- 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.
Our Expertise
Emergency
Since its creation in 1982, Handicap International has worked on two critical fronts: emergency response to natural disasters and humanitarian crisis caused by conflict. Emergency intervention in the wake of a natural disaster or major conflict is an integral part of the organization's mandate. For Handicap International, these two missions go hand in hand because in a crisis the most vulnerable are often forgotten and because the building blocks of sustainable development that includes people with disabilities are laid in the first few weeks following the event.
“Reaching out to the people solidarity forgot”
For many people humanitarian action is inextricably linked to emergencies. Is it necessary to act quickly? Yes. But emergency intervention is not the whole picture. For Handicap International, emergency intervention cannot be undertaken without being linked to development that corresponds to the populations' needs.
Right from the beginning of the first phase of intervention, Handicap International works in close collaboration with national and international organizations to structure its intervention around short-term objectives (responding to immediate needs); medium-term objectives (restoring local capacities); and long-term objectives (strengthening systems and services and ensuring their durability).
A number of our current medium and long-term programs designed to lead to lasting change are the end result of what began as emergency interventions.
This is the case in South-East Asia where the post-Tsnumai programs are managed on a day to day basis and in Pakistan following the earthquake in October 2005, where projects set to last for the next six months are currently underway. These include building and managing two orthopaedic and physical rehabilitation centers.
Why intervene in emergency situations?
In crisis situations disabled people are very often forgotten. Providing them with assistance requires special skills which humanitarian aid workers often do not possess and do not have time to acquire. With its extensive experience in the field, Handicap International is able to compensate for this shortage in care by intervening directly to help vulnerable populations and by providing support for other teams in the field.
The organization is also able to act to prevent people becoming disabled notably by preventing the onset of any disabling after-affects.
Our Programmes
Emergency
Contents
On the Field
Our actions in Pakistan
Handicap International was operating the next days following the earthquake
To find out moreAn expert opinion
International Humanitarian space: doubly vulnerable
Jean-Baptiste Richardier Co-founder and Executive Director of Handicap International
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