Disability and the Sustainable Development Goals at a Crossroads: A Critical Review

ABSTRACT The Year 2025 marked the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by United Nations member states. A central principle of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is the pledge to “Leave No One Behind,” including persons with disabilities. This article critically reviews 76 publications published between 2015 and April 2025 to examine how disability is addressed within SDG research and policy discussions. Four recurrent gaps emerge from the literature. First, disability provisions remain inconsistently integrated into SDG monitoring and reporting. Second, health‐ and technology‐focused responses dominate, while affordability, equity, and enabling environments receive limited attention. Third, participation of organizations of persons with disabilities is often consultative rather than decision‐making, weakening governance and accountability. Finally, environmental and geographical dimensions are frequently overlooked, with Global North perspectives often prevailing over those of the Global South. Building on these findings, the paper outlines an agenda to embed disability considerations more systematically across sustainable development policy and practice, including equity‐oriented technology strategies and greater integration of disability within climate, urban, and environmental planning. These measures would support a shift from symbolic recognition toward meaningful inclusion within the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.