African Disability Conference 2024

Sunday 1st - Thursday 5th September 2024 / Nairobi, Kenya

 

2024 African Disability Forum Conference

Persons with Disabilities in a Post-Pandemic World: Redefining the Inclusive Development & Humanitarian Agenda in Africa

September 1-5, 2024

Hotel Tamarind Tree, Nairobi Kenya

 

About the Conference

 

Globally, an estimated 1.3 billion people have a disability, constituting 16% of the world’s total population.  As the population ages, and more people live longer, this number is expected to increase. Around 80% of the world’s population with disabilities live in countries of the Global South with some of the lowest socio-economic outcomes. It is estimated that over 180 million persons with disabilities live in Africa and a vast majority of them face extreme levels of poverty, marginalization, and abuse. While persons with disabilities around the world have some of the poorest socio-economic indices, the situation in Africa is even more alarming. Evidence suggests that less than 10 percent of all children with disabilities under the age of 14 in Sub-Saharan Africa are attending school, and more than 50 percent of persons with disabilities are not in the labor force. 

The dire situation faced by persons with disabilities has been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the Sub-Saharan region has witnessed a rise in situations of conflict and humanitarian crises in recent years. This, coupled with the impact of climate change, is further pushing individuals with disabilities into poverty and deprivation, increasing the risk to their lives.

The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Africa (ADP-The African Disability Protocol) provides an excellent framework through which member states of the African Union can address these issues. It provides a legal framework based on which governments can formulate their disability laws and policies to promote disability rights nationally. It complements the implementation of the CRPD by drawing attention to some of the challenges unique to the African continent. The ADP has come into force with the depositing of Ratification Articles by the Republic of Congo on the 3rd of May 2024. This is a great milestone and the disability movement in Africa is at the cusp of a defining moment.

It is with this backdrop that the African Disability Forum (ADF) is organizing a three-day conference titled ‘Persons with Disabilities in a Post-Pandemic World: Redefining the Inclusive Development & Humanitarian Agenda in Africa’ from September 2-4, 2024, in Nairobi, Kenya. This will be followed by a Pre-GDS Regional Summit ahead of the Global Disability Summit in 2025 on September 5. The ADF General Assembly will be organised on September 1, which will be open to ADF members only.

 

Objectives of the Conference

 

 

1. To build shared understanding of the current challenges and priorities of persons with disabilities in the African region.

2. To call for urgent ratification of the African Disability Protocol and its operationalization

3. To identify key opportunities for advocacy that amplify the priorities set by the disability movement.

4. To bring together governments, development actors, civil society organizations (CSOs), along with the private sector, to share learning and collectively agree on a shared agenda and identify the resources that are needed and that can be brought to ensure inclusive development and humanitarian action.