All Commitments made by ADD International

Policy, legislation and its implementation
We will further our work with DPOs to support the development and implementation of policies which promote the rights and inclusion of all PWD. 

Timeframe and/or implementation plan
We will strengthen the capacity of DPOs to advocate for the adoption and implementation of policies to ensure accessibility for all types of disabilities. Through our policy and influencing work, we will seek to influence the practices of service providers, policy makers, academics, the private sector and civil society on accessibility to reflect national and international standards. We will also support DPOs to expand their role in implementing and monitoring of the Global Goals and the UNCPRD.         

Representation and empowerment of persons with disabilities
ADD International commits to further strengthening the organisational capacity of over 100 DPOs in 5 countries of Africa and Asia so that they become sustainable and inclusive organisations that are effective in supporting PWD to access opportunities and in advocating for changes in attitudes, policy and practice. 

Timeframe and/or implementation plan
Our global programme will be delivered in partnership with DPOs and contain a strong focus on capacity building (CB). This will include provision of technical support, providing strategic inputs such as equipment; accompaniment in project design, delivery and MEL; strategy development; and brokering links with organisations, powerholders and funders. We will work closely with DPOs so that PWD can play an active role in legislative, planning and service delivery processes and hold powerholders accountable. 

Capacity building: teachers and staff
We will support the capacity building of teachers and ToT to provide quality inclusive education for children with disabilities.  

Timeframe and/or implementation plan
We will provide teacher training to focus on children, disability and girls’ rights and on the necessary adjustments to be fully inclusive. Child safeguarding including the specific risks faced by girls will be at the heart of these trainings. They will be followed by initiation to braille, sign language and lip reading. Teacher training will be supported by the procurement of adapted teaching and learning materials.          

Stereotypes, attitudes and behaviours
We will support persons with disabilities in Africa and Asia to engage with their communities and carry out awareness raising campaigns which dispel myths and challenge negative beliefs around disability and attitudes towards PWD, particularly the most marginalised.

Timeframe and/or implementation plan
ADD will enhance DPOs’ capacity to raise awareness of families and the community, particularly the most marginalised such as CWD, WAGWD and those with psychosocial disability and mental health issues. We will champion for inclusive policies that address challenges facing these groups. This will be complemented by our policy and influencing work, where we will use evidence and learning from our work on the ground to advocate for effective approaches in changing stereotypes, attitudes and behaviours.  

Policy, standards and regulations
We will model the implementation of national strategies on inclusive education through pilot projects in primary and pre-primary schools, using the learning and evidence to make recommendations to local and national governments on how to implement policies effectively. 

Timeframe and/or implementation plan
We will work with our DPO partners to advocate for “what works” in the provision of inclusive education, engaging in planning and drafting of policies, dialogue and advocacy and budgeting processes.   

Additional resources and implementation
ADD International will endeavour to advocate for and expand accessibility of educational facilities in 3 countries in Africa. 

Timeframe and/or implementation plan
We will work with DPOs to improve physical accessibility in schools, including access to school yards, WASH facilities and resource rooms. We will broker links with organisations providing assistive devices such as wheelchairs. Recognising the intrinsic link between poverty and education, we will link parents with government and NGO social protection, IGA and livelihoods programmes. We will continue to advocate for accessibility of educational facilities in line with best practices at relevant fora. 

Access to decent work
We will support national governments, donors, multilaterals, development organisations, and private sectors in two countries where ADD International works in promoting greater economic inclusion of people with disabilities, particularly women with disabilities by creating awareness and assisting to develop strategies and programmes that expand employment opportunities, develop skills and entrepreneurship, and expand access to social protection for PWD in line with CRPD and SDGs by 2023.

Timeframe and/or implementation plan 
Economic empowerment will be a key focus area of ADD International’s global and country level policy and influencing strategies over the next 5 years. We will work in partnership with DPOs, allies and in consortia with other organisations to expand access to livelihood and development opportunities and social protection programmes for PWD in the countries in which we work.

We will work with governmental and non-governmental actors tackling violence against women and girls to highlight the additional risks faced by WAGWD, and the additional barriers they face to accessing support and services. We will work in partnership with these actors to support the development of policies, support services and prevention programmes which are inclusive of WAGWD, and which are based on the voice and experience of WAGWD themselves.

Timeframe and/or implementation plan
We will work closely with women-led disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) and disabled women’s networksto lead primary prevention interventions targeting WAGWD, including the most vulnerable. We will build the capacity of self-help groups, caregivers, other family members, their communities, and key duty bearers to challenge inequitable social norms that tolerate violence and to more effectively identify and prevent violence against women and girls with disabilities in their communities. 

We will work with our DPO partners to build their understanding of gender issues, and to introduce measures to be more inclusive of WAGWD, and to promote the voice and participation of WAGWD in the disability movement. 

Timeframe and/or implementation plan 
We will build the capacity of our DPO partners on gender inclusion (assessment, training, accompaniment) over the next 3 years and establish and provide support to women-led organisations within the disability movement (women’s groups within mainstream DPOs/ Associations of Women with Disabilities).