Handicap International is an international organisation specialised in the field of disability. Nongovernmental, non-religious, non-political and non-profit making, it works alongside people with disabilities, whatever the context, offering them assistance and supporting them in their efforts to become self-reliant. Since its creation, the organisation has set up programmes in approximately 60 countries and intervened in many emergency situations. It has a network of eight national associations (Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland, United Kingdom, USA) which provide human and financial resources, manage projects and raise awareness of Handicap International’s actions and campaigns.
In Nepal, Handicap International has been present since 2000. Handicap International works primarily through partner organisations in the development of projects and activities for the physical rehabilitation and inclusion of people with disabilities into the mainstream development process. Prevention of disabilities and combating exclusion and stigmatisation of persons with disabilities are also a major focus work.
Since December 2007, through the DIPECHO funded project “Mainstreaming disability and people with disabilities into disaster management in Nepal”, Handicap International has provided technical as well as management support to the six DIPECHO-funded partners in Nepal and ten local “disability” partners on mainstreaming disability into disaster management and disaster management into disability activities across the country. The project is aimed to develop tools and guidelines, train partners and stakeholders to meet the specific needs of persons with disabilities before, during and after disasters through mainstreaming disability into Disaster Risk Reduction as a cross-cutting issue.
According to WHO estimates, 10% of the world’s population are persons with disabilities. In developing countries, amongst other factors, disasters and poverty increase the impact of disability upon individuals and their families. There are strong bi-directional correlations between disability and poverty on one hand and disability and disasters on the other: 80% of persons with disabilities are estimated to live on less than one Euro a day and only about 2% have access to basic services. Persons with disabilities are therefore at particular high risk of being poor, and being poor constitutes a specific risk for disability. In situations of disasters, persons with disabilities tend to be overlooked and left out from aid. This makes them highly vulnerable to disasters. Living in poverty further increases their vulnerability, where they have limited capacity to deal with disasters. Fundamental human rights of persons with disabilities are commonly neglected, in emergencies as well as in development context. The situation in Nepal is no exception. Handicap International’s DIPECHO funded project, of which this training manual is part of, aims to improve the situation of persons with disabilities in natural disasters.