2023 Free

Annual Review 2023

Able Child Africa is the leading UK charity improving the lives of children with disabilities across Africa. Their 2023 Annual Review — marking 39 years of operation — covers 1,000+ children supported and 1,750+ adults engaged across 6 countries. Highlights include a Comic Relief-funded safeguarding programme in Uganda, an inclusive play initiative in Kenya and the landmark launch of the Able Child Africa Network — 8 African-led organisations coming together to scale impact by 2030.

Report snapshot
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About

Inclusive education, child safeguarding, disability mentoring, inclusive play, girls' protection, community inclusion, policy advocacy, Able Child Africa Network (8 founding African organisations), Comic Relief-funded safeguarding workshops

Key Metrics

Key Metric 1 1,000+ children with disabilities supported across 6 countries in 2023
Key Metric 2 1,750+ parents, teachers and government officials engaged; first year exceeding £1m in charitable fundraising
Key Metric 3 39 years of operation; active in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Malawi and Zambia

Key Outcomes

  • Inclusive play programme in Kenya improving early childhood education access and communication skills for children with disabilities
  • Safeguarding standards developed with Ugandan Society for Disabled Children (USDC) through Comic Relief-funded grant — shared understanding embedded across full organisation
  • Able Child Africa Network launched with 8 founding African member organisations; 2030 Strategy launched targeting tripling in size and reach

Geography

International

Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
440,000+ young people aged 4-18 active members across 7,000 Groups
Key Metric 2
140,000 volunteers supporting the movement across the UK
Key Metric 3
373 Sections opened or re-energised in England between April 2024 and March 2025
0.3% overall growth in young people (ages 4-18), driven by 31% increase in Squirrel Scouts (5,200 young people)
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
55,000 foster carers and 370 fostering service providers as members across the UK
Key Metric 2
45 new Fostering Friendly Employers recruited, bringing the scheme to over 680,000 employees across the UK
Key Metric 3
95 Fostering Wellbeing Pioneers in Wales offering peer support and mentoring to fellow foster carers
191 children and young people engaged in outdoor adventure weeks through the Fostering Attainment and Achievement programme in Northern Ireland
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
91,000 young people supported across 24 countries in 2024/25, including 67,368 in the UK
Key Metric 2
Over 70% of the 25,500 young people who completed Employment and Enterprise programmes achieved a positive outcome
Key Metric 3
Education programmes engaged 63,000 young people (69% of the total), the largest share of delivery
In the UK, 71% of Employment and Enterprise completers achieved a positive outcome, including 39% into employment or self-employment
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
851 students supported through the In2STEM programme in 2024, from 2,036 applications
Key Metric 2
27,447 hours of in-person STEM placement experience provided to participants
Key Metric 3
94% of participants know what it means to work in STEM after the programme, up from 69% beforehand
97% of alumni who applied to university were successfully offered a place, based on UCAS data from 1,760 alumni