Australia's disability-inclusive development initiatives aim to ensure people with disabilities are included in, and benefit equally from, Australia's development assistance in order to enhance the rights and quality of life of people with disabilities.
United Nations Partnership to Promote the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD)
$6.95 million, 2012-2016
(Support for Phase 2 for the period 2017-2021 is under consideration)
The goal of our partnership with the United Nations Partnership to Promote the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD) is to develop the capacity of national stakeholders, particularly governments and disabled people's organisations, to effectively implement the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The technical secretariat for UNPRPD is hosted by the United Nations Development Programme.
UNICEF Partnership on Disability: Rights, Education And Protection of children with disabilities 2 (REAP 2)
$4.5 million, 2015-2019
Australia is partnering with UNICEF to support the second phase of the Rights, Education and Protection (REAP 2) project. This partnership builds on the successes of the first phase of the REAP project, which piloted education and child protection activities in Vietnam and Bhutan. The second phase includes Vietnam, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific. The REAP 2 program focus areas include addressing the lack of research, evidence and data on children with disabilities, which will inform policy priorities to better address needs and make sure every child is counted. The project will also involve children with disabilities and their families in humanitarian action and help ensure children have their rights and wellbeing protected, and are able to better access services and education.
UNICEF Partnership on Disability-Inclusive Data Collection
$1.2 million (USD), 2014-2017
Australia is supporting UNICEF to partner with the United Nations Washington Group on Disability Statistics to complete a set of survey questions which countries can insert into their existing national data collection processes (such as censuses) to provide internationally comparable data on children with disabilities. This funding will also support the development of a second set of survey questions to understand the barriers and facilitators to children with disabilities accessing quality education. The survey will be used for both children with disabilities who are in school and those who are out of school. Once completed, these survey questions will be used to improve data collection on children with disabilities in UNICEF's Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), one of the largest global sources of internationally comparable, statistically rigorous data on the situation of children and women.
Strengthening disability statistics for the post-2015 development agenda
$4 million, 2015-2018
In partnership with the United Nations Statistical Division, Australia is supporting a project to strengthen disability statistics for the post-2015 development agenda. This project aims to enhance the capacity of national statistical offices in developing countries to produce and disseminate good quality and fit-for-purpose statistics on disability for evidence-based policy making and monitoring.
The project is expected to accomplish: (1) formulation of international guidelines for measurement of disability taking into account existing measurement instruments, good national practices and country experiences; and (2) enhanced capacity of national statistical systems to collect and generate relevant and quality disability statistics based on international guidelines.
Supporting the institutional capacity of the Washington Group on Disability Statistics
$2.8 million, 2015-2018
Australia is supporting the Washington Group to disseminate existing tools to collect disability data, provide technical assistance to support their uptake and consistent use, and engage in new work on measures of participation and functional limitations related to mental health.
Funding provides institutional support through University College London for the Washington Group in the form of staffing and resources to facilitate information transfer, including through regional workshops.
World Health Organization (WHO) Partnership to Enhance the Lives of Persons with Disabilities
$6.16 million, 2011–2018
Australian support to the World Health Organization (WHO) enables the Western Pacific Regional Office to enhance the quality of life of people with disabilities in the region. Support through the partnership has included strengthening community-based rehabilitation guidelines and services, and the provision of related technical assistance in the Western Pacific and Asia region. Other activities under this partnership include research on non-communicable diseases; strengthening data collection on the situation of people with disability, capacity building of national health ministries to deliver appropriate rehabilitation services, and the development of disability-related guidelines and information.
Disability Rights Advocacy Fund
$5.23 million, 2014-2018
Australia is continuing to support the Disability Rights Advocacy Fund, a collaboration between donors and the disability community, to provide grants to country-level disabled people's organisations (DPOs). The grants support DPOs to participate in ratification, implementation, and monitoring of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and promote a rights-based approach to disability equality at community and government levels. Australia is also providing administrative funding to increase the efficacy, impact and scope of the work of the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This supports the Special Rapporteur with advocacy, including in the Pacific.
International Disability Alliance Partnership
$2.47 million, 2015–2019
Australia partners with the International Disability Alliance (IDA), whose mission is "to advance the human rights of persons with disabilities, as a united voice of organisations of persons with disabilities, utilising the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and other human rights instruments."
IDA is a network representing members that are global and regional disabled people's organisations (DPOs). IDA's unique composition as a network of international DPOs allows it to act as an authoritative and representative voice of persons with disabilities in the United Nations (UN) system, both in New York and Geneva. Through its extensive advocacy, IDA has made a significant contribution to ensure that the international sustainable development framework, including the SDGs and the Financing for Development Addis Ababa Action Plan and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, is inclusive of people with disabilities.
Australian financing enables IDA to use its global reach to undertake capacity building activities with national and local DPOs in the Indo-Pacific region, and supports IDA in achieving its key objectives and goals. Australian financing also supports IDA in its role alongside Australia as Co-Chair of the Global Action on Disability Network (GLAD). The GLAD Network facilitates cooperation and knowledge sharing between bilateral and multilateral donors and organisations, the private sector, foundations and others contributing resources to disability-inclusive international development and humanitarian action.
Partnership to support Disabled People’s Organisations in the Pacific
$5.9 million, 2009–2017
Australia partners with the Pacific Disability Forum (PDF), an umbrella organisation of Pacific disabled people's organisations (DPOs), to support their members to advocate for and advance their rights. PDF works with governments, civil society and development partners to develop policies and actions that include people with disabilities in all aspects of public life on an equal basis with others. As a result, people with disabilities have been able to participate equally in developing and reviewing national disability policies in Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu. PDF also works with the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, UN agencies, development partners, churches, regional civil society organisations and service providers to ensure that people with disabilities are included in national and regional plans and policies.
DFAT-CBM Australia Partnership: Improving the quality of lives for people with disabilities: Building understanding and technical capacity for disability-inclusive development
$1.4 million, 2015–2017
The DFAT-CBM Australia Partnership "Improving the quality of lives for people with disabilities: Building understanding and technical capacity for disability-inclusive development" supports the provision of both short and long term demand driven technical support and broader skills development to increase the capacity of DFAT's policy and program officials and its systems for disability-inclusive development.
The Partnership assists DFAT staff to deliver disability inclusive aid programming, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region. The long term global impacts of the Partnership are: more disability inclusive societies; greater participation of all people with disability, and reduced poverty.
The Partnership builds on a previous arrangement (2011-2015) which developed a strong knowledge base of technical guidance and advice to support disability inclusion in the Australian aid program.
Disability-inclusive social protection systems research
Australia is supporting the International Centre for Evidence in Disability at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to conduct research into the elements of good practice in disability inclusive social protection systems in Nepal and Vietnam, and to provide guidance to inform good practice within the wider region The final reports and briefing papers will be published by mid-2017.
Australia is also supporting Leonard Cheshire Disability to conduct research into disability determination procedures for Vietnam's social protection programs. The main objective of this research is to evaluate the current disability eligibility procedures and assessment tool for social protection programs in Vietnam. The final report is expected to be published in time for a regional workshop in July-August 2017.
Exceed Social Enterprises
Australia is providing seed funding to the non-government organisation, Exceed Worldwide to develop an innovative business model. This model, Exceed Social Enterprises, is designed to generate profits purely for social impact by establishing private Prosthetics and Orthotics clinics and Prosthetic and Orthotic Supply and Distribution businesses in Cambodia, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Indonesia. Profits generated from these social enterprises will cross-subsidise prosthetic and orthotic education and provide free or affordable prosthetic and orthotic services for people with disabilities who otherwise would be unable to access these services.