Every year on 03 December, the world pauses to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. The 2025 theme, “Fostering disability-inclusive societies for advancing social progress,” carries particular significance for Eswatini, where strengthening inclusion is essential to ensuring equal access to education, employment, and public services for persons with disabilities. 

We talk about inclusion often, but when budgets are tight, one perspective keeps resurfacing: can we really afford it? The real question is whether we can afford not to. Reasonable accommodation is not a cost; it is an investment in human potential, productivity and progress.

What is Reasonable Accommodation?

According to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which Eswatini ratified in 2012, reasonable accommodation means making the necessary and appropriate adjustments that do not impose a disproportionate burden, so that persons with disabilities can participate fully and equally in all areas of life. It is about removing avoidable barriers, not providing special treatment.

In practice, reasonable accommodation can take many forms. It can involve physical and environmental changes that make spaces easier to navigate. It can include communication and information support, such as introducing easy to read formats for documents by using more visuals and less text, large fonts and simple language. This will enable people with visual impairment and learning disabilities to easily access the information.  It may also mean administrative adjustments, like sharing agendas and minutes in advance or allowing additional time to review materials.

For many people, accommodation is simply about flexible ways of working. This might involve working from home, flexible hours or reshaping tasks to match individual abilities. For persons who are neurodivergent (people whose brains work differently), accommodations can include sensory-friendly environments, clear written instructions or predictable routines that reduce stress and enhance focus.

The Myth About Disability 

The belief that disability inclusion drains resources does not stand up to evidence. The International Labour Organization (ILO) has consistently found that most workplace accommodations are low-cost or no-cost, and that when costs do arise, they are usually an initial once-off expense such as a procuring a large-print keyboard or a screen reader licence for a staff member. According to a 2019-2022 survey by Job Accommodation Network, 53% of businesses reported productivity improvements after implementing accommodations. 

While data is limited in Eswatini, regional findings show a similar pattern: the main challenges are often not financial but linked to limited awareness of what reasonable accommodation involves. The most expensive approach to accessibility is to address it only when problems arise such as introducing a ramp because one of the existing staff members suddenly using a wheelchair because of an accident. When inclusion is planned from the start, it avoids costly retrofits, supports stronger performance and saves money in the long run.

The Hidden Cost of Exclusion

Exclusion, on the other hand, comes at a hefty price. This cost is collectively shared and ultimately falls on all of us. The World Bank estimates that excluding persons with disabilities from employment can cost a country between 3 and 7 percent of GDP. For Eswatini, this suggests potential losses of hundreds of millions of Emalangeni each year in foregone productivity, even though precise national figures are not yet available. The National Disability Plan of Action (2024–2028) confirms this pattern, highlighting lower labour force participation, higher unemployment and persistent barriers to skills development and decent work for persons with disabilities.

Exclusion weakens the entire economic and social system: the country loses productive capacity, families shoulder heavier financial and caregiving burdens, businesses miss out on valuable talent, and government collects less tax revenue while facing higher demand for social support. Over time, these pressures compound into slower growth, deeper inequality and reduced national resilience.

The loss of this productive labour implies increased social protection costs for families, communities and the state. Persons with disability who could work, but cannot work due to lack of investment in reasonable accommodation will have to fall back on social protection nets provided by their families, communities or the state. 

Inclusion That Works

Inclusion is smart economics. Ramps help parents with baby prams, captions help people in noisy rooms and flexible work helps staff balance family life. When systems are accessible, everyone benefits. That is why reasonable accommodation should be viewed as an economic multiplier, not just a tick-the-box activity. It supports the development goals Eswatini is pursuing.

Sustainability is about more than clean energy or balanced budgets; it is about ensuring that every citizen has the chance to contribute to the country’s progress. A society is strongest when no one is left behind. By investing in inclusion, Eswatini strengthens its economy, its communities and its long-term development path.