Background

On 30 June 2026, IDDC’s OPD Dialogues brought together leaders from the Ford Foundation, ADD International, UNABU (Rwanda), and JONAPWD (Nigeria) for a candid conversation on what “localization” actually means for disability rights funding — and how far the sector still has to go.

The discussion didn’t shy away from hard numbers: OPD budgets cut by half since COVID-19, and only an estimated 0.3% of global aid reaching disabled people’s organizations in the Global South. But it also surfaced real momentum — from Ford Foundation’s decade-long shift toward flexible, decentralized funding, to ADD International’s participatory grant-making model designed by OPDs themselves.

A recurring thread: localization often means where money lands, while decolonization asks who gets to decide. As one panelist put it, the shift needed isn’t just financial — it’s a move from transactional partnership to transformative trust.

Recording

Missed the session? Watch the recording of the full panel discussion and audience Q&A.

Transcript “Equity in Action: Fairer funding models for a localized agenda”.