SPADRA
Strengthening Partnerships to Advance Disability Rights in Africa — Advancing gender and disability rights through capacity development of Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) and strategic cross-disability partnerships.
What is SPADRA?
The Strengthening Partnerships to Advance Disability Rights in Africa (SPADRA) initiative aims to directly address the severe challenges faced by millions of persons with disabilities across Africa, with a specialized focus on women and girls with disabilities.
Across the continent, persons with disabilities regularly experience extreme poverty, structural marginalization, neglect, and systemic abuse. They encounter critical barriers to full social participation, exclusion from decision-making arenas, and restricted access to basic rights such as healthcare, quality education, and employment opportunities.
Intersecting Vulnerability Factors
Women and girls with disabilities face compounding discrimination driven by intersecting elements. SPADRA specifically targets and addresses barriers arising from:
- Gender Inequality
- Disability Stigma
- Social Class & Poverty
- Age Marginalization
- Ethnicity & Cultural Identity
SPADRA is designed to transform these realities by strengthening the institutional capacity of Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) and fostering robust cross-disability and mainstream partnerships at Pan-African, sub-regional, and national levels.
Overall & Specific Objectives
The overall objective of SPADRA is to advance gender equality and disability rights across Africa by empowering OPDs to lead advocacy and monitor human rights instruments effectively.
Cross-Disability & Mainstream Partnerships
Strengthening cross-disability and mainstream partnerships to collaboratively advance gender and disability rights at both Pan-African and national decision-making levels.
OPD Capacity & Human Rights Monitoring
Improving the capacity of Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) to model, lead, design, and deliver disability and gender equality initiatives that actively monitor and uphold human rights instruments.
Implementation Partners
SPADRA is executed by a dynamic consortium of four leading disability rights organizations establishing a unified alliance for gender and disability equality in Africa.
International Disability Alliance
Global Advocacy Network
African Disability Forum
Continental Peak Body
Disabled Women in Africa
Member Organization of ADF
Inclusion Africa
Member Organization of ADF
Target Countries & Regional Scope
SPADRA delivers targeted multi-country national interventions while connecting outputs to broader Pan-African and sub-regional rights frameworks.
Ghana
West AfricaBenin
West AfricaMalawi
Southern AfricaZambia
Southern AfricaProject Gallery & Field Activities
Consortium Strategy Forum
IDA, ADF, DIWA, and Inclusion Africa leadership meeting during the inception phase.
Women's OPD Capacity Building
Training women leaders with disabilities on human rights monitoring and policy advocacy.
National Stakeholder Dialogue
Cross-disability advocacy workshop held with mainstream civil society partners.