About
Our Story.
For over 30 years ADD International has been supporting organisations of disability activists to fight discrimination and ensure every disabled person gets a fighting chance at living their best life.
What we do.
1. Supporting activists. We partner with disability activists in Africa and Asia to help them build powerful movements for change. Disability activists tell us the change they want to make and what they need to make it happen. Together we develop a tailored package of long term support to help activists access the tools, skills and resources they need to make change happen.
2. Building movements. We support organisations of disability activists to build strong and sustainable organisations that can have an ever increasing impact. We then help these groups connect with each other to build wider movements and we work with them to promote the rights of disabled people.
3. Influencing for change. We work with organisations of disabled activists to influence governments, international development actors and the private sector to design policies and services at a local and global level which take into account the needs of disabled people.
Our Key Documents
Annual Reports
Read our Annual Reports and Accounts.
Our Strategy and Theory of Change
Read our Strategic Framework and Theory of Change which guide and focus our work.
Our Research and Reports
Read some of the latest research and reports on disability inclusion, both from our work and other leading experts.
Safeguarding at ADD International.
Meet the team.
ADD International's staff and board is made up of passionate people who want to make a difference. Get to know them.
Meet our ambassadors.
Say hello to our passionate ambassadors, who help us raise the profile of disability activists in Africa and Asia.
The journey so far.
For 30 years ADD International has been working alongside disabled people living in extreme poverty fighting for independence, equality and opportunity.
ADD International was founded as ‘Action on Disability and Development’ in 1985 by Chris Underhill, following a trip to Zimbabwe. Chris was blown away by the disabled people he met who were successfully changing attitudes and policies.
Our global partners.
Working together is the most effective way to ensure no disabled person is forgotten. That's why we partner with national and international organisations, to ensure that the voices of disabled people are heard. We are an active member of the following organisations:
- The International Disability and Development Consortium (IDDC) which promotes inclusive development.
- Bond, the UK membership body for organisations working in international development.
- Beyond 2015 and Action 2015, the global campaigns to influence the new Sustainable Development Goals and ensure no one is left behind.
- The Gender and Development Network (GADN), a membership network made up of UK NGOs working on women’s rights issues.
We also work with the International Disability Alliance (IDA), a network of organisations of persons with disabilities (DPOs) and their families, to ensure the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is effective and fully implemented worldwide.
We rely on public support to fund our vital work. We are members of the following organisations, to guarantee best practice to our donors:
- The Fundraising Regulator (FRSB), the independent self-regulatory scheme for fundraising in the UK.
- The Public Fundraising Regulatory Association (PFRA), the membership body for charities and agencies carrying out street and doorstep Direct Debit fundraising.