Pacific Enable

The “Pacific Enable” project is the product of a joint UN collaboration between ILO, UNICEF, WHO, UNESCAP, UNV, the Pacific Disability Forum (PDF) and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS). The two-year initiative (2013-2014), with funding provided by the United Nations Partnership to Promote the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD) through a budget allocation of US$350,000 targets persons with disabilities in Fiji, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Cook Islands. Out of this total funding, the sum of US$65,000 is for ILO activities.

Pacific Enable will provide a range of activities with the overall goal of improving the lives and opportunities of persons with disabilities with activities targeted to meet existing gaps and to act as catalyzers for further work that governments and/or development partners will undertake. The ILO component of the project involves training related to employment opportunities and building sustainable livelihoods, which are critical for persons with disabilities. The ILO will work in Fiji and Vanuatu to encourage and enhance support for persons with disabilities to engage in self and waged employment. This will be achieved through ILO’s established working relationships with governments, as well as employers’ and workers’ organisations. The ILO will also provide skills-building and gender-responsive training to suit specific needs of women and men with disabilities and will draw on its Enterprise Development Tool Kit and Cooperatives, and the Women’s Entrepreneurship Development programme to support this work. This will support the initiatives of the Fiji National Council for Disabled Persons (FNCDP) and the Disability Promotion and Advocacy Association of Vanuatu (DPAAV) in creating equal employment opportunities and strengthening its vocational training programmes for up-skilling people with disabilities.