Insights and Highlights from the African Disability Conference and Pre-Summit

By ADF
September 18, 2024

The African Disability Conference, which began on September 2, 2024, in Nairobi, marked a historic milestone as Africa’s first OPD-led event. This was followed by the African Regional Pre-Summit on September 5. Hosted by the African Disability Forum (ADF) in collaboration with the International Disability Alliance (IDA), Sightsavers International, and other partners, the conference brought together representatives of organizations of persons with disabilities from over 38 countries across the continent, showcasing the rich diversity and vitality of Africa’s disability movement.

These gatherings, as the first regional events leading up to the Global Disability Summit (GDS) 2025 in Berlin, were vital for reflecting on progress made, advocating for change, setting priorities, and encouraging increased investment in disability inclusion.

The conference, themed “Persons with Disabilities in a Post-Pandemic World: Redefining the Inclusive Development & Humanitarian Agenda in Africa,” addressed a wide array of pressing issues. The conference unpacked different thematic areas including regional human rights instruments with a focus on the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (the African Disability Protocol), poverty and inequality, inclusive social protection, access to education and economic opportunities, inclusive humanitarian assistance, climate action, gender inclusion, inclusive health and community inclusion.

An MoU has being signed between the
ADF and African Disability Alliance to advance advocacy for the ratification and implementation of the African Disability Protocol. — *_{An MoU has been signed between the ADF and African Disability Alliance to advance advocacy for the ratification and implementation of the African Disability Protocol.}*

Key highlights of the conference included:

Partnership and Collaboration: Emphasizing that building an inclusive and fair future requires joint efforts and that promoting disability-inclusive development is crucial for safeguarding the human rights of persons with disabilities at all levels
Inclusive Policy and Legal Frameworks: The need to enhance inclusive policy issuance, repeal discriminatory laws, and promote the ratification and implementation of the African Disability Protocol
Equitable Resource Allocation: Ensuring fair distribution of resources and investing in disability-inclusive social protection programs, inclusive education, community inclusion, and inclusive health
Active and meaningful participation of OPDs – Ensuring that OPDs are well resourced financially and technically, and deliberately engaging them in decision processes, with particular attention to women, children, youth, indigenous peoples, older persons, persons with high support needs, persons with albinism, refugees, and internally displaced persons with disabilities
Awareness and Sensitization: Strengthening efforts in raising awareness and community sensitization about disability issues
Gender inclusive development programs: Acknowledging that women with disabilities face multiple and intersecting discrimination and thus critical to apply a gender lens in all development programs and promote their empowerment
Data Collection and Management: Improving inclusive data collection, data disaggregation, and disability-inclusive national information management
Accessibility: Prioritizing accessibility as a cross-cutting issue and enabler to the enjoyment of rights, participation in, and inclusion in the community

Outcome of the Conference

The three-day discussions were consolidated into a Declaration outlining the key priorities for the region and calling for action from government and development partners. Stay tuned for more details.

Our Commitment

African Disability Forum (ADF) shall keep its momentum to represent persons with disabilities in Africa at regional and global arenas and to voice their concerns. Guided by the Declaration and the Pre-summit Outcome Document- we commit to unifying and amplifying the voice of persons with disabilities, their families, and representative organizations at national, regional, and international levels. Fostering partnership and collaboration, building capacity at both internal and members levels as well as adhering to stewardship shall have paramount importance and remain as core engagement in realizing its stated objectives.