Press release: Charities who help people with disabilities receive UK aid funding boost

AbleChild Africa, Humanity and Inclusion, British and Irish Agencies Afghanistan Group, Orbis Charitable Trust and Deafkidz concentrate a lot of their work on people with disabilities who can be marginalised by society.

They work with people of all ages in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Rwanda, Ethiopia and Afghanistan where people with disabilities are often the most vulnerable in society.

Many of these charities work in health and education to ensure people with disabilities are getting the support they need including; eye care services in hard to reach areas, support to deaf communities and where possible helping people with disabilities find suitable employment.

These grants come in the second round of funding from UK Aid Direct, announced by the Department for International Development. In total, 30 small and medium sized civil society organisations, who work on a wide range of issues throughout the developing world will benefit. As well as projects focussed on disability inclusion, funding will also be provided to projects working on food security and nutrition as well preventing violence against women and children.

UK Aid Direct has already reached more than 3 million people, through 147 grants, across 31 countries.

Announcing the latest round of funding, Secretary of State for International Development, Penny Mordaunt said:

An estimated 800 million people with disabilities live in developing countries. Many of these people continue to face appalling levels of stigma, discrimination and abuse, and all too often miss out on the opportunities that are the right of every person.

Small and medium sized charities offer a wealth of experience, expertise and skills essential to our mission to find innovative new solutions to complex development problems.

Many of these charities represent the best of British expertise and I am extremely proud that through UK Aid Direct, we are strengthening our great partnerships with them to improve the lives of those living in extreme poverty.

The UK government will co-host its first-ever Global Disability Summit in London in July alongside the International Disability Alliance and the Government of Kenya. The summit will bring together leaders from the private sector, governments, donor agencies and charities to raise awareness of this under-prioritised issue and show our commitment to transform the lives of people with disabilities. It will secure ambitious commitments to make a tangible difference to the lives of millions of people around the world.

Lauren Watters, Head of Programmes at AbleChild Africa said:

The UK government is leading the way for disability inclusive development and we are tremendously excited that it has identified the need to empower Youth with Disabilities in Rwanda through UK Aid Direct. Our project will facilitate meaningful youth involvement tackling the multiple barriers this group face and supporting their full inclusion into society.

Steve Crump, Founder of Deafkidz:

It is extremely gratifying that the UK government has acknowledged our important mission to help deaf children around the world live safely and without fear through the UK Aid Direct scheme. Our work is vital, not only to provide vulnerable children with the ear and hearing care they need, but also to change the dangerous stigmas they face each day.

Notes to Editors

There are 30 Aid Match Direct grants being announced with a total funding of £28,968,130

Further information and the full list of recipients of the latest UK Aid Direct grants are available here: www.ukaiddirect.org/news/

UK Aid Direct is a five-year; £150 million programme currently changing the lives of over 3 million of the world’s poorest people with UK aid from the UK Government.

Funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), UK Aid Direct was established in 2014 as a successor to the Global Poverty Action Fund (GPAF), which was created in 2010.

UK Aid Direct is a challenge fund designed to support the UK’s commitments to achieving the Global Goals.

Funding rounds will continue until 2020.

The UK Government will co-host its first ever disability summit later this year that will focus on four central themes:

• tackling stigma and discrimination
• inclusion in education
• routes to economic empowerment
• harnessing technology and innovation