- Making it Work (MIW) is a global multi-stakeholder initiative supporting the effective implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
- Source is an international information support center designed to strengthen the management, use and impact of information on health and disability.
- The U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines and Cluster Bombs, currently coordinated by Handicap International, is a coalition of thousands of people and U.S. non-governmental organizations working to convince the U.S. government to join the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty and the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions.
Who We Are
In Brief
ICASA Aids summit report
Disability and HIV/AIDS: a door opens
With nearly 10,000 participants from across Europe, Africa and America, the 16th International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA), was an unprecedented success this past December.
The 2011 conference highlighted the importance of taking persons with disabilities into account when developing prevention policies as well as improving their access to treatment. Here is a brief report on our participation:
Handicap International presented the views of persons in disabling situations to ensure they are taken into consideration when developing public HIV/AIDS control policies. Significant progress was made over the course of discussions, which saw all participants confirm the importance of the issue of “Disability and HIV/AIDS,” which will be at the heart of the next conference to be held in Durban in 2013.
Throughout proceedings, numerous examples from Handicap International's HIV/AIDS control programs in developing countries were cited. These examples were selected by a scientific committee and will be used as a model for implementing a genuinely universal approach to HIV/AIDS control. This constitutes both a significant breakthrough, and official recognition of the organization's achievements, greatly appreciated by our teams and the beneficiaries of the programs we have been running around the globe for nearly 20 years.
Handicap International became involved in the fight against HIV as of 1994. Today, we run AIDS control programs in 11 countries, 8 in Africa and 3 in South-East Asia. The association has made this campaign a cornerstone of its international actions, due to the inextricable link between the consequences of the disease and the development challenges facing these countries.
In recent years, numerous scientific studies have been carried out to investigate persons in disabling situations' exposure to the virus and the difficulties they face in accessing prevention messages and healthcare. This has led governments and international organizations such as the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) to take this reality into account and adapt their policies accordingly.
Advocacy work has resulted in the conference itself modifying its organization to better include persons with disabilities. Some (not yet all) of the conference rooms have been fitted with ramps and an area dedicated to raising awareness on disability was set up. Finally, nine organizations, including Handicap International, have worked together to draw up a strategic framework for the inclusion of persons in disabling situations in national HIV/AIDS control program, in order to encourage States to make progress in this area.
The door on which we have been knocking for so long has finally opened. This now clears the way for all stakeholders involved in HIV/AIDS control to work together to implement truly universal policies, which take into account the needs of all concerned, including persons in disabling situations.
The event was organized by the Ethiopian Government and supported by the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and World Health Organization (WHO).
