National Federation of the Disabled Nepal (NFDN) is the national cross-disability umbrella body of the Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs). As a non-profit and non-political civil society organization, NFDN was officially formed in 1993 and legally registered according to the Institution Registration Act 2034 in the district administration office of Kathmandu. Since its establishment, the organization has been working continuously to promote and protect the rights of persons with disabilities through its key working strategies –Advocacy, Awareness raising, Capacity Building, and Networking and collaboration. As an umbrella organization, NFDN provides leadership to people with disabilities from all impairment groups in Nepal, represents their agendas in the decision-making process, influences and encourages the government, INGOs, development partners, other civil society organizations, NGOs, and private sectors for disability inclusion at the federal, provincial and local level. It leads and raises the common and collective voices of people with disabilities. According to the current official record of NFDN, 400 OPDs are affiliated and organized under the umbrella of NFDN throughout the country, and through its member OPDs, NFDN can expand its network and presence in 76 districts out of 77. With the purpose of establishing a close relationship, cooperation, and coordination with its member organizations and other local stakeholders, NFDN has established its offices at all province levels. At the federal and province level, NFDN has elected working committees and staff mechanisms for day to day implementation of the program activities.

Photo taken during IDPD 2023 rally. NFDN president is at the front and other peoples are seen behind carrying the banner of IDPD day
Rally on the occasion of IDPD

At the federal level, NFDN is recognized as the prime consulting agency for government and other stakeholders to work on disability issues. It has been providing various technical support to the Nepal government for the formulation of disability-specific policy, laws, guidelines, and programs. NFDN is a member of the Inclusive Education Council under the Centre for Education and Human Resource Development (CEHRD), Disability Desk formed under Prime Minister’s office, National Direction Committee formed under chair of Ministry of Women Children and Senior Citizen (MOWCSC), and National Development Council under National Planning Commission. NFDN has a strategic engagement/cooperation with the NGO federation, Human Rights Treaty Monitoring Coordination Committee (HRTMCC), National Human Rights Summit and other disability related federations such as Parents’ Federation of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities (PFPID), National Deaf Federation Nepal (NDFN), Federation of the Women with Disabilities, Federation of Persons with Physical Disability. Internationally, NFDN is a member assembly of Disabled Peoples’ International (DPI) and represents Nepal in the DPI Asia Pacific region as vice president, and South Asia as president.

NFDN has very influential and proactive roles in formulating, changing, and implementing disability-related legal provisions, and building the leadership and advocacy capacity of Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) in Nepal. NFDN has its presence in all seven provinces in the leadership of Provincial Executive Committees in the capital cities of the provinces.

Vision of NFDN

NFDN envisages a society where all persons with disabilities live a dignified life with full realization of all human rights in an inclusive and barrier-free environment.

Mission of NFDN

  • Effective Leadership of NFDN and its member organization for human rights
  • Promotion, protection, access to services and inclusion of persons with disabilities.
  • Protection, promotion and effective implementation of Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in Nepal.
  • Meaningful participation of persons with disabilities or their representatives in the process of policies and laws formation, their implementation and monitoring and all other decision-making processes of the state affecting to their life.

Goals of NFDN

  • Institutional sustainability of NFDN and its member organization.
  • Adequate constitutional provisions, policies, and laws to address all human rights and needs of persons with disabilities.
  • Availability and mobilization of adequate countrywide structure, mechanism, and resource (human, technology, knowledge, skills, finance, and information) for the effective implementation of disability-related constitutional provisions, laws and policies
  • Meaningful participation of persons with disabilities in the decision-making process of policy formation and implementation of state from local to central level.
  • Easy access of persons with disabilities to health, education, employment/livelihood, empowerment, social participation, physical facilities, assistive devices and attendants, DRR and climate change adaption, rehabilitation services, reasonable accommodation, including all services, facilities and opportunities connected to their special needs as their rights.
  • Sensitive and responsible government and relevant stakeholders towards the rights, issues and needs of persons with disabilities
  • Institutionalization of the Rights based Approach of Disability in community level.

Objectives of NFDN

General Objectives

Contribute to achieving the overall objective of disability-inclusive development of the nation by mainstreaming disability issues in all development processes and ensuring participation of persons with disabilities in all decision-making processes.

Specific Objective:

  • Objective 1: Strengthen disability inclusion in the development initiatives of government, non-government and private sectors at federal, province and local level with special focus to inclusive health, education, economic empowerment, accessibility, access to justice, social protection, rehabilitation services, DRRM and climate change adaptation.
  • Objective 2: Promote the implementation of CRPD and disability inclusive SDG in the policies, programs and budget of Nepal government at federal, provincial and local level giving special focus to the concluding observations and recommendations of UNCRPD committee to Nepal government in 2018. 
  • Objective 3:  Promote leadership, participation and representation of persons with disabilities in the decision-making process of local government where the participation of women with disabilities, children with disabilities and underrepresented impairment groups is prioritized and encouraged.
  • Objective 4: Strengthen classified and comparable disability data and practice of disability inclusive data at federal, province and local level in the reporting, service delivery and monitoring and evaluation system of government and non-government sectors.
  • Objective 5: Promote the organizational development of NFDN at federal and province level (with special focus to organizational sustainability, professional development, system strengthening, policy strengthening and technological advancement) and strengthened the institutionalization of good governance