition for the inclusion of nearly a third of the population across the Latin America and the Caribbean region. It introduces ICARUS LAC; a toolkit developed by a multi-sector working group at the World Bank to assess and enhance accessibility in the region, paving the way towards a world free of poverty in a livable planet. The toolkit will help the Bank fulfill the institution’s commitment to leveraging resources and partnerships to address exclusion barriers faced by the persons with disabilities and person with mobility restrictions. ICARUS is firmly anchored in the World Bank’s 2024 Disability Inclusion Strategy (DIS), which established a cohesive institutional framework for addressing systematic barriers to inclusion. The DIS emphasizes universal design, accessibility, and robust data collection to ensure equitable development outcomes. By operationalizing this principles, ICARUS LAC provides governments and task teams with tools to measure and implement accessibility in urban and social environment. This summary provides an overview of the context, challenges, methodologies, findings, and recommendations outlined in the document.