ADDC Rationale
There was a pressing need to draw together Australian organisations working on disability in developing countries. A significant number of academic, development and disability focused agencies are currently involved in a wide range of activities targeting disability in developing countries. Supported by the Australian Government and Australian agencies these activities include:
- Community Based Rehabilitation, blindness prevention and other disability prevention and treatment programs
- Volunteer placements of disability specialists
- Landmine prevention, awareness and victim-assistance programs
- Vocational rehabilitation and microfinance programs
- Seminars and training on disability inclusive development practice
- Disability advocacy
- Research
However, these activities and the agencies involved were not linked in a coherent or coordinated fashion. Consequently, there was little opportunity to share experience, expertise or other information on disability in developing countries nor was there a collective voice to advocate for disability inclusive development practice. Disability was therefore largely sidelined within our development activities, despite the fact that at the time ADDC was conceived, 10% of people globally live with disability (UN, 2006) and 20% of the poorest of the poor are persons living with disability (World Bank, 1999). Statistics now demonstrate there are over 1 billion people worldwide , that is 15% , of the world’s population have a disability ( World Report on Disability 2011)
The lack of a national network meant there was no cohesive recognised national body to promote disability inclusive programs in developing regions. Experience in other countries has shown that the best way to carry out such advocacy is through the development of a national network or consortium of agencies working on disability issues in developing countries. Hence the development of ADDC.
Australia took the opportunity to take a lead on disability in our region and with our partners, capitalising on its strong domestic expertise on disability and achieving long-term economic and social gains for some of the most impoverished people in the developing world.
Australia has world-class professional skills in disability-related program design and implementation and therefore has an enormous opportunity to contribute in this area. The Australian Disability and Development Consortium (ADDC) will help coordinate national advocacy, information sharing, best practice and networking activities with the broad aim of maximising disability inclusion in Australian development activities.
