Summary

SAI Colombia assessed the state policy regarding citizens with disabilities. Based on the audit results, SAI concluded that institutional instability caused by the transfer of authority for the implementation and coordination of state policy from the Ministry of Health (Ministerio de Salud) to the Ministry of the Interior (Ministerio del Interior), then to the Presidential Advisory Council on Disability (Consejería Presidencial para la Participación de las PcD) and in 2023 to the Ministry of Equality and Equity (Ministerio de Igualdad y Equidad) creates difficulties in establishing the regulatory and institutional framework for guaranteeing the rights of people with disabilities. Moreover, according to the auditors' assessment, this institutional problem could be exacerbated by the potential dissolution of the Ministry of Equality and Equity after July 20, 2026, due to the Constitutional Court's decision that declared the law creating it unconstitutional. This situation threatens the continuity of the leadership of state disability policy, hinders the development of new measures for this population group and creates uncertainty regarding strategic institutions such as the National Institute for the Blind (Instituto Nacional para Ciegos), the National Institute for the Deaf (Instituto Nacional para sordos), and the Colombian Institute for Family Welfare (Instituto Colombiano de Bienestar Familiar). The auditors also noted shortcomings in the budget management of the Ministry of Equality and Equity. In the period from 2024 to 2025 the project aimed at improving the socio-economic accessibility conditions for people with disabilities, for which 38,494 million Colombian pesos (USD 11.18 million) were allocated, was executed at only 17%. It jeopardizes the achievement of its objectives and affects the expected number of beneficiaries, estimated at 2.8 million people. The budget execution for the project was 1% in 2025 and 23% in 2024. According to the auditors' assessment, despite the strengthening of the regulatory framework on people with disability support and the adoption of 14 laws between 2022 and 2025 addressing inclusive education, accessibility, labor integration, healthcare, social protection for persons with disabilities, and support for caregivers, challenges remain in the areas of governance, budget administration, and the effective implementation of the rights of this population group.