Disability and Community Driven Development

It is estimated that disability affects the lives of more than 600 million people globally; the majority living in developing countries, and their numbers are rising due to conflict, malnutrition, natural disasters and HIV/AIDS. Disabled people are often subject to stigmatization, excluded from school or the workplace, and are forced to depend on others in the family and community for physical and economic support.  In addition to being vulnerable to exclusion, disabled people are disproportionately poor, and poor people are disproportionately disabled.

Community Driven Development (CDD), an approach, which emphasizes voice, participation and agency, provides an opportunity to integrate the concerns of the vulnerable groups such as the disabled in development initiatives.  A range of interventions have been adopted by CDD programs to address disability issues - this includes community based rehabilitation, education and vocational training, income generation activities, building social capital and advocacy and policy reform.

Some key issues to consider in promoting more effective inclusion of the disabled in CDD programs are:

• Targeting mechanisms should allow for not just thematic or self-targeting of people with disabilities, but should also integrate the needs of the disabled in the broader CDD project cycle. While it is important to have specific sub-projects with an emphasis on addressing disability concerns, communities should be encouraged to identify and incorporate the needs of vulnerable groups. 
• A strong enabling environment, wherein disability concerns are mainstreamed into institutional frameworks, is critical to empowering disabled people. In countries with progressive disability legislation, a strong civil society, and well-coordinated and responsive local and national governments, the CDD projects were much more successful in including disabled people.
• It is important to balance the participatory and demand-driven approach of CDD programs with social protection mechanisms that include the special needs of vulnerable groups as part of a rights-based paradigm.