Handicap International – Federal Information – DRC Country card – 2015 08 EN DDeemmooccrraattiicc RReeppuubblliicc ooff CCoonnggoo 22001155 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]