Disability Inclusion Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Humanitarian Programme Managers, Protection Officers and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 9 Nov 2026 Course code SD-HR-040

Before you join: Participants should have practical experience in humanitarian programmes, development projects or emergency response operations.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Humanitarian programmes can unintentionally exclude people with disabilities at every stage: needs assessments may miss them, distribution sites may be inaccessible, information may not reach people with sensory or intellectual disabilities, and complaints systems may not provide a safe route to raise concerns. Exclusion creates protection risks, weakens accountability to affected people and can leave assistance concentrated among those already able to reach services. Teams need practical ways to identify barriers, work with organisations of persons with disabilities, budget for adjustments and measure whether access has improved.

This course develops the methods needed to design, deliver and monitor disability-inclusive humanitarian response. Participants work with the IASC Guidelines on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Washington Group Questions. They learn to adapt rapid assessments, collect and use disability-disaggregated data, engage representative organisations, conduct accessibility audits, specify reasonable accommodations, build accessible feedback channels and include disability indicators in MEAL plans. Sector examples cover protection, WASH, shelter, cash assistance, food security, health, education and camp coordination.

Instruction combines short technical briefings with humanitarian cases, facilitated group work, scenario-based decision making and structured application planning. Participants assess realistic operational constraints such as limited budgets, insecure access, weak service markets and time-sensitive distributions. They leave with a disability inclusion action plan and a set of working templates that can be adapted to current programmes, proposals, field assessments and partner management processes. The course is particularly suited to staff responsible for programme quality, protection, MEAL, coordination, operations or grant delivery.

What you will be able to do

  • Apply the IASC disability inclusion principles to humanitarian programme decisions
  • Design disability-inclusive needs assessments using functional difficulty and barrier questions
  • Use Washington Group Questions to plan ethical disability-disaggregated data collection
  • Conduct accessibility audits for service points, facilities, information and feedback channels
  • Specify reasonable accommodations and universal design requirements in programme plans
  • Develop meaningful participation arrangements with organisations of persons with disabilities
  • Create disability-inclusive indicators, feedback mechanisms and MEAL plans
  • Produce a time-bound disability inclusion action plan for a humanitarian response

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Confidence adapting assessments and response plans for disability inclusion
  • Practical language for discussing accessibility and reasonable accommodation with partners
  • Ability to identify exclusion risks before activities begin
  • Reusable methods for engaging organisations of persons with disabilities
  • Evidence for leading disability inclusion improvements within current humanitarian responsibilities

For your organisation

  • More equitable access to humanitarian assistance and protection services
  • Earlier identification of access barriers, safeguarding risks and unmet needs
  • Clearer budgets and procurement specifications for accessibility adjustments
  • Stronger accountability evidence from disability-disaggregated monitoring and feedback
  • More credible partnerships with organisations of persons with disabilities

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can explain disability inclusion duties and identify exclusion risks within humanitarian response decisions.

  • Rights-based and social models of disability compared with medical approaches
  • UNCRPD Articles 9, 11 and 32 translated into response duties
  • IASC disability inclusion principles: participation, non-discrimination, accessibility and accountability
  • Intersectionality mapping for gender, age, impairment, displacement and protection risks
  • Impairment, activity limitation and participation restriction distinguished using ICF terminology
  • Barriers and facilitators identified through person-environment interaction analysis
  • Representative organisations of persons with disabilities mapped as response partners

Participants can plan ethical collection and use of disability-disaggregated data for response decisions.

  • Washington Group Short Set questions selected for appropriate population surveys
  • Child Functioning Module use distinguished from adult functioning question sets
  • Disaggregating data by sex, age and functioning difficulty without harmful labels
  • Sampling people with disabilities when household listings exclude institutionalised populations
  • Informed consent, assent and supported decision-making applied during data collection
  • Data minimisation and access controls protect sensitive impairment information
  • Referral protocols established before identifying unmet protection or health needs

Participants can establish meaningful participation arrangements with organisations of persons with disabilities.

  • OPD engagement mapped through stakeholder analysis, power mapping and feedback loops
  • Nothing About Us Without Us applied to consultation design
  • Accessible community meetings planned with interpreters, transport and personal assistance
  • Safeguarding measures prevent retaliation, exploitation and tokenistic representation
  • Feedback and complaints channels tested for confidentiality, accessibility and response times
  • Participation budgets cost interpretation, accessible transport and reasonable accommodation
  • Accountability to Affected Populations commitments linked to disability inclusion

Participants can identify disability-related barriers and priorities through inclusive assessment methods.

  • Rapid needs assessments adapted using functional difficulty and barrier questions
  • Joint needs analysis separates impairment prevalence from access barriers
  • Protection risk analysis identifies disability-specific threats, capacities and coping strategies
  • Service mapping records accessible providers, referral criteria and geographic coverage
  • Barrier analysis traces physical, communication, attitudinal and institutional constraints
  • Age, Gender and Diversity analysis informs prioritisation criteria and targeting
  • Assessment findings validated with OPDs before response design decisions

Participants can integrate disability inclusion requirements into programme logic, targeting and budgets.

  • Logical frameworks include disability inclusion outcomes, outputs, indicators and assumptions
  • Results chains link accommodations to equitable access and participation
  • Universal design and reasonable accommodation distinguished in programme specifications
  • Minimum accessibility requirements written into activity plans and budgets
  • Targeting criteria prevent exclusion caused by documentation, mobility or communication barriers
  • Cash and voucher assistance adapted for access, safety and informed choice
  • Sector response options compared using barrier, feasibility and risk criteria

Participants can assess accessibility and specify practical adjustments for humanitarian services and information.

  • Accessibility audits examine routes, entrances, sanitation, signage, lighting and seating
  • Universal Design principles applied to temporary facilities and distribution sites
  • Reasonable accommodation plans assign individual adjustments, responsibilities and costs
  • Accessible information formats include plain language, large print, audio and Braille
  • Sign-language interpretation and communication support planned with qualified providers
  • Digital accessibility checked against WCAG 2.1 Level AA requirements
  • Evacuation and site safety plans address mobility, sensory and cognitive needs

Participants can apply disability inclusion measures to major humanitarian sector services.

  • Protection mainstreaming identifies exclusion, violence and abuse risks during delivery
  • WASH facilities designed for accessible latrines, bathing, queues and menstrual hygiene
  • Shelter specifications address step-free access, circulation, privacy and household adaptations
  • Food distributions accommodate queue management, proxy collection and home delivery
  • Education activities provide accessible learning materials, support and safeguarding
  • Health referrals coordinate rehabilitation, assistive products, mental health and psychosocial support
  • Camp coordination tracks accessible services through site-level service mapping

Participants can embed disability inclusion requirements in operational systems and partner arrangements.

  • Partner due diligence reviews disability inclusion capacity and OPD relationships
  • Procurement specifications require accessibility features, quality assurance and maintenance arrangements
  • Budget lines cost accommodations, accessibility upgrades, interpretation and community engagement
  • Human resources procedures provide reasonable accommodation for staff and volunteers
  • Supplier screening verifies accessible transport, printing and assistive product capability
  • Partnership agreements define OPD roles, payment terms and decision rights
  • Contingency stocks include accessibility items without segregating people unnecessarily

Participants can monitor inclusion outcomes and use feedback to improve response quality.

  • Disability-disaggregated indicators measure reach, outcomes, quality and participation
  • Indicator reference sheets define numerator, denominator, source and disaggregation
  • MEAL plans combine quantitative monitoring with accessible qualitative feedback
  • Outcome harvesting captures unplanned changes reported by people with disabilities
  • Complaints data analysed for access barriers, response quality and safeguarding concerns
  • Post-distribution monitoring tests equitable access, safety, dignity and choice
  • Evaluation terms of reference require accessible methods and OPD participation

Participants can prepare a practical disability inclusion action plan for their humanitarian work.

  • Scenario analysis addresses sudden-onset disasters, displacement and protracted crises
  • Response decision logs record inclusion trade-offs, mitigation and accountable owners
  • Case management referral pathways coordinate consent, follow-up and confidentiality
  • Team action plans sequence 30-, 60- and 90-day inclusion priorities
  • RACI matrices assign accessibility, data, partnership and monitoring responsibilities
  • Risk registers track operational, safeguarding, reputational and exclusion risks
  • Personal application plans specify commitments, evidence and review dates

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Disability-inclusive rapid assessment question bank
  2. Accessibility audit checklist for humanitarian service points
  3. Reasonable accommodation planning template
  4. OPD engagement and participation plan
  5. Disability-inclusive MEAL indicator reference sheet
  6. 90-day disability inclusion action plan

Who should attend

  • Humanitarian Programme Managers — need to embed inclusion within response design, delivery and budgets
  • Protection Officers — need to identify and reduce disability-related protection risks
  • MEAL Specialists — need to collect, analyse and act on disability-disaggregated evidence
  • Humanitarian Coordinators — need to align partners around inclusion commitments and accountabilities
  • WASH, Shelter and Cash Advisors — need to make sector services accessible and safe
  • Operations and Partnership Staff — need to procure, contract and support accessible delivery arrangements

Skills and tools covered

Disability-inclusive assessmentAccessible programme designOPD participationAccessibility auditingInclusive MEALAccommodation planning

Tools and standards

IASC Guidelines on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action, Washington Group Short Set, UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to establish standards, terminology and decision points, followed by case-based analysis drawn from displacement, disaster and protracted-crisis responses. Participants examine assessment findings, site layouts, distribution plans, budgets, partner arrangements and monitoring data. Group exercises test choices around accessible delivery, safeguarding, referral pathways and constrained resources. Facilitated simulations focus on coordination with organisations of persons with disabilities and response teams. Each participant develops an application plan linked to a current or anticipated programme.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have practical experience in humanitarian programmes, development projects or emergency response operations. Familiarity with the programme cycle, basic needs assessment, partner coordination and results monitoring is assumed. Participants should be able to read project documents such as proposals, workplans, budgets or indicator tables. Prior disability studies training is not required, nor is technical knowledge of rehabilitation, sign language, Braille or assistive product provision. The course explains essential terminology and focuses on the decisions that programme, technical, operational and MEAL staff make during response delivery.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

You should understand basic humanitarian programme delivery, assessment or monitoring processes. No previous disability inclusion qualification is required, and the course introduces the relevant terminology, standards and tools.

Bring a current programme document, assessment form, workplan, budget, monitoring plan or proposal if you can share it appropriately. These materials help you identify practical changes for your own work during application planning.

It is designed for humanitarian programme, protection, MEAL, sector, coordination, operations and partnership staff. It is also relevant to development staff working in fragile settings or preparing emergency response programmes.

This course focuses on operational programme decisions: assessment, targeting, accessibility, budgets, procurement, participation and monitoring. It addresses safeguarding risks, but does not replace specialist safeguarding, rehabilitation or clinical training.

Participants can review an assessment tool, map barriers at a service point, add budget lines for accommodations or improve a feedback channel. The final action plan identifies priorities, owners, evidence and review dates for implementation.

Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. The five days cover ten linked modules, using briefings, cases, group analysis, simulations and application planning.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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