Every day, Mohammed, a community outreach volunteer for Humanity & Inclusion, rides his motorbike through the neighborhoods of Timbuktu, Mali, in search of children with disabilities who do not attend school. In Mali, as in many developing countries, parents often keep children with disabilities at home.

Mohammed is one of four community volunteers working with Humanity & Inclusion’s inclusive education project in Timbuktu. The volunteers meet with community and religious leaders and parents to find children with disabilities who, with support services like rehabilitation, could go to school.

Once a child has been identified, a series of meetings are organized with their parents. A big part of a volunteer’s job is convincing parents that their child can go to school. Due to a lack of awareness about disabilities, many parents are unprepared to raise children with disabilities and may question their potential.  

"Thanks to our awareness raising campaigns,” says Mohammed,  “people have started to understand that they need to allow these children to leave their homes.”

To ensure children are able to go to school, Mohammed and the other volunteers are trained to make a disability assessment of each child and to compile a list of their needs. If necessary, the children are connected to medical facilities where they can access physical therapy and other services free of charge. Humanity & Inclusion places children in schools where teachers have been trained to work with special needs students.

During the months that follow the first identification, Mohammed continues to pay regular visits to the children and their families to note their process in school. Since summer 2016, 129 children with disabilities from Timbuktu have been sent to primary schools with the support of HI.

In April 2017, Jeff Meer, U.S. Executive Director of Humanity & Inclusion, traveled to Mali. He met with Kouyate, a father caring for seven children, three of whom live with physical disabilities. In this personal testimony, Jeff describes the difficulties faced by Kouyate and his family and the hope that Humanity & Inclusion offers.

Since March 2016, Handicap International has educated nearly 20,000 people in northern Mali about the dangers posed by small arms, light weapons, and explosive remnants of war (ERW). Due to the conflict that occurred in 2012 and 2013, northern Mali has a very high incidence of weapons-related accidents.

April 3, 2016 marks the third anniversary of the United Nations’ Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), an agreement that regulates the trade of conventional weapons. The Treaty aims to prevent arms from being used to commit acts of genocide, crimes against humanity, terrorism, or other war crimes. This is an important step in the fight against weapons proliferation. Handicap International advocates for governments to adopt and enforce the treaty as part of its mission to protect civilians.

Malnutrition is endemic in Africa’s Sahel, an arid region in between the Sahara desert and the savannas of sub-Saharan Africa, which is often affected by drought. Due to a lack of essential vitamins and minerals, children with malnutrition suffer from restricted growth and develop after-effects, which can be disabling in the long term. The result is not always fatal, but the impact on their quality of life can be devastating.

Seeing the invisible: Sexuality-related knowledge, attitudes and behavior of children and youth with disabilities in China (2019)

Young people with disabilities have the same right to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) as their peers without disabilities, but their needs and rights are often overlooked. The findings of this study, which was initiated by UNESCO and Humanity & Inclusion, aims to provide evidence to support decision-making by government agencies, educators, development workers and other relevant stakeholders regarding developing and implementing disability-inclusive SRH and sexuality education policies and program for young people in China. View the report here.

Community mental health: Theory, practices, and perspectives (2018)

Mental health problems are commonplace and affect more than one in four people worldwide. They are responsible for a quarter of all disabilities. This document aims to provide a basis for exploring these concepts as part of more in-depth work, including an update of the 2011 mental health framework document. View the document here.

Protection Against Violence Based on Disability, Gender, Age (2019)

Humanity & Inclusion works to prevent violence based on disability, gender and age and its disabling consequences in development and fragile settings, as well as to provide holistic care for survivors of violence, exploitation and abuse. HI’s goal is to ensure that people with disabilities and other at-risk groups are less exposed to violence and can live in dignity, independently, and with control over their own lives. View the flier here.

Disability Inclusive Sexual and Reproductive Health (2019)

Humanity & Inclusion promotes Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) of people with disabilities and vulnerable populations in development and fragile settings. View the flier here.

Non-communicable diseases: Prevention and Detection (2019)

Humanity & Inclusion promotes the awareness raising, prevention, early detection, and care management of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) including cardiovascular diseases, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, and diabetes in development and fragile settings View the flier here.

AIDS and disability: Just not good enough (2015)

People with disabilities are living with HIV. This paper explains why they must be included in virus prevention education, provided access to treatments, and rehabilitation. What's more, people living with HIV are not receiving proper rehabilitation care as the virus causes impairments. View the article here.

Road safety: Focus on vulnerable users (2015)

Road safety is a growing development and public health issue. Globally, road crashes are close to becoming one of the first five causes of death, and non-fatal injuries heavily impact on disability. Indeed, each year, road crashes kill 1.25 million people and injure as many as 50 million others. View the briefing paper here.

Diabetes and Other Cardiovascular Risk Factors (2012)

This document is intended to provide guidance and a framework for each stage of the project cycle for projects tackling the theme of diabetes and other cardiovascular risk factors. View report here and brief format here.

Inclusive and integrated HIV and AIDS programming (2012)

This policy paper describes Humanity & Inclusion’s mandate and values as applied to the theme of inclusive and integrated HIV and AIDS programming. View report here and brief format here.

Santé mentale communautaire et violences liées au genre dans la Province Ouest du Rwanda (2012)

A report on community mental health and gender-based violence in Rwanda. View report here and brief format here. (In French)

Mental Health in Post-Crisis and Development Contexts (2011)

This policy paper describes Humanity & Inclusion’s actions, choices and commitments towards mental health in post-crisis and development contexts. View report here and brief format here.

Diabetes Prevention and control projects in countries with limited resources (2009)

This analysis paper presents the ‘know-how’ acquired by Humanity & Inclusion in its diabetes prevention and control projects. View report here.

Policy Paper on Psychosocial Interventions in Lebanon (2008)

A policy paper that presents a design for a national plan on psychosocial interventions, aiming to develop and promote the national plan established during the July 2006 war. View report here.

As It Is: Research Findings on the Knowledge, Attitude, Practice and Access to HIV and AIDS Information and Services Amongst Persons with Disability (2007)

Scientifically gathered information concerning the knowledge, attitude and practice among people with disabilities in areas surrounding HIV and AIDS. View report here.

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
  
  Study Data can be accessed on the Project Dashboard: https://re.tc/disability_dashboards

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.