Who we are
ADD International is a UK-based development agency working as an ally to the disability movements in Africa and Asia. ADD works from a human rights perspective and since 1985 has played a key role in facilitating disabled people to come together to make decisions about their own lives and to campaign for their rights; basic rights that most people take for granted such as family life, means of earning a living, education, basic healthcare and respect from other members of the community.
ADD works in Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Cambodia, Ghana, India, Mali, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia with disabled people's organisations ranging from small village groups to large national federations. Some disabled people’s organisations are made up of people with different disabilities, while others have come together through a shared experience, for example deaf people or albinos.
Disabled people, particularly disabled women and children, are among the poorest most disadvantaged people in the world and are often overlooked by other organisations working in development. ADD works across all disability groups and upholds the belief that all disabled people have a right to be included in society.
Fundamental to ADD's work is the acceptance of the social model of disability i.e. that disability is the social consequence of having an impairment and that society needs to change to ensure disabled people are fully included. Disabled children and adults have a right to be included in society and development work - this ensures a better, more inclusive world.
ADD believes that the most effective way to bring about lasting social change that promotes equal opportunities for disabled people is to support the development of vibrant and representative disability organisations as part of the disability rights movement. ADD’s goal is to support organisations of disabled people in Africa and Asia to influence policy and practice, thereby ending social exclusion and poverty.
Tim Wainwright was appointed Chief Executive in September 2010. Tim has extensive experience in senior leadership, management and international development in both the non-governmental and private sectors. He worked for several years with Oxfam, including running their programme in East Asia. More recently Tim worked for the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Britain’s UN-accredited Human Rights body, as their Director of English regions.
Download the December 2011 newsletter: Stories of change (862KB)
Download the full 2010 Report (2.63MB)
Download the full 2009 Report (2.44MB)
Download the 2009 Review (1.37MB)
Download the Election Monitoring leaflet (2.44MB)
Download the Make Disablism History leaflet (934KB)
Action on Disability and Development, Company Limited by Guarantee Register No. 2033925.