Disability Justice and Inequalities Research Findings.

About the research.

Persons with disabilities often face unfair treatment in many parts of life, such as getting jobs, being represented, and being recognised. They also deal with other forms of inequality connected to things like class, race, and gender. Even so, disability is rarely seen as a main issue in campaigns that fight against inequality.

Even though these issues are widespread, many movements for inequality don’t actively include the voices and experiences of persons with disabilities. At the same time, disability groups sometimes find it difficult to fully connect their work with other struggles against inequality.

This research project is led by ADD International and funded by Atlantic Fellows for Social and Economic Equity. It engages with campaigners and activists in Ghana and Kenya who focus on disability justice and on reducing inequality. The project is developing a set of tools and resources to support the inclusion of disability in inequality campaigns and vice versa.

Research Findings.

In 2024 and 2025, ADD International worked with a team of researchers to explore some of the reasons for the gaps in connection between disability and inequality activists. The researchers aimed to understand how activists in Ghana and Kenya think about and understand disability and inequality.

The study also explored the barriers that prevent disability and inequality activists from working together, as well as the factors that help to strengthen collaboration.

There were 3 main areas that we wanted to explore in our research study:

Understandings of disability and inequality

Barriers to collaboration between disability and inequality movements

How to strengthen collaboration between disability and inequality movements

To find out more we engaged with 30 campaigners and activists in Ghana and Kenya who focus on disability justice and on reducing inequality. Half were based in Ghana and half were in Kenya. In each country, we interviewed eight disability activists and seven inequality activists to explore how to strengthen collaboration.

This study was supported by an engagement group, which included representatives from the Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations, United Disabled Persons of Kenya and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.

The team worked with campaigners and activists to identify strategies to improve collaboration between disability and inequality activists and their organisations. We did this by bringing activists together in focus group discussions and workshops.

Hear from some of the research participants.

This research project brings together disability and inequality activists to explore how to strengthen collaboration. It involved participants with different types of disabilities and social identities.

In this short video, Esther Mwaniki shares her reflections on how to strengthen collaboration.

“A really great collaboration means making decisions with us and not without us. Collaboration is good when it is done right and allows for flexibility. My hope for the collaboration toolkit is that it helps build inclusive spaces, provides practical accessibility, and ensures that no one is left behind.” – Esther Mwaniki, Disability Activist

You can find some more insights our research participants shared in these short videos: Uniting for Change: Strengthening Collaboration Between Disability Justice and Inequality Activists. – YouTube.

“If we want to have an equal society, one that is fair there should be reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities, recognizing our differences and individual needs based on various impairments and disabilities.”

Sirina Mahamadu – National Vice President of Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations.

Key strategies to make collaboration stronger.

We identified three key strategies to make collaboration stronger:

Fairer resourcing
More intentional collaboration
Deeper consideration of intersectional issues

You can find out more in a summary of our research, including methods, findings and the tools developed as a practical outcome of the project.  At the end of the summary, there is a glossary which explains the terms and keywords used. The summary is also available in a range of formats and languages including English, EasyRead, Swahili and Twi.

RESEARCH SUMMARY

Collaborating for Justice: Disability and Inequality Activist Reflections.

We spoke to disability activists and inequality activists to explore how to strengthen collaboration. You can find some of the important insights our research participants shared in this short video:

“Collaboration is important because we as individuals and as organisations all bring valid experience that shape how we act and how we implement our projects and processes. Collaboration allows us to bring these different varied experiences to solve problems and also to create new evidence that can be used by others.” – Kevin Sudi, Country program manager CBM Global Disability Inclusion, Kenya.

“I am looking at this tool as a bridging force that is really going to help us do away with all the challenges that have existed over the years, and that it’s going to be something that people can reach out to in any sense, and at any given time when there is a need to collaborate, and they can utilise it.”

Martha Coffie- Disability Justice Activist, Ghana.

Research project led by ADD International.