Children with disabilities: Left behind or forgotten? Empirical evidence from Botswana using multidimensional poverty measures

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognises the importance of multidimensional poverty and disability. Although there is compelling evidence suggesting that people with disabilities have a higher probability of being poor, studies that compare children with disabilities with those without disabilities remain scarce and limited to developed countries. Using the 2015/16 Botswana multi-topic household survey, we examined the link between childhood disability and multidimensional child poverty in Botswana. The study employs the conceptual framing of the capability and human rights-based approaches. Results reveal significant disparities in poverty levels between children with and those without disabilities across demographic, economic and geographical variables, with children with disabilities experiencing higher poverty levels than the rest of the children population. We conclude that children with disabilities in Botswana are left out and argue that deliberate efforts should be put in place to implement existing and develop new inclusive policies that ensure equal opportunities for children with disabilities in order not to be left behind. The paper provides policy implications for childhood disability and multidimensional child poverty research in Botswana.