My PhD examined how disability, viewed through a gendered and intersectional lens, is mainstreamed within Ghana’s development space. Focusing on four civil society organisations, their clients and household members, I explored how institutional practices and everyday experiences shape the visibility of disability in policy and service delivery. The study revealed that childhood socialisation strongly influences how disability is understood, often framed as a distant or age-related experience rather than an integral part of social diversity. When disability is acknowledged, it tends to be confined to what Imafidon and Abudu (2019) describe as ‘universal disabilities’ such as physical impairments and blindness, while ‘particular disabilities’ like albinism and mental health remain largely invisible. Moreover, people with disabilities are frequently required to validate their identity within ableist systems that question the legitimacy of their experiences. Again, although data on disability are collected, they are rarely used meaningfully and are often structured around singular typologies that fail to reflect the complexity of lived experience. This reduction forces people with disabilities to choose between aspects of their identity, gender or disability or among disability types, effectively erasing intersectional realities and reinforcing institutional exclusion.