It is the sincere hope of the Secretariat of the African Decade of Persons with Disabilities that national and international
partners from across the disability and development fields, including people with disabilities, will work together to achieve the aims of the National Programme over the next ten years. The Secretariat thanks all of those who have made valuable contributions to the development of the programme and offers continuing support wherever this is needed.
Kudakwashe Dube
This will be done through, amongst other things, capacity building, advocacy and lobbying, coordination, monitoring
and reporting. Another important priority for the Secretariat is to assist the most vulnerable groups, such
as persons with mental disabilities, persons who are def-blind and those with albinism, to build strong continental DPOs (Disabled Persons Organisations). Our main thematic programs are disability and HIV & AIDS, PRSPs (Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers), women, and children and youth with disabilities.
What Is the AADIRI Program
AADIRI is “Africa Alliances for Disability Inclusion and Rights” Programme aimed at the consolidation and implementation of well-focused activities with the cooperation of alliances and networks in Africa. This
approach builds on the comparative, as opposed to competitive, advantages that the Secretariat has as a
result of working as a technical agency with a number of strategies aimed at mainstreaming disability in
development plans. The programme is aimed at building and strengthening alliances that promote advocacy on human rights protection in Africa. The aim is to promote the rights of persons with disabilities at regional level and to contribute towards the progressive realization of effective participation and enjoyment of human rights
enshrined under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and drawing on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) for comparative best practices.
Honourable Deputy President of South Africa (seated second from left), Hon. Minister of Women, Children and People with Disabilities (seated third from left), SADPD CEO, K. Dube (seated first from left), Hon. Deputy Minister of Public Works (standing second from left) and SADPD staff, government and university officials.
