Annual report 2008 - english

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Forewordpage 01

Approach by themespage 04

page 11Programmes overview

page 28Financial report

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Responsible editor: Jan BrigouHandicap InternationalRue de Spa, 67 - 1000 BrusselsBelgium

Tel.: 0032 (0)2 280 16 01Fax: 0032 (0)2 230 60 30E-mail: [email protected]

Account number: 000-0000077-77

Editors: Catherine Billiau, Aurore Van VoorenLay-out/Design: Chiquinquirá GarcíaPrinting: NevellandTranslation: ISO TranslationFront page image : © L. AERTS

Free publication.Contact Handicap International for extra copies.Een Nederlandstalige versie is op verzoek beschikbaar.Une version française est également disponible.

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‘I went to the park with my wife andtwo children to celebrate the fifthbirthday of my young son, Ahmad’,says Raed Mokaled of Lebanon. ‘Whenhe finished his birthday cake Ahmadwent off to play. Suddenly, we heardan explosion. I ran over and found mylittle boy covered in wounds. He wasbleeding badly. We got him tohospital, but after a four-hour strugglehe died. My other son, Adam, saidthat he had seen Ahmad pick up somekind of brightly coloured bottle, whichhad exploded immediately. As itturned out it was a cluster bomb! Ihope — by telling my story to asmany people as I can — to find a wayof banning cluster munitions aroundthe world. It is the responsibility ofthe politicians to protect the rights ofall children.’

I met Raed during his visit to Brussels in2008. He is one of the ‘Ban Advocates’- a group set up on Handicap Interna-tionals’ initiative consisting of survivorsof cluster munitions explosions. Itsmembers travel the world, givingwitness accounts and convincing nationsto sign the Oslo Convention, that bansstorage, production and shipment ofcluster munitions and advocates helpfor the victims. Handicap Internationalhas worked long and hard to see thisconvention come into force. On 3December 2008 almost a hundredcountries signed the convention.Handicap International had alwaysinsisted that the convention includereliable guarantees to help victims. Thefact that it now does is to my mind, anachievement of the highest order. Hatsoff to the superb research and lobbying

work of the Policy Influencing unit atHandicap International Belgium! Thanksto this team and its efforts Belgiumbecame the first country to introducea ban on cluster munitions, and thisultimately led to an internationalconvention banning these weapons ofdeath and destruction. The BanAdvocates left their mark on the overallprocess and created a lasting impressionamong the government representatives.All of a sudden, they put a face on thevictims, a face that leaves no oneunmoved. I too was deeply touched bythe witness accounts of people likeRaed. It is amazing how they haveturned this drama, which has soaffected their lives, into somethingpositive. One can have nothing but thegreatest of respect for them. Theirdetermination has touched me deeply.

01Forewordof the General Director

HANDICAP INTERNATIONAL | ANNUAL REPORT 2008

I also strongly admire the personnelwho intervene in emergencies. Theworld was stunned by the force ofnature on a number of occasions in2008. In early May the cyclone Nargisraged over Myanmar. Less than twoweeks later there was an earthquake inSichuan, China, in which more than80,000 people died and 374,000 werewounded. A few months later cyclonesGustav & Ike were ravaging Cuba.Each time, Handicap International wasimmediately on hand to provideassistance. We were even the firstinternational aid organisation on thescene in China. Our units moved heavenand earth to look after the victims andadminister first aid as best as theycould. But there weren’t only naturaldisasters. 2008 brought no improvementto the humanitarian situation in EastCongo, where we have maintained apresence since late 2007. Even whenLaurent Nkunda’s rebel force brokethrough into the city of Goma, westood our ground to assist the civilian

population. We bow before thesecitizens who had to confront situationsthat were more than difficult.When we speak of emergencies, which- as we saw last year - are a significantpart of our operations, there wassomething new to report in 2008.Never before were we present in somany places at one time. The threenatural disasters and the emergencysituations to which they led were allextremely different. We responded welland learned a great deal in each case.It is clear that emergencies do not stopafter first aid is administered. In Chinafor example, we estimate that morethan 20,000 victims will be left with apermanent disability, which leavesthem facing long-term rehabilitation.These people must be given the helpthey need to resume their place insociety. This is a significant task for usin the long term. Our knowledge,know-how and experience can make ahuge difference. In any case, we aim tocontinue in the same vein in 2009.

