The Southern Africa Federation of the Disabled (SAFOD) invites qualified applicants to submit applications for a consultancy on monitoring and assessing progress in the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. The assignment will examine key achievements, gaps, and opportunities to strengthen inclusive disaster risk reduction programming and policy influence in the region.
Interested applicants are encouraged to review the detailed Terms of Reference and submit their applications by the 1st of March 2026.
Training of Trainers (ToT) Lead – Disability-Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction (DiDRR)
1. Background
The greatest global challenge of the 21st century is adapting to the consequences of climate change and associated extreme weather events. In particular, the region of south-eastern Africa is increasingly affected by extreme weather events such as prolonged droughts, heavy rainfall, floods, and cyclones, each of which is increasing in intensity and frequency, due to the intensifying El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon. In addition, these countries are in a tense economic and socio-political situation, which in turn exacerbates food and income insecurity (up to recurring hunger crises) for the population in the region, whose livelihoods are largely dependent on subsistence agriculture.
The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015), the Paris Agreement (2016) and other internationally recognised guidelines and guidance (see IASC, ECHO) highlight the importance of the inclusion of persons with disabilities in humanitarian aid, disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation.
However, there is often a lack of appropriate translation into national guidelines and national action plans as well as their practical implementation. In addition, persons with disabilities and their representative organizations are often not included in the corresponding policy processes at national level and thus do not have the opportunity to adequately address and introduce their concerns. Representative organizations for persons with disabilities often lack the necessary capacities to enter dialogue with highly technical and scientific disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation institutions and organizations. Bringing these actors together is critical, as it can support to close advocacy gaps both at national and regional level, through exchange and networking.
1. Introduction
Southern Africa Federation of the Disabled (SAFOD) is a leading disability-focused network engaged in coordination of activities of organizations of Persons with Disabilities in the Southern Africa region. SAFOD plays a huge role in influencing policies at a regional level and also building the capacity of the national OPD’s in advocacy to ensure that they advocate for the inclusion of persons with disabilities in DRR policies in their respective countries.
SAFOD is currently implementing a project in South-Eastern Africa, on Disability Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction (DiDRR) in collaboration with Christian Blind Mission (CBM), an international Christian development organization, committed to improving the quality of life of persons with disabilities in the poorest communities of the world. The project is implemented with five local partners, Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) and Zambia Federation of the disability organisations, (ZAFOD) in Zambia, Regional Psychosocial Support Initiative (REPSSI) and Federation of Organisations of disabled people in Zimbabwe (FODPZ) in Zimbabwe. The two countries were selected primarily because of their similar vulnerability profiles to extreme weather events (drought, floods, cyclones) and the long-term consequences of climate change.
The objective of the project is to contribute to reducing the increased risk of persons with disabilities in climate change-related disasters by strengthening inclusive disaster risk reduction processes and climate change adaptation processes.
Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) play a critical role in advocating for the rights and inclusion of persons with disabilities in disaster risk reduction (DRR) policy, planning, and implementation. However, despite their central role as rights holders and advocates, many OPDs at regional, national, and local levels continue to face capacity constraints that limit their effective participation and influence in DRR decision-making spaces.
At the regional level, OPDs are increasingly engaging in DRR and climate resilience platforms yet often lack harmonized technical knowledge on Disability-Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction (DiDRR) and structured advocacy tools to influence regional policy processes and cross-border learning. At the national level, OPDs are frequently consulted in DRR processes but are not always equipped with the technical expertise required to meaningfully engage with government institutions, disaster management agencies, and humanitarian actors. At the local and community levels, OPDs remain closest to persons with disabilities and are well positioned to drive inclusive preparedness, response, and recovery efforts; however, their capacity to translate national and regional commitments into community-level action remains limited.
It is against this background that the Southern Africa Federation of the Disabled (SAFOD) will commission a qualified Trainer to design and conduct a Training of Trainers (ToT) on Disability-Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction (DiDRR). The ToT will specifically target Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) at regional level, and national level, in Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Zambia, with the aim of strengthening their technical capacity, advocacy skills, and ability to cascade inclusive DRR training and advocacy within their respective countries and across the region.
The Training of Trainers (ToT) is therefore intentionally designed as a strategic investment in sustained and inclusive DRR advocacy. By equipping OPD representatives with advanced DiDRR knowledge, advocacy skills, and training facilitation competencies,
The ToT approach ensures that OPDs are not only beneficiaries of capacity building but are positioned as trainers, advocates, and change agents. Trained OPD trainers will be able to deliver context-specific DiDRR trainings, support community-level awareness and preparedness initiatives, and sustain disability-inclusive DRR advocacy beyond the project period.
By strengthening OPD capacity across multiple levels, the ToT directly contributes to the institutionalization of disability-inclusive DRR and reinforces a bottom-up and top-down advocacy model. This approach supports the long-term sustainability of inclusive DRR efforts and aligns with the principles of the Sendai Framework, particularly the recognition of persons with disabilities and their representative organizations as key stakeholders and agents of change.
SAFOD invites qualified applicants to submit applications to conduct a training on monitoring inclusive early warning systems. The training will equip 14 representatives from Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) with practical tools to assess the inclusivity, reach, and effectiveness of early warning systems. The training aims to strengthen OPDs’ technical capacity to generate evidence, identify gaps, and advocate for improvements in disaster preparedness and climate adaptation.
Interested applicants are encouraged to review the detailed Terms of Reference and submit their applications by the 1st of March 2026.
