Around the world, humanitarian crises and disasters have deepened pre-existing inequalities that marginalized populations, particularly people with disabilities, experience. Despite comprising more than 15 percent of the global population, people with disabilities are often excluded from crisis response and recovery efforts as well as broader policymaking processes. Sub-Saharan Africa is no exception to this trend, with crises not only threatening to do new harm to the disability community but also threatening to erode the gains the disability rights movement has made.

In response to these challenges, NDI began a two year program supporting disability activists in Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, and Zambia. From July 2022 to July 2024, participants collaborated with other human rights defenders to advance a common agenda and hold governments accountable for inclusive crisis response and recovery efforts. In partnership with Mobility International USA (MIUSA), NDI engaged over 80 local civic groups across the four project countries. NDI and MIUSA supported the establishment of national “forums” led by disabled people’s organizations (DPOs), connecting diverse segments of the disability community, other human rights defenders, women’s organizations and youth organizations to foster collective political action. 

In accordance with the “Nothing Without Us” principle, or the idea that no policy should be decided without the full participation of members of the groups the policy affects, NDI and MIUSA identified local women leaders with disabilities in Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, and Zambia to serve as consultants on gender equality, disability inclusion, and accessibility. NDI and MIUSA also developed guidance on disability inclusion principles and practices to ensure the inclusion of people with diverse disabilities in all program activities. 

Regional Engagements

On the regional level, NDI and MIUSA facilitated a series of virtual forums for disability leaders and human rights defenders across the four project countries to establish new relationships, build mutual trust and awareness, and foster their future collaboration. MIUSA also conducted a regional leadership training program for emerging women leaders across Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, and Zambia. Participants shared with NDI how their involvement helped them expand their networks, strengthen their leadership skills, and build their collective power within their communities. 

Kenya

In Kenya, the national forum that NDI helped establish assisted with the development of legislation to protect the rights of people with disabilities. These included the Persons with Disabilities Bill, the Kenya Sign Language Bill, and the Learners with Disability Bill. For all three bills, local partners and forum members were invited by government officials to respond to drafts and present recommendations. Through this engagement, forum members learned how to participate in the legislative drafting processes and deepened their relationships with relevant committees. Their involvement also strengthened awareness of disability inclusion, gender mainstreaming, and accessibility among government officials. 

At the county level, NDI partner Black Albinism assisted in forming a task force of disability champions and county officials to oversee the implementation of the Disability Bill. Throughout the legislative engagement process, forum members challenged pervasive stigma and stereotypes related to disability and gender. Likewise, NDI partner United Disabled Persons of Kenya (UDPK) used new alliances with other rights defenders to increase their efforts to advocate for the inclusion of women and girls with disabilities in gender-based violence (GBV) prevention mechanisms.

Malawi

In April 2024, Malawi’s Persons with Disabilities Act became law. The act includes provisions that prohibit discrimination and recognize the rights of people with disabilities to participate in all aspects of public life, and establishes the Malawi Council for Disability Affairs. The national forum established under the NDI program played a critical role in contributing to the act and advocating for its passage in Parliament. The forum reviewed the draft legislation and provided recommendations to ensure that it aligned with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which was integrated into the final version of the act. This legislation not only provides legal protections for people with disabilities, but it also lays the foundation for Malawi to become more accessible and inclusive. 

NDI also helped its local partner, Disabled Women in Africa (DIWA), establish a network of women and girls with disabilities (NEGWDM). The creation of this network – the first of its kind in Malawi – marked a significant milestone in the effort to strengthen the rights of women with disabilities in Malawi and throughout the region. The Malawi Human Rights Commission, United Nations Women, and other relevant stakeholders all pledged their support for the network and committed to ensuring that the rights of women with disabilities are fully realized.

Nigeria

In May 2023, when the Nigerian government removed fuel subsidies, NDI supported a DPO-led network in taking action to mitigate the impact on people with disabilities. This led to the creation of national and state level forums that collectively identified a range of disability priorities, which sparked efforts to pursue them. As a result, government stakeholders committed to several disability inclusion priorities the forums presented. Notably, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives committed to facilitating an amendment to the Disability Act, making it mandatory for all government ministries, departments and agencies to dedicate 10 percent of their social intervention programs to people with disabilities. 

By building consensus on these shared issues, the national and state level forums increased their ability to hold government officials accountable for disability inclusion priorities. In November 2024, the House of Representatives Committee on Disability presented awards to NDI and TAF Africa, NDI’s DPO partner and the secretariat of the national level forum, for their contributions to advancing disability inclusion in Nigeria. In the future, forum members plan to continue leveraging their collective power and meeting regularly with political leaders.

Zambia 

In Zambia, local partners engaged with government stakeholders to make Constituency Development Funds (CDF) more inclusive of people with disabilities, particularly women with disabilities. The CDF is a critical resource and drives local development in Zambia, however, marginalized communities have historically been excluded from accessing these funds. To address this systemic exclusion, local partners taught women with disabilities how to access these funds and collaborated with government stakeholders to increase people with disabilities’ participation in the CDF. Seven women with disabilities have since been elected to serve on CDF committee boards, marking the first time women with disabilities have held these positions. 

Additionally NDI’s local partner, the Zambia Federation of Disability Organizations (ZAFOD), worked closely with government agencies to ensure that people with disabilities are actively included in disaster risk management and response policies and processes. As reinforced by ZAFOD’s consultations with diverse segments of the disability community, when DPOs are left out of disaster response planning, people with disabilities are left without the support they need to maintain their health, safety, independence, dignity, and even their lives. In response to an invitation from the Office of the Vice President of the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU), ZAFOD led a disability inclusion training for government department leaders. Following this training, the DMMU invited forum members to present challenges and recommendations for ensuring disability-inclusive disaster risk management and response. The Ministry of Rural Development also consulted with ZAFOD and other local partners on improving their engagement with the disability community in Zambia. As a result, trained persons with disabilities began serving in district drought response and CDF committees in Luangwa District, ensuring their representation in decision-making processes. The Cabinet office, which oversees Zambia’s public service, began taking action in response to ZAFOD’s continued engagements, including issuing a directive to enhance the accessibility of public buildings.

As a result of this national and local level advocacy, government officials across Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, and Zambia have become increasingly responsive to the needs and priorities of the disability community in their country. The success of these collective action efforts demonstrates the importance of building solidarity between movements, elevating disability leadership, and engaging diverse segments of the disability community. To sustain these advocacy wins across sub-Saharan Africa, NDI is continuing to collaborate with the disability community as partners and technical experts on the issues that matter most to them. This includes providing opportunities for disability rights leaders and their allies to work collectively to advance more inclusive policy making. This approach helps people with disabilities engage politically and exercise their right to participate in all aspects of civic and political life. 

Authors: Hilary Collins, Program Director, Citizen Participation and Inclusion; Sasha Rose, Program Officer, Citizen Participation and Inclusion

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NDI is a non-profit, non-partisan, non-governmental organization that works in partnership around the world to strengthen and safeguard democratic institutions, processes, norms and values to secure a better quality of life for all. NDI envisions a world where democracy and freedom prevail, with dignity for all.