International Development Agencies Disability Policies

Italian Cooperation

Italian Cooperation Guidelines Concerning the Disabled (Ministry for Foreign Affairs, General Directorate for Development Cooperation) (pdf): A list of guidelines regarding disability that the Italian Cooperation recognizes and has agreed to uphold, such as gender equality, de-institutionalization, the rights of minors, community-based rehabilitation, and the participative approach in all stages of the project cycle.

Development for All: Towards a disability-inclusive Australian aid program 2009-2014 (Australian Agency for International Development, 2008) (pdf): The first strategy to guide Australia’s overseas aid program towards development that includes, and deliberately focuses on, people with disability. The strategy’s main priorities are to support people with disabilities improve the quality of their lives, but also to reduce preventable impairments.

DFID and Disability: A Mapping of the Department for International Development and Disability Issues (Philippa Thomas for the Department for International Development, 2004) (pdf): This report covers DFID policy and its relationship to disability issues, an overview of DFID’s actions in the area of disability, case studies, and DFID staff’s knowledge and experience with disability issues.
Disability, poverty, and development (Department for International Development, 2000) (pdf): This land breaking paper was the first by a major development agency to establish a link between poverty and disability. It advocates for a twin track approach of mainstreaming disability issues combined with specific initiatives to address the particular needs of disabled people.

Human Rights for Persons with Disabilities: Sida's plan for work (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, 2009) (pdf): This 3.5 year plan (2009-2012) sets out how the organisation intends to guarantee that the observance of human rights for persons with disabilities is incorporated into Sida’s internal work and bilateral development cooperation. The plan focuses on capacity and competence development of personnel and strategic implementers of development cooperation, as well as access to information for persons with disabilities.

The Inclusion of Disability in Norwegian Development Co-operation (Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, 2002) (doc): This document is a response to NORAD’s obligation to include people with disabilities, and their specific needs in all aspects of development co-operation. It covers the following topics: objectives of Norwegian development co-operation, and their relationship to disability issues; global instruments on disability; basic disability - development issues; strategies for making persons with disabilities visible in development co-operation; and a checklist and indicators for the inclusion of disability issues in mainstream development programmes.

Disability and Development: A contribution to promoting the interests of persons with disabilities in German Development Cooperation (GTZ for the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, 2006) (pdf): This policy paper illustrates the importance of considering the interests of persons with disabilities in connection with poverty reduction and achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It presents the orientation of German Development Cooperation (DC) in this regard, offers a brief outline of activities to date, and provides recommendations for further cooperation efforts in this area.

Label Us Able: A proactive evaluation of Finnish development co-operation from the disability perspective (National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health, for the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, 2003) (pdf): This evaluation report discusses disability and the international agenda, development co-operation on disability issues, and the Finnish Development Cooperation policy, past projects including co-operation via Finnish NGOs, country cases illustrating disability co-operation, and mainstreaming.

Including the rights of persons with disabilities in United Nations programming at country level (UN Development Group, Inter-Agency Support Group for the CRPD Task Team, 2010) (pdf): This guidance note is intended to help UN Country Teams and country partners to better include or mainstream the rights of persons with disabilities in UN country programming, in implementing a human rights-based approach. It outlines four main areas for mainstreaming the rights of persons with disabilities: UN cooperation at country level; country analysis (preceding UNDAF development); strategic planning (development of the development of the UNDAF and its results matrix); monitoring and evaluation.

JICA Thematic Guidelines on Disability (Japan International Cooperation Agency, 2009) (pdf): These guidelines were compiled to show the direction for JICA’s projects and the points to be noted based on an exploration and analysis of the status quo, trends, approaches, and techniques of assistance for persons with disabilities.

Acquisition and Assistance Policy Directive (AAPD) 04-17: Supporting USAID's Disability Policy in Contracts, Grants, and Cooperative Agreements (pdf): This policy directive explains the requirement for contracting officers and agreement officers to include a provision supporting USAID’s disability policy in all solicitations (e.g. RFPs and RFAs) and in the resulting awards for contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements.
Acquisition and Assistance Policy Directive (AAPD) 05-07: Supporting USAID's Standards for Accessibility for the Disabled in Contracts, Grants, and Cooperative Agreements (pdf): This policy directive requires contractors and recipients of USAID funding comply with standards for accessibility in all new construction, as well as in renovations of structures, facilities, or buildings.
Fifth Report on the Implementation of USAID Disability Policy (USAID, 2008) (doc): This report analyzes USAID progress towards establishing more inclusive programs and ensuring equitable participation in all its activities for those with disabilities.
USAID Disability Policy Paper (USAID, Bureau for Policy and Program Coordination, 1997) (pdf): Outlines the objectives and framework of the policy, whose goal is to promote the inclusion of people with disabilities both within USAID programs and in host countries where USAID has programs.