About Us
The ADDC is a national network focusing attention, expertise and action on disability issues in developing countries, building a national platform for disability advocacy.
Rationale for ADDC
There is a pressing need to draw together Australian organizations 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 including Occupational Therapists and Physiotherapists
- 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 are not currently linked in a coherent or coordinated fashion. Consequently, there is little opportunity to share experience, expertise or other information on disability in developing countries nor is there a collective voice to advocate for disability inclusive development practice. Disability is therefore largely sidelined within our development activities, despite the fact that 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).
The lack of a national network means there is no cohesive recognized 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.
Australia now has the opportunity and responsibility to take a lead on disability in our region and with our partners, capitalizing 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 maximizing disability inclusion in Australian development activities.
ADDC Core Group
To guide the ADDC, the following Core Group has been formed representing key Australian disability and development agencies who were involved in the formation of this consortium:
| Kate Burrell | International Women’s Development Agency |
| Heather Dawson | Australian International Health Institute |
| Paul Deany | CBM Australia |
| Anna Devine | World Vision Australia |
| Matthew Fagan | Vision 2020 |
| Melville Fernandez | Caritas Australia |
| Heidi Forrest | Independent |
| Margaret Gadd | National Disability Service |
| Damian Griffis | Beyond Blue |
| Therese Sands | People with Disability Australia |
| Pam Thomas | Australian National University |
| Kirsty Thompson | CBM Australia |
| Neva Wendt | Australian Council for International Development |
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