In 2024, CBM UK was awarded €1.2 million funding by the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs to launch a new advocacy project called: Rights in Action – Strong Connected Organisations of Persons with Disabilities for Inclusive Advocacy. Running until December 2026, the project, launched in June, is being delivered in partnership with disability organisations across Africa and will focus on addressing discrimination and human rights violations faced by people with disabilities – particularly those from underrepresented groups in Nigeria and Zimbabwe.
CBM UK launches Rights in Action Project
Posted on:
Friday, August 1st, 2025
Many people with disabilities – especially those with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities, as well as deaf and deafblind individuals – continue to face major barriers to independence, taking part in public life and accessing essential services. Although many African countries have laws in place to protect their rights, these groups are still too often left out of development efforts and emergency response.
“We have diverse legal frameworks in the African continent meant to address the barriers that Africans with disabilities face, but still many are left out. To have a project that seeks to address some of these barriers, more so by underrepresented groups, is a big milestone – not just for us, but for our Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPD) partners in Africa,” says Anderson Gitonga, CBM Global Inclusive Development Director.
An innovative approach
The project’s design and implementation will be co-created by 16 OPD partners in Nigeria and Zimbabwe. These partners will shape the programme based on their own priorities and needs, focusing on three main areas:
- Governance
- Advocacy capacity
- Organisational sustainability
The Rights in Action project will be facilitated by CBM, working in partnership with:
- Federation of Organisations of Disabled Persons in Zimbabwe
- Inclusive Friends Association, Nigeria
By partnering with organisations working at the national, regional, and international level we will have the opportunity to create opportunities for broader influence and learning. Together, we look forward to building a stronger, more inclusive disability movement that leaves no one behind.
Find out more about our work promoting inclusion and rights here.
Photo: The Rights in Action Project Launch in Nigeria
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