Including Disability into Development Cooperation.Analysis of Initiatives by National and Internatio

Around 80% of the 650 millions persons with disabilities live in developing countries. It is acknowledged that poverty and disability are related through a vicious cycle. This paper considers the role of the disability dimension (needs and rights) within the framework of development cooperation and focuses on the importance of including disability in development strategies in order to achieve development goals. Lamentably only few donor countries consider disability at the moment of defining and programming their development cooperation strategies. In this research have been reviewed several disability-related initiatives undertaken by national cooperation agencies (USAID, DfID, NORAD, MFA, SIDA, DANIDA, GDDC and GTZ) and international organizations (WB, UN, IADB, ADB, UE). The aim was to identify best practices and to highlight main obstacles that have prevented cooperation agencies from implementing successfully inclusive development policies.