ABSTRACT
Disabled people are often the poorest in their communities and are likely to experience discrimination and stigma. Yet, not much has been done despite the obvious link between disability and poverty. Many disabled people seem to continue being invisible in family, community and national activities. Disability mainstreaming seems to be a huge challenge for many countries as disability is not being recognised as a human rights, development and cross-cutting issue. In this chapter, we outline how the Lesotho National Federation of Organisations of the Disabled was involved in the development of the country’s national Disability Mainstreaming Plan, which was adopted in 2015. It articulates on what prompted its development, the level of participation of disabled people, challenges encountered and how the plan was adopted. We also discuss the challenges being currently faced as the country attempts to implement this plan in government policies, programmes and services, as well as how some of these challenges could be overcome. We then conclude by sharing lessons learned during the development of the national disability mainstreaming plan, a process that can also inform others who are contemplating to embark on this route.
