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In June 2016, a fire destroyed an orthopedic center in the town of Tenkodogo, in the center of Burkina Faso. Part of the local hospital, it provided services to some 200 people a year.

Since June 2016, Handicap International and its local partner, AFRILAM, have cleared 92,000 square meters of land of mines and explosive remnants of war. The land, near Kisangani in northeast DR Congo, is equivalent to 15 football pitches. More than 4,000 people will benefit directly from the operation, which has already neutralized six anti-personnel landmines.

In preparation for the Paralympic Games, which recently kicked off in Rio, Brazil, Handicap International presented racing wheelchairs to Congolese athletes taking part in the competition. The Chair of the National Paralympic Committee of the Democratic Republic of Congo congratulated the organization on its initiative at the presentation ceremony.

President Barack Obama has doubled U.S. funding to clear the bombs and munitions polluting Laos. The funding increases to $90m over three years and will be spent on weapons clearance in a country that suffered near incessant U.S. bombing campaigns in the 1960s and 1970s

Every year, more than 250,000 people around the world sustain spinal cord injuries, mainly as a result of road accidents, falls or acts of violence. These injuries often cause disabilities. For more than 25 years, Handicap International, in conjunction with the International Spinal Cord Society (ISCOS), has provided quality rehabilitation care to injured people, and supported their inclusion in society and work. The 5th September is International Spinal Cord Injury Day.

Handicap International has been working in Libya since 2011. Due to the country’s extreme political and security instability the organization relocated its operation to Tunis in July 2014. Anne Barthès who has been leading the mission since February 2016, reflects on the programs currently being run by Handicap International, five years after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime.

In emergency situations, many vulnerable people do not get sufficient assistance, either because of their disability or their isolation. On World Humanitarian Day, Handicap International is reaffirming its commitment to make humanitarian aid accessible to every person affected by a crisis.

Eleven people were killed and a dozen injured on Monday 15th August in an airstrike on a hospital supported by Médecins sans Frontières in the city of Abs, in Hajja province, northern Yemen. The attack came two days after an airstrike on a school in the province of Sadaa, which claimed the lives of ten children. Handicap International and five other humanitarian organizations are demanding an independent investigation into the attacks. Handicap International has strongly condemned these airstrikes and is calling on all parties to the conflict to respect international humanitarian law.

Ahmed has lived in Azraq camp in Jordan with his wife and three children since April 2016. Caught in an air strike in Syria, Ahmed was hit in the head by shrapnel and sustained a traumatic brain injury. Over the last few days, Handicap International has been helping him learn to walk again. The UK Department for International Development (DFID) provides Handicap International with support as part of its response to the Syrian crisis in Jordan.

Huda, 5, was injured in an air strike in Syria, in June 2016.  Despite a traumatic brain injury and a fractured leg, the little girl is making a swift recovery thanks to the support of Handicap International. The organization’s assistance to Syrian refugees in Jordan is supported by the European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection service (ECHO).

Ayman and Mohammad are two Syrian refugees who didn’t know each other before they arrived in Lebanon. Chance brought them together in Syria’s neighboring country, where the two men are now rebuilding their lives with each other’s help and support from Handicap International. The organization has provided them with rehabilitation care and given them equipment to make their daily lives easier. Ayman now volunteers for Handicap International to advance the rights of refugees with disabilities and injuries. 

Salam is 14 years old. Two years ago, her neighborhood in Syria came under heavy bombardment. And her life was never the same again. Seeing her enter the courtyard of her family’s house today, it’s difficult to imagine the incredible path taken by this young woman, who has been supported by Handicap International since her arrival in Jordan. The organization’s assistance to Syrian refugees in Jordan is supported by the European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection service (ECHO).

The U.S. dropped more than two million tons of bombs on Laos during the Vietnam War. Humanity & Inclusion’s demining teams have been clearing deadly unexploded ordnance (UXO) in the country since 2006. HI deminer Lumngen, also a mother of two, explains what her job involves and what motivates her to do this challenging work.

The U.S. dropped more than two million tons of bombs on Laos during the Vietnam War. Humanity & Inclusion’s demining teams have been clearing deadly unexploded ordnance (UXO) in the country since 2006. HI deminer Lumngen, also a mother of two, explains what her job involves and what motivates her to do this challenging work.

Cluster bombs have been used in at least 47 airstrikes in Syria since 27 May 2016, according to the NGO Human Rights Watch[1]. Dozens of civilians were killed in these offensives. Before the release of these new figures, Human Rights Watch had already published two reports, in February 2016 and December 2015, condemning the use of cluster munitions in Syria.