Handicap International – Federal Information – DRC Country card – 2015 08 EN
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MANDATE Handicap International aims at improving the living conditions of people with disabilities, preventing all forms of disability, training care service providers in the early detection of disabilities, promoting inclusive education and advancing the rights of people with disabilities by building the capacities of local operators in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Handicap International also works in an emergency context and helps the most vulnerable in areas affected by the alarming humanitarian crisis in Eastern DRC (North Kivu).
SITUATION The Democratic Republic of Congo is the 2nd largest country in Africa. Its border is 9,165 km long and it plays a central and strategic role in the region. The DRC is one of the most multi-ethnic countries in Africa. It is considered to be the world’s largest French-speaking country. However, in economic terms, 80% of people depend for their livelihood on the informal sector. The DRC is ranked 186 out of 187 countries on the human development index. For more than fifteen years, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been torn apart by an alarming humanitarian crisis, characterised by violent armed conflict (especially in the North and South Kivu regions), a very large number of displaced persons and refugees, various epidemics (cholera, measles, viral haemorrhagic fever), natural disasters (floods, hurricanes, heavy rains, droughts, bush fires and landslides) and a general context of poverty and insecurity. In this context, many people were internally displaced, and maybe peple have sought refuge in neighbouring countries1.
INITIAL ACTIONS Handicap International has been present in the DRC since 1994. It launched its first operation in Mbuji Mayi following an epidemic of poliomyelitis. After opening a rehabilitation centre for the production of orthoses and prostheses, Handicap International set up a base in Kinshasa in 1998 to launch its rehabilitation projects and build the capacities of society actors through its CBR project.
KEY FACTS Human Development Index (HDI)* 186 (out of 187 countries) Convention on the Rights of Non-member Life expectancy at birth* 50 Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) GDP per capita ($PPP) $451 Oslo Convention on Cluster Signed 18/03/2009 Surface area** 2,267,050 sq.km. Munitions Population** 67.51 million Ottawa Mine Ban Convention Ratified 02/05/2002 *UNDP: 2014 Human Development Report ** World Bank 2013
STAFF National staff : 40 (development) + 55 (emergency) Expatriate staff : 7 (development) + 8 (emergency)
1 Burundi, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania Elise Cartuyvels – [email protected] 1 Handicap International – Federal Information – DRC Country card – 2015 08 EN
Inclusive education for children with disabilities, particularly girls, in Kinshasa
GOAL Overall objective: Developing an active policy on disabled children’s education in the DRC and the revision of inclusive practices to help these children. Specific objective: The development of a national inclusive education policy; the inclusion of disabled children in schools and districts in the province of Kinshasa.
METHOD Improving access to inclusive education for children with disabilities, especially girls, by working more closely with the Ministry for Primary, Secondary and Professional Education (MEPSP) and developing a legal framework. The project will also consolidate our work in 10 schools in 40 municipalities in Kinshasa, in 2 of the city’s 3 provinces. By providing support to the MEPSP, the project will also help develop an active and sustainable national policy before applying the model to the rest of the DRC. To reduce discrimination towards the parents of children with disabilities and to avoid the stigmatisation of these children outside schools, the project will raise the awareness of all parents and provide them with information on disability. Parents will play an active role in facilitating inclusive education and will help make primary education accessible to everyone. The project will also strengthen the skills of government actors within the education system (such as through quality control) and education staff - teachers, head teachers, inspectors, etc. - to ensure they are better able to develop teaching resources and educational activities for children with disabilities.
TYPE OF INTERVENTION Direct aid to populations Through partners Service: yes Distribution: yes Technical support: yes Donation of equipment: no Financial support: no
BENEFICIAIRIES Direct beneficiaries: 183 children with disabilities in primary schools; 196 teachers and teaching staff; 25 representatives of MEPSP departments and services; parents of children with disabilities; parent committees in 10 partner schools.
Indirect beneficiaries: 6,352 pupils without disabilities in 10 partner schools; 13,178 parents, members of the community in the province of Kinshasa; all teachers, head teachers and inspectors in the province of Kinshasa; all MEPSP staff; all NGO members of the Education Cluster.
PARTNERS The Ministry for Primary, Secondary and Professional Education (MEPSP): - Project steering committee - Teacher training supervisory committee - 10 partner schools
LOCATION Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kinshasa (4 communes out of 24, including 2 in three existing education provinces)
FUNDING Funding secured until: 31 December 2017 No (but waiting for confirmation of Extension for at least one additional year (subject to funding): USAID/EDC funding that would stretch to 30 April 2020 )
Mother and child health
GOAL Improving mother and child health2 by building the capacities of local operators to provide quality preventive care, identify disabilities and implement appropriate actions.
2 Children under the age of five. Elise Cartuyvels – [email protected] 2 Handicap International – Federal Information – DRC Country card – 2015 08 EN METHOD The organisation aims to: - Strengthen the skills of medical staff to provide pregnant women and children under the age of five with follow-up care - Strengthen the skills of community officers to detect disabilities in pregnant women and children under the age of five, and to inform them of best practices - Supply appropriate medical equipment
TYPE OF INTERVENTION Direct aid to populations Through partners Donation of equipment: Service or care: no Distribution: yes Technical support: yes Financial support: yes yes
BENEFICIAIRIES Around 132,114 women of child-bearing age Around 119,531 children under the age of five
PARTNERS The Provincial Ministry of Health via the Provincial Health Division3 The Provincial Reproductive Health Committee Bumbu, Selembao, Ndjili and Nsele health districts (zones de santé) General referral hospitals in Kinkole and Ndjili, the Bumbu mother and child centre, and the Kitokimosi referral health centre
LOCATION Bumbu, Selembao, Ndjili and Nsele health districts
FUNDING Funding secured until: 13/04/2017 Extension for at least one additional year (subject to funding): Funding is still being sought for this project4
Support to organisations Building the capacities of disabled people’s organisations in Kinshasa to advance their rights
GOAL Strengthening the inclusion of people with disabilities in Congolese society and advancing their rights.
METHOD Although this pilot project focuses chiefly on Kinshasa, it could be rolled out to several other provinces as part of a second project. It has been easier to take a rights-based approach to helping people with disabilities since the United Nations adopted the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in December 2006. This convention provides a set of basic guidelines to follow (minimum) and a set of rules to implement (optimum).
The operation has several components: building the institutional and operational capacities of partner organisations to conduct awareness and advocacy actions in order to advance the rights of people with disabilities; raising awareness of the problems and capacities of people with disabilities, particularly among the general public, development actors, public and private service managers in Kinshasa, and government institutions; advocacy to advance the rights of people with disabilities and to ensure their needs are more effectively met in the DRC. These advocacy actions aim at achieving the ratification of the convention and the organic law. collecting data on disability in the DRC to further our advocacy actions.
TYPE OF INTERVENTION Direct aid to populations Through partners Service or care: yes Distribution: no Technical support: yes Donation of equipment: no Financial support: yes
BENEFICIAIRIES Direct beneficiaries: leaders and members of 3 DPOs5, main project partners, and 9 secondary partner DPOs (mainly involved in awareness- raising actions). Direct project beneficiaries will also include everyone taking part in training and awareness sessions.
Indirect beneficiaries: the community, members of 9 DPOs, and beneficiaries of development projects implemented by national and international NGOs. These beneficiaries will be made aware of inclusive approaches to disability. All people with disabilities in the DRC should
3 Ministère provincial de la Santé via la Division provinciale de la Santé, la coordination provinciale de la Santé de la Reproduction 4 From Unicef, DFID, Canadian Cooperation 5 People with disabilities Elise Cartuyvels – [email protected] 3 Handicap International – Federal Information – DRC Country card – 2015 08 EN also benefit indirectly from this project once the country has ratified and implemented the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
PARTNERS - Main partners: 3 disabled people’s organisations (ACOLDEMHA, PAROUSIA and VHDH) receiving institutional assistance to build their organisational and operational capacities; they are also members of the project steering committee - Secondary partners: nine disabled people’s organisations involved in awareness-raising actions - 12 activists involved in advocacy actions to advance the rights of PWDs - The Ministry for Social Affairs will play a key role in the ratification of the CRPWD by the DRC government
LOCATION Kinshasa
FUNDING Funding secured until: 31/12/2016 Extension for at least one additional year (subject to funding): /
Physical rehabilitation Improving the quality of functional rehabilitation and case-management services for people with neuro-locomotor disorders in the city province of Kinshasa in the DRC
GOAL Improving the quality and accessibility of physiotherapy services in general referral hospitals (HGR) in Ndjili and Nsele, orthopaedic-fitting services in Villages Bondekon (VB) and Kinshasa clinical universities (CUK) for children with physical impairments.
METHOD Assisting general referral hospitals (HGR) and rehabilitation centres by building the technical capacities of staff members - physiotherapists, orthoprosthesists and other health professionals. Training orthopaedic students based on a set curriculum; allocating grants to help future orthopaedic technicians study abroad. Training members of the management team in health districts and community officers to include disability in the minimum package of activities (MPA) and the complementary package of activities (CPA). Rehabilitation of the case-management infrastructure. Supplying facilities with equipment and inputs necessary to their operation. Setting up mobile clinics to help children with disabilities living in areas located far from appropriate case-management facilities, and for those without sufficient resources to access medical care. Helping partners develop rehabilitation services. Organising a social and community component by making a solidarity fund available to help the most disadvantaged children identified. In-home monitoring of children with disabilities using student trainees
TYPE OF INTERVENTION Direct aid to populations Through partners Donation of equipment: Service or care: yes Distribution: yes Technical support: yes Financial support: yes yes
BENEFICIAIRIES Direct beneficiaries: Disabled children with physical pathologies (orthopaedic lower limb and foot deformities, infant limb paralysis, and cerebral palsy). More specifically, children aged between 0 and 5 with impairments and disabilities requiring rehabilitation care, identified in the areas in which the mother and child health project works. Children aged over 6 to 14 case-managed in mobile clinics.
Indirect beneficiaries: Families of children with disabilities to improve the case-management of their children Rehabilitation professionals and care facilities benefiting from capacity-building Ministerial and academic authorities Teachers in two training colleges (ISTM and faculty of medicine/department of physical medicine and rehabilitation), student grant-holders and the community will benefit from this project through training and other types of capacity-building
PARTNERS the Programme National de Réadaptation à Base Communautaire PNRBC the Cliniques Universitaire de Kinshasa (CUK) the Institut supérieur des techniques médicales ISTM Bumbu, Selembao, Ndjili and Nsele health districts Ndjili and Nsele general referral hospitals Elise Cartuyvels – [email protected] 4 Handicap International – Federal Information – DRC Country card – 2015 08 EN
LOCATION Kinshasa, in the health districts of Ndjili, Bumbu, Selembao
FUNDING Funding secured until: 31/12/2016 Extension for at least one additional year (subject to funding): /
Road safety project “TOSA MIBEKO MBEKOYAYA NZELA PONA KOBATELA BOMOYINAYO” - Follow the highway code and keep safe!
GOAL Improving the safety of road users in the city province of Kinshasa.
METHOD Handicap International works in conjunction with the Ministry for Transport and Highways to improve road safety by building the capacities of road safety operators and raising community awareness, particularly in schools. The method is based on three areas: Capacity-building for government institutions Data collection Training and awareness
TYPE OF INTERVENTION Direct aid to populations Through partners Donation of equipment: Service or care: no Distribution: yes Technical support: yes Financial support: no yes
BENEFICIAIRIES Direct beneficiaries: Vulnerable road users: public transport passengers (“207” and motorcycle taxis), older people, people with disabilities living close to streets or roads with heavy traffic UNIKIN students People living close to major highways
Indirect beneficiaries: Handicap International’s road safety partners Children, parents, members of the community in the province of Kinshasa
PARTNERS - Main partners: Ministry of Transport and Highways to strengthen its skills and help it implement national road safety action plans to compensate for a lack of funding by the government and external partners. - CNPR6, the executive body of the Ministry of Transport, will be mainly involved in awareness-raising actions in certain communes in Kinshasa and schools targeted by this project. - Road Traffic Police (PCR) will be the partner and beneficiary of this project. HI will supervise and train police officers in 24 communes in Kinshasa to enhance road safety deterrence and enforcement measures. - University of Kinshasa (UNIKIN): allocation of research grants. An agreement will be signed with the sociology department to obtain information on road user risk behaviour.
LOCATION 24 communes of Kinshasa (priority operation)
FUNDING Funding secured until: 31/12/2016 / Extension for at least one additional year (subject to funding):
6 Commission nationale de prévention routière Elise Cartuyvels – [email protected] 5 Handicap International – Federal Information – DRC Country card – 2015 08 EN
TEAM CONGO♀♂ Training, economic empowerment and medical/physical (re)habilitation services for the Democratic Republic of the Congo
GOAL Enabling people with disabilities, particularly women and girls living in Kinshasa and Kananga (Western Kasaï), to achieve and maintain their independence, allowing them to take part in every aspect of social life.
METHOD Quality rehabilitation and orthopaedic training Socio-economic inclusion Producing and distributing technical and mobility aids Enhancing service quality
TYPE OF INTERVENTION Direct aid to populations Through partners Service or care: yes Distribution: yes Technical support: yes Donation of equipment: yes Financial support: yes
BENEFICIAIRIES Care providers, including physiotherapists Orthopaedic technician students 400 vulnerable people (disabled women and mothers of children with disabilities) involved in socio-economic inclusion activities 400 people with physical problems
PARTNERS The UKC (Union des kinésithérapeutes du Congo), the Horizon Kinésithérapie association (HOKI), the Association congolaise des techniciens orthopédiques (ATOC), the Campagne Nous Pouvons association (CNP), the Comité international pour le développement des peuples (CISP) and the Centre Bamamu Tabulukay (CBMT).
LOCATION Kinshasa and Kananga
FUNDING Funding secured until: 30/06/2017 No but search for complementary funding is Extension for at least one additional year (subject to funding): planned
Logistics platform
GOAL To establish a logistics platform to transport humanitarian aid to the populations who live in areas affected by crisis where there is a lack of infrastructure. Handicap International offers free logistics services (including truck loans) to national and international organizations (notably NGOs) and to United Nations agencies.
METHOD Owing to the situation of chronic insecurity and to the difficult access to populations in the isolated areas of Goma, Handicap International renews its logistics platform project, which supports local and international organizations, as well as United Nations agencies, by offering them logistical means (vehicles, a mechanical garage, housing facilities and equipment storage facilities) to facilitate the access of humanitarian aid to fragile populations living in remote areas.
The activities of the project include: Logistical transport of humanitarian material – transport adapted in function of intervention area and requests of partners (including loan of trucks) Material storage space in Walikale and in Goma, available in case of emergency Coordination of humanitarian stakeholders’ logistical needs and services, with active participation of Handicap International in talks during coordination forums
TYPE OF INTERVENTION Direct aid to populations Through partners Service or care: no Distribution: no Technical support: yes Donation of equipment: no Financial support: no Elise Cartuyvels – [email protected] 6 Handicap International – Federal Information – DRC Country card – 2015 08 EN
BENEFICIAIRIES 50 humanitarian organizations and the beneficiaries helped by these organizations
PARTNERS 50 humanitarian organisations beneficiaries of HI services
LOCATION Goma et Walikale, until Masisi et Rutshuru.
FUNDING Funding secured until: 30/05/2016 Extension for at least one additional year (subject to funding): /
Inclusion technical unit
GOAL Ensuring that humanitarian services are accessible to vulnerable people in North Kivu.
METHOD The Inclusion technical unit aims to facilitate access to humanitarian services to the most vulnerable through: Awareness raising of humanitarian stakeholders regarding the inclusion of the most vulnerable into their activities, and regarding vulnerability itself; Improving humanitarian stakeholders’ practices so that they can identify and take into accounts the needs of the most vulnerable.
TYPE OF INTERVENTION Direct aid to populations Through partners Service or care: no Distribution: no Technical support: yes Donation of equipment: yes Financial support: no
BENEFICIARIES Direct beneficiaries: The awareness of 200 humanitarian stakeholders is raised regarding inclusion and vulnerability 15 humanitarian organisations receive individual technical support and then implement activities that take the most vulnerable into account Indirect beneficiaries: Thousands of vulnerable people are included in the activities and services offered by humanitarian organisations
PARTNERS International NGOs (notably the RRMP7 program’s stakeholders) and local NGOs (notably Congo Handicap)
LOCATION Goma and Nord-Kivu
FUNDING Funding secured until: 30/06/2015 Currently financed with own funds; active Extension for at least one additional year (subject to funding): search for funding starts in Sept. 2015
7 Réponse rapide aux Mouvements de Population Elise Cartuyvels – [email protected] 7 Handicap International – Federal Information – DRC Country card – 2015 08 EN
MAIN FUNDING BODIES
Belgian Development Government of the Grand Duchy of Loterie nationale belge Cooperation Luxembourg
USAID French Development Agency Wallonie-Bruxelles International (AFD) (WBI)
Elise Cartuyvels – [email protected] 8