Section 1 USAID has had a disability policy in place since 1997, calling on partners and staff “to avoid discrimination against persons with disabilities in programs which USAID funds and to stimulate an engagement of host country counterparts, governments, implementing organizations and other donors in promoting a climate of nondiscrimination against and equal opportunity for persons with disabilities.”28 The policy emphasizes that: issues related to disability are integral to international development; consultation with members of the disability community is critical; and investing in and strengthening DPOs are vital steps for promoting the human rights of persons with disabilities. To further institutionalize its commitment to inclusive development, USAID issued two policy directives: • Acquisition Assistance Policy Directive (AAPD) 04-17 Supporting USAID’s Disability Policy in Contracts, Grants and Cooperative Agreements: This directive was created to ensure contractors and grantees comply, to the greatest extent possible and within the scope of the award, with the USAID Disability Policy. It contains language that must be included in all solicitations and resulting awards for contracts, grants and cooperative agreements. • AAPD 05-07 Supporting USAID’s Standard for Accessibility for the Disabled in Contracts, Grants and Cooperative Agreements: This directive requires a provision in all contracts, grants and cooperative agreements that obligates compliance with standards of accessibility for persons with disabilities in all structures, buildings or facilities resulting from new or renovation construction or alteration. USAID also has the Disability Champions Listserv, which encourages staff in headquarters and at the mission-level to share lessons learned and to ask for guidance on disability inclusive practices. Other U.S. government agencies also highlight the importance of including persons with disabilities in their activities. The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) specifically mentions disability inclusion in its proposal review criteria. The “Program Monitoring and Evaluation” section recommends disaggregating data by disability. The “Quality of Program Idea” states that programs should advance the rights “of the most at risk and vulnerable populations, including women, people with disabilities…” DRL is a good example of a donor that highlights the importance of disability inclusion in activities, objectives and corresponding targets, and enforces this policy by awarding additional points for inclusive proposals. Similarly, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) instituted an inclusion policy in 2009 titled Human Rights for Persons with Disabilities.29 The stated aim of the policy is to respect the human rights of women, men, girls and boys with disabilities and to provide better opportunities and the scope for improving their living conditions in the countries where Sweden carries out development cooperation. The policy calls for consideration of persons with disabilities in SIDA’s work and decision processes. It also includes language to ensure SIDA’s personnel and implementers have increased understanding and knowledge of the human rights situation and living conditions of persons with disabilities. The policy represents an effort to operationalize the statement in Sweden’s rights-based general policy on global development that “a rights perspective involves a focus on the discriminated, including marginalized individuals and groups. People, regardless of gender, age, disability, ethnicity or sexual orienta28 United States Agency for International Development. Bureau for Policy and Program Coordination. USAID Disability Policy Paper. Washington, D.C. 1997. <http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PDABQ631.pdf>. 29 Anette Dahlström, Charlotta Bredberg, Lina Lindblom, Christine Lundberg, Johan Norqvist and Camilla Ottosson. Sida. Human Rights for Persons with Disabilities. Sida, 2009. <http://sidapublications.citat.se/interface/stream/ mabstream.asp?filetype=1&orderlistmainid=294&printfileid=294&filex=402323664960>. Equal Access: How to Include Persons with Disabilities in Elections and Political Processes 33