Removing Barriers (2018)

Jordan report                 Lebanon report

With support from the Australian Government, this study was carried out between October 2017 and January 2018, in areas with high concentrations of Syrian refugees such as Bekaa and Baalbek-Hermel governorates of Lebanon; and Azraq and Zaatari refugee camps, as well as Irbid in Jordan. We reached 1,665 households, including 1,159 (6,381 people) in Jordan and 506 (2,495 people) in Lebanon. Participants were randomly selected to join the study. The following fact sheets are available:

• Demographics and disability
• Access to services
• Livelihoods
• Education
  
  

Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction (2017)

This policy paper defines the themes of inclusive disaster risk reduction and explains how these activities fit into our mandate. It also identifies the target population and defines modalities of intervention–standard expected outcomes, standard activities–as well as monitoring and evaluation indicators. 

Disability in humanitarian context: views from affected people and field organizations

This report is based on the results of a global consultation carried out in 2015, as a contribution to the World Humanitarian Summit and is intended to better identify the changes needed for a disability-inclusive humanitarian response. A total of 769 responses were collected through three online surveys targeting persons with disabilities, disabled people's organizations and humanitarian actors.

The responses show that persons with disabilities are strongly impacted when a crisis occurs: 54% of respondents with disabilities state they have experienced a direct physical impact, sometimes causing new impairments. 27% report that they have been psychologically, physically or sexually abused. Increased psychological stress and/or disorientation are other effects of the crisis for 38% of the respondents with disabilities. To read the full study, click here.

Syria: Equal Access Monitor examines durable solutions for Syrians with specific needs (with HelpAge)

Durable solutions – including local integration and resettlement - have the potential to transform the lives of individual refugees and their families, particularly those with specific needs whether due to disability or old age. Moreover, resettlement is a crucial way that “third countries” can stand in solidarity and assist the countries that are currently bearing the brunt of the economic and infrastructural demands of sheltering the refugees fleeing the ongoing war in Syria.

The Surgical and Rehabilitation Response to the Haiti Earthquake

The disaster response environment in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake represented a complex healthcare challenge. This study was designed to identify challenges during the Haiti disaster response.

Medical rehabilitation of spinal cord injury following earthquakes

This literature review examines epidemiological studies reporting data on spinal cord injury survivors of the 2005 Kashmir earthquake in Pakistan, the 2008 Sichuan earthquake in China, and the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

Briefing paper — Humanitarian Response: how to include everyone?

Inclusion of persons with disabilities and the most vulnerable people in emergency response must be considered a core component of principled and effective humanitarian action. Field experience and observations indicate that persons with disabilities and most vulnerable people are often neglected in the contingency planning, assessment, collection of data, design and delivery of humanitarian relief, making them ‘invisible’ to relief operations.

Hidden victims of the Syrian crisis: disabled, injured and older refugees (2014)

Older, disabled, and injured Syrian refugees are being doubly victimized as a result of the Syria conflict, according to a new report by Humanity & Inclusion and HelpAge International. The new data show that these vulnerable individuals, as well as those suffering from chronic diseases, are being left in the shadows of the humanitarian responses. View report here.

Syria: Causes and types of injuries (2014)

Guidelines for Creating Barrier-free Emergency Shelters (2009)

This manual provides guidance on the design and building of barrier-free emergency shelters that are used within a community following a natural disaster, such as a flood or landslide. View report here.

Mainstreaming Disability into Disaster Risk Reduction: A Training Manual (2009)

This manual is intended to build actors' capacities to mainstream disability in disaster risk reduction. View report here.

How to Include Disability Issues in Disaster Management: Following Floods 2004 in Bangladesh (2005)

This publication provides practical ideas and concrete knowledge to include disability issues in disaster management. Although it is based on floods, ideas can be adapted to any type of disaster. View report here.

Humanity & Inclusion teams are providing rehabilitation care, delivering critical aid and helping communities rebuild after the 7.2-magnitude earthquake on August 14, 2021, in Haiti. Make a donation today.

Read the latest updates

Humanity & Inclusion in Haiti

Our team has been in Haiti since 2008, responding to issues that arise from natural disasters, improving access to rehabilitation care and supporting inclusion of people with disabilities.

Haiti has faced recurring political, economic, social and security challenges for several decades, a situation which has worsened since 2018. Since 2021, the resurgence of rivalries and shifting alliances between gangs has caused the displacement of some 19,000 people in Port-au-Prince.

Among the poorest countries in the world, Haiti is regularly affected by natural disasters and has been hit by numerous hurricanes, floods and earthquakes in recent years, including the most recent earthquake on August 14, 2021, which left 650,000 Haitians in need of emergency humanitarian assistance. These disasters disproportionately affect people already living in circumstances of hardship, including people with disabilities. Their most basic needs, such as food, shelter, healthcare, safety, and access to orthopedic-fitting equipment, are often not met.

Read our Haiti situation report (January 2020)

Areas of Intervention

• Rehabilitation
• Protection and disaster risk reduction
• Social and economic inclusion
• Health and prevention
• Logistics services
• Emergency response

Humanity & Inclusion's 54-person team offers multidisciplinary support to people with disabilities and their families to improve their autonomy, increase their participation in society and make services more inclusive and accessible. Our team reinforces the professional integration of people with disabilities, notably by raising awareness among training centers and employers. 

To address a shortage of rehabilitation specialists, Humanity & Inclusion trains rehabilitation professionals, particularly on how to care for earthquake-related injuries. The organization promotes access to quality rehabilitation services and provides organizational and technical support to health facilities.

Following the earthquake of 2021, the organization is providing rehabilitation care and support to several rehabilitation centers and health centers in the Grand Sud. Our team also provides individual and community psychosocial support through awareness and psycho-education actions to address psychological trauma. We're also distributing hygiene kits to households affected by the disaster and organizing awareness sessions on good hygiene practices. In coordination with other aid organizations, our logistics team delivered humanitarian supplies by boat, and more than 300 local community members were hired to work alongside Humanity & Inclusion in rubble clearance activities to restore access to their communities.

To strengthen the preparation and protection of the population in the face of natural disasters, the organization informs and trains authorities and project partners to incorporate the needs of people with disability and other at-risk populations in their interventions.    

In order to reinforce road safety in Haiti, Humanity & Inclusion educates the public about dangers of the road and promotes access to public transport for people with disabilities

Humanity & Inclusion has also been working to limit the impact of Covid-19 by ensuring access to care, meeting basic needs and providing services including respiratory therapy and psychosocial support.

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Our Past Work

Humanity & Inclusion has been implementing projects to promote a culture of dignity, access, and inclusion for ALL people with disabilities since 2008. Over time, we have evolved our work to meet the dynamic needs of communities where we serve.

Read on to learn more about our past work in Haiti and consider investing in our future.

Disaster Response

Humanity & Inclusion launched its first emergency response team to Haiti in 2010 following the earthquake. The organization’s emergency response teams are still active in Haiti through a project called the Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM), which was set up in partnership with UNICEF to manage the monitoring, alert systems and response to the natural disasters which regularly plague the country.

After Hurricane Matthew on October 4, 2016, which affected more than two million people, Humanity & Inclusion launched a new emergency response in aid of the people affected by the hurricane. 

Universal Design & Case-Management 

Humanity & Inclusion worked with construction professionals to ensure that new buildings and other structures are accessible to people with disabilities. Following the 2010 earthquake, the organization built more than 1,000 accessible homes for people with disabilities.

Child Protection

Humanity & Inclusion assisted civil society operators and ministry for Social Affairs to reform and establish child protection mechanisms for public institutions and organization, particularly around the rights and needs of children with disabilities.

Training Rehabilitation Professionals

In 2012, the organization transferred some of its physical rehabilitation operations to a local partner, Healing Hands for Haiti, which built a new orthopedic-fitting center in the capital. 

Related content:
Situation Report--Ten Years After the Haiti Earthquake
Situation Report--Five Years After the Haiti Earthquake

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Handicap International launched its largest ever emergency operation in Haiti in response to the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck on January 12, 2010.

Handicap International has deployed emergency response teams in Haiti to bring aid to people affected by Hurricane Sandy.

Hurricane Sandy hit Cuba at dawn on October 25, destroying homes and crops, and displacing thousands of people.

Patrick Senia is Handicap International's Program Director in Haiti. He sent this update following Tropical Storm Isaac's landfall in Haiti:

Bedlais Bonhomme, 33, was a community liaison for Handicap International's Shelter project until December 2011, when he became assistant field director for Petit-Gôave.

Denièse Isaac's disability appeared in 2006, when she woke one morning, tried to stand and found that her legs would not support her. The source of her disability remains a mystery, despite countless trips to the hospital. Since then, she has used a wheelchair.

WASHINGTON -- Two years ago, Haiti was hit by a devastating earthquake that claimed the lives of 220,000 people and affected more than 3 million.

Residents in Petit-Goâve and Grand-Goâve and the Humanity & Inclusion shelter project team in Haiti have been anticipating the completion of shelters since July 2010.