10. The twin-track approach
Because of the direct relationship between disability and poverty, and the fact that the MDGs cannot be achieved with out including persons with disabilities, a disability perspective should be part of almost any development project or programme. The degree of disability inclusion will vary, according to the type of project. Once you have defined the degree of disability inclusion for your project, it is time to define your strategy to ensure that a disability perspective is fully incorporated. The ideal approach within a development project is that persons with disabilities are fully included on an equal basis with others. This is what we call here 'including a disability perspective'; it is similar to the concept of 'disability mainstreaming' or 'treating disability as a cross cutting issue'.
However, in order for full inclusion and participation to be possible, it is often necessary to provide specific support to persons with disabilities in parallel, to ensure that they are empowered to participate on an equal basis with others. This combination of 'disability inclusion' with disability specific projects, or components of projects, which aim to empower persons with disabilities in particular, is called the 'twin track approach'; in practice it means:
- The inclusion of a disability perspective an all development projects
- At the same time, support, where appropriate, initiatives aimed directly at the empowerment of persons with disabilities.
The twin track approach is largely accepted by many international donors (for example the World Bank, DfID, the German Cooperation; the EC, the Finnish Cooperation) and NGOs. From a PCM perspective, using the twin track approach implies including the perspectives of persons with disabilities in all relevant development projects, while at the same time empowering persons with disabilities through disability specific projects, or components of projects.
Case study to demonstrate the twin track approach: Enhanced Quality Learning Project in Somaliland and Puntland : Word (7 Mo) - PDF (551 Ko)
