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Melaku T. Zengeta
Director Ethiopian Center for Disability and Development

Melaku T. Zengeta is a highly experienced community service organization (CSO) leader with demonstrated experience working in disability and mobilizing a range of stakeholders to ensure effective inclusion of persons with disabilities in health, education, livelihood and social protection projects and programs in Ethiopia. As the Executive Director of the Ethiopian Center for Disability and Development (ECDD), a leading Ethiopian community service organisation, he provides leadership and strategic oversight to the organisations’ diverse projects and programs aimed at promoting disability inclusive development across all regions in Ethiopia. ECDD is implementing 15 projects funded by United Nations Populations Fund, Irish Aid, Packard Foundation, and International Labour Organization across five regions in Ethiopia addressing the needs of persons with disabilities, including youth, women and adolescent girls. With the support from UNFPA and the Packard Foundation, ECDD is promoting Sexual Reproductive Health Rights of adolescent girls with disabilities working with associations of persons with disabilities, mainstream health centres across eleven towns of Ethiopia with a total budget of half a million USD. He is a social worker by training with six years of experience developing and implementing high impact disability inclusive programs. He is certified in managing diversity and promoting non-discrimination in the work place by the International Labour Organization Training Centre, Turin, Italy. He has a degree in Public Administration and Development Management, Law and a master’s in social work from Addis Ababa University.

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