One of our development cooperationpriorities for the 2008-2010 period isthat of setting up and developingprojects to improve the health ofmothers and children. This ties inperfectly with millennium objectives 4and 5: to reduce by two thirds themortality rate of children under the ageof five, and to reduce by three quarters(against the figures for 1990) thenumber of mothers who die duringchildbirth. Initiatives in this area aregenerally confined to reducing themother and child mortality rate indevelopping countries. Although this is,of course, important, what is oftenforgotten is that in developing countriesmany mothers and children can be lefttemporarily or permanently disabledbefore, during or after birth. This createsa great deal of suffering, which couldhave been prevented in many cases.Furthermore, these disabled women andchildren seldom have access to qualitycare or guidance. Handicap Internationalintends to do something about this.

| 02HANDICAP INTERNATIONAL | ANNUAL REPORT 2008

How does the future look? This is aquestion many of us have askedourselves. For the time being theworldwide economic situation is difficultto predict. Recession has hit extremelyhard in many developing countries.Now, on top of the enormous price risesof recent years, people are beginning tolose their jobs. In many of the countriesin which we operate, the situation islooking dire for the local populations.The most vulnerable people, includingthose with disabilities, may well bethe first to slip through the net. This iswhy it is important that we now doeverything in our power to assist thesepeople. They can continue to rely on us,despite the pressure that we, as anorganisation, are experiencing as aresult of the recession. In the mean-time, we will need to fight our waythrough this crisis, but I am optimisticthat we will persevere, provided weapply the right measures at the righttime. Now, more than ever, we can makea huge difference in the lives of thedisadvantaged. Together, we will continueto devote ourselves to this cause.

Now, more than ever, we can make a huge difference in the lives of the disadvantaged. Together, we will continue to devote ourselves to this cause.

Marc JoolenGeneral Director, Handicap International Belgium.

Over the years and due to ourexperience, the organisation has becomeexpert in the prevention, earlydetection and treatment of disabilities.Our experience in the treatment ofchildren with disabilities has taught usthat, had we been able to take actionsooner, a great many complicationscould have been prevented. Rehabi-litation would also be much easier ifdisabilities were detected sooner. In2006, in Vietnam our organisation setup the first project devoted to thistheme, entitled ‘Welcome to Life’.Again in Vietnam, in 2008, wedeveloped the ‘Congenital Differences’project, which is designed to prevent,trace and treat congenital malfor-mations. Additional initiatives haverecently seen the light in Cambodiaand Congo. In some areas HandicapInternational plays a pioneering role.For example, the organisation hasdeveloped a unique training programme.Thanks to these courses, health workersin the Cambodian countryside can learnto recognise the most common formsof disability and refer patients forfurther treatment. As always, we optedfor a cross-disciplinarian approach, whichrelies on training, awareness raisingand involving the local community andauthorities. This is an essential conditionfor ensuring the success of our projectsand providing sustainable solutions.Whilst on the right track in mother andchild’s healthcare, we have no intentionof stopping and in the future we planto set up further new projects.


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‘When I saw a baby with clubfoot for the very first time during my work as a midwife, I knew what to dothanks to the training organised by Handicap International. I referred the mother to the rehabilitationcentre, located 85 km from Dai Lanh, when her baby was two days old. Two months later one can hardlytell that her son was born with clubfoot, and the physiotherapist expects the boy to walk normally bythe age of two’, says midwife Cuc, based in the rural Dai Lanh commune in Vietnam.

Disability prevention andMillennium Development Goals

The health and survival of mothers and children, especiallychildren under the age of 5, remain issues of critical importancein the 21st century. According to the latest figures available, over530 000 women continue to die annually due to complicationsresulting from pregnancy or childbirth. 99% of these deathsoccur in the developing world, with women in sub-Saharan Africaand South Asia disproportionately at risk. Unacceptable levels ofchildren, particularly under the age of 5, are also dying at the rateof 10 million a year – 4 million of them within their first month oflife. Yet a large number of these deaths could be prevented by usinginterventions that have proven effective, such as safe prenatal andchildbirth practices, proper detection and treatment of illnesses,and adequate nutrition. Most maternal deaths are avoidable aswell, primarily through access to skilled health personnel prior toand during childbirth, and to quality care when complications ariseduring labour.

Millennium Development Goals and maternal & child health

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) reflect the high levelof attention devoted to these priority areas. Two of these eight goalsrelate directly to maternal and child health: goal 4 aims to reduce theunder-five childhood mortality rate by two-thirds, and goal 5 intendsto reduce the maternal mortality ratio by three-quarters.

‘The MDGs have unquestionably been valuable in terms of focusinginterest and resources on these key areas. However, most healthand development actors are devoting themselves almost exclusivelyto reducing mortality in the developing world – and thus largelyneglecting the reduction and prevention of impairment anddisability. Yet for every mother or child who dies, many more sufferfrom long-term or permanent disabilities’ explains MoniqueFerguson, Community Health Advisor for Handicap International.She adds: ‘Following some reports, for every woman who dies inlabour, an estimated 30 others are injured or disabled.’ We alsoknow that we will find increased rates of childhood disability inareas where there is high mortality among children under the ageof 5. An estimated 7-19% of children are disabled in any givenpopulation, amounting to approximately 200 million disabledchildren worldwide. Finally, these disabled children and women areseldom able to receive adequate care and assistance: globally, only2% of disabled people have access to appropriate rehabilitationand other basic services.

Recognizing the importance in addressing these issues, ourorganisation is reinforcing its comprehensive approach to disabilitywith Maternal and Child Health (MCH) projects in Southeast Asia andcentral Africa. But with few other international actors intervening

directly in this arena, and fewer still with the level of expertiseHandicap International has developed over the years, theassociation is positioning itself as a pioneer in this domain.

Handicap International’s current focus is on the antenatal, perinatal,and postnatal stages of pregnancy and child development, whichare when most impairments and disabling conditions are caused.These projects reflect the fact that many disabilities only becomeevident when the child starts attending school – resulting in manychildren suffering needlessly from disabilities that could have beentreated or minimized much earlier in life.

Axes of intervention

Our MCH projects follow several strategic axes of intervention. First,they seek to build and strengthen the capacity of the healthsystem, to prevent, detect, and treat disability. We accomplish thisprimarily by training health personnel and equipping healthfacilities, and by ensuring continuous care: from detection, toinitial treatment, to referral for longer-term specialized serviceswhen needed. Secondly, we work with community and healthworkers on the ground to raise awareness among familiesregarding the risk factors, causes, and signs of disability, educatingthem about preventive measures they can take and therapeuticoptions available in their communities.

Finally, we work with government representatives, in particular withministry of health officials, to increase their commitment inaddressing disability issues. We do this through research thathighlights the extent to which the population is affected, sustainedadvocacy efforts, and by proposing models on how governments canintegrate this priority into their national health plans.

A certain number of actions that address maternal and child mortalitycan be adapted or expanded so they include a focus on disability.Many of the causes that lie at the heart of high death rates(amongst others malnutrition, low levels of access and use of qualityhealth services) are responsible for high rates of disability as well.So Handicap International’s support for improved antenatal careresults not only in reduced mortality rates, but in reduced childhooddisability rates.

Technical notes :

Our MCH projects include primary and secondaryprevention interventions. Primary prevention refers toactions that reduce or prevent the causes of disability –they address the conditions before they become disabling.An example is a woman taking folic acid prior to gettingpregnant in order to prevent foetal neural tube defects.Secondary prevention refers to actions that address thedisabling condition immediately, once it becomes apparent.An example is the surgery done to correct cleft palate ina newborn.

Major categories of childhood disability: cognitive/intellectual (learning disabilities)visual and hearing impairmentmotor (cerebral palsy)epilepsy/seizurespeech/languagebehavioural/developmental and others (autism).

Major causes of disability:genetic conditions (Down syndrome, etc.)problems during pregnancy (a woman who drinks alcoholduring pregnancy or gets an infection such as rubellamay result in a baby being born with an intellectualdisability)problems at birth (not getting enough oxygen during labourcan lead to intellectual disability)health problems like meningitis, measles, or extrememalnutritionexposure to environmental pollutants like lead or mercury

Working at community level

Handicap International is also breaking new ground. For instance,there is no internationally validated tool for screening developmentaland congenital disabilities among children under the age of two.Our project teams identify these deficiencies and address them.Our pilot MCH project in Kinshasa developped a new bornimpairment screening tool for nurse-midwives. We are designing acomplete training programme to enable health staff in villages todetect the main forms of childhood disability in rural Cambodiaand refer them to other centres. Our success in this field rests notonly on targeted interventions such as these, but on the adoptionof a multi-disciplinary approach focused on education andawareness-raising, heightened involvement of the communitieswith whom we work, and a long-term commitment by governmentsand civil society partners in developing necessary skills andresources.

Our maternal and child health projects form an essential part ofHandicap International’s all-inclusive approach to disability. Theseprojects, for instance, are frequently associated with Community-Based Rehabilitation (CBR) projects in the same geographic zones.These CBR projects pick up where the maternal and child healthprojects leave off, by focusing on the integration of disabledchildren and adults within their communities, promoting their fullparticipation in society, and enabling the development of asupportive environment for disabled individuals and their families.

Worldwide, there is an increasing understanding that reachingthe MDGs will require tackling disability on all fronts – fromimpairment prevention when possible to rehabilitation and finallyto the inclusion of disabled individuals as active, full-fledgedmembers of society.


Some institutions estimate that 20 million women a year suffer from a disabling condition following pregnancy or birth.

Information sources:

UNFPAWorld Health Organisation2008 Repport on Millenium Development GoalsUNICEF

Congenital/prenatal factors 15-20 %

Transmittable diseases 20 %

Non-transmittable somatic or mental conditions 40 %

Trauma/injury 15 %

Cluster bombs finally prohibited!

On 3 and 4 December 2008, 94 states signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions.This treaty prohibits the use, stockpiling, manufacture and transfer of clustermunitions and includes groundbreaking provisions to assist victims. HandicapInternational actively participated in drafting this treaty and for several yearscampaigned to prohibit these weapons together with partners from the ClusterMunition Coalition, a network that includes about 300 NGOs. In the last two years,the process has accelerated. Stan Brabant, Head of the Policy Unit at HandicapInternational, talks about the background of the treaty.


Years of lobbying have resulted in a historical treaty signed in Oslo

What triggered this project? Stan Brabant : When Belgium became thefirst country to ban cluster munitions inFebruary 2006, after a year of very intensiveadvocacy efforts, many disarmament actorsturned to us. Suddenly, people realizedthat banning cluster munitions had becomepossible. We received enthusiastic reactionsfrom NGOs all over the world, and fromsome governments as well. We began tohope. We had already acquired substantialadvocacy experience with the landminecampaign, which resulted in the OttawaTreaty. Since then, government represen-tatives had realized that we were serious.In summer 2006, the war in Lebanon alsodrew attention to the problem of clustermunitions. Diplomatic pressure intensifiedbut traditional diplomacy failed to addresscluster munitions. Norway, a country witha long tradition in peace diplomacy, seizedthe opportunity and launched what was tobecome the Oslo process. In February 2007,46 states met for the first time and at theend of 2008 cluster munitions were bannedforever.

How did you convince government represen-tatives to sign the treaty? SB : First of all, we published two reportsthat drew attention to the human impact ofcluster munitions, not exclusively based onfigures, but also showing the dramaticsituations caused by the use of theseweapons. Then we set up a group of victimsof cluster munitions, the Ban Advocatesthat gradually took on a major role in theprocess. Thanks to the interventions of thisgroup, government representatives were

directly confronted with the sufferingcaused by these weapons and we canthank the Ban Advocates for severalsignatures at the bottom of the treaty, bystates that were initially reluctant to do so.This is notably the case with Afghanistan

who decided - after a conversation on theeve of the signature conference with SorajGhulam Habib, one of the Ban Advocates -to sign the treaty. Our strength comes fromworking with these people within anetwork. Compared to other diplomaticprocesses, everything went very quickly

Has the treaty been signed by a sufficientnumber of countries to have a real influence? SB : To create a new standard, we had togenerate a critical mass supporting thetreaty. With 98 signatures to date we cansay that this figure was reached. In thefuture, if a country that has not signed theConvention on Cluster Munitions uses thisweapon, it will be criticized all over theworld. In a few years, we have managed tomake the use of cluster munitionsunacceptable. The treaty will come intoeffect once it has been ratified by 30 states.The most important thing is to stop the

use of this weapon, to destroy stocks and- this is crucial - to ensure that victimsreceive the assistance to which they areentitled.

Speaking of that, does the treaty provideguarantees for victims?SB : We did indeed advocate for solidguarantees for victims. And we see asignificant success in the fact that theseguarantees were integrated. The concept of

a ‘victim’ is defined broadly: it also includesthe families and communities that areaffected. The Oslo Treaty obliges signatorystates to provide medical aid, physicalrehabilitation, socio-economic and psycho-logical support for victims of clustermunitions, and to collect data on thesevictims. The text of the treaty also includesa detailed list of very concrete measuresthat states are required to take whenproviding support to victims.

What challenges are still to come? SB : We still need to convince certain statesto adhere to the treaty. We also need toascertain that the treaty does not remainwishful thinking. Victims must benefit fromreal support; the guarantees contained inthe treaty must be put into practice. Thedaily life of cluster munition survivors andtheir families is what really counts.Consequently, we will monitor the evolutionof the situation in all countries, we willcollect information on government action(or inaction) and, obviously, we willcontinue to put pressure on governments.

What do you think was the greatest momentin this process? SB : The signature ceremony in Oslo. Theatmosphere was fantastic. At the end of theceremony, the entire Ban Advocates teamcame up on stage. One of them, BehiruMesele from Ethiopia, took the floor tothank everyone who had been involved inthe process. After his speech, the entireaudience stood up in thundering applause.I had never seen that at an internationalconference. It was unbelievable.


Landmarks in the Oslo process

20052 February:All sections of HandicapInternational agreed to call fora ban on cluster munitions.

9 March:Handicap International invitedthe Belgian Senate to worktoward a ban on clustermunitions.

7 April:Handicap International,Human Rights Watch, Netwerk Vlaanderen and theNorwegian Petroleum Fundorganized a joint pressconference in Brussels on thetheme: ‘Cluster bombs: worsethan antipersonnel mines’

14 April:A Belgian Senator tabled a bill to ban ‘fragmentationbombs’.

28 June:The Senate Defense andForeign Affairs Committeeorganized a debate on thebill. Handicap Internationalwas invited to present itspoint of view. The bill wasamended to ban clustermunitions. On 7 July, theSenate Plenary Meetingunanimously adopted theamended bill, which was thentransmitted to the House ofRepresentatives.

200619 January:The European Parliamentlaunched an appeal for the‘eradication’ of clustermunitions.

16 February:Despite strong oppositionfrom the weapons industryand some internationalpressure, the Belgian FederalParliament adopted a lawbanning cluster munitