Rights in Action (RiA)
An OPD-led advocacy initiative enabling disability rights movements across Africa to promote, protect, and advance human rights at national, regional, and international levels.
Project Overview
The Rights in Action (RiA) Project is a transformative, OPD-led advocacy initiative funded by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. The project targets Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) in Nigeria and Zimbabwe—with a specialized emphasis on empowering under-represented groups—strengthening them into a unified, resilient movement capable of defending human rights according to their own national and local priorities.
Implemented from February 2025 to December 2026, the initiative leverages the combined strengths of a multi-country consortium led by CBM Global in close partnership with the African Disability Forum (ADF) and key regional and national OPD federations.
Core Mission & Long-Term Goal
To ensure that persons with disabilities in Africa are free from discrimination, fully enjoy their fundamental human rights, and participate equally in political and public life by expanding the legal capacity and advocacy power of local OPDs.
Key Objectives & Expected Outcomes
- Strengthening Under-Represented Groups: Amplifying voices of deaf citizens, persons with psychosocial disabilities, and grassroots rural OPDs.
- Policy & Legal Reform: Advocating for the ratification, domestic enforcement, and monitoring of the CRPD and the African Disability Protocol.
- Movement Building: Building sustainable cross-border networks to influence decision-makers at national, regional, and continental levels.
Donors & Implementing Partners
Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland
Project Funder / Donor
CBM Global
Consortium Lead Partner
African Disability Forum
Continental Peak Body
JONAPWD
National OPD Lead (Nigeria)
FODPZ
National OPD Lead (Zimbabwe)
Inclusion Africa
Regional Disability Network
PANPPD
Psychosocial Disability Network
World Federation of the Deaf
Global Deaf Rights Partner
Project Gallery & Media
Policy & Legal Advocacy
OPD representatives analyzing national legislation for alignment with the African Disability Protocol.
Movement Building Workshops
Grassroots OPD leaders participating in rights-based advocacy training in Abuja, Nigeria.
Amplifying Under-Represented Voices
Strategic consultation focusing on psychosocial and deaf community rights inclusion in Harare, Zimbabwe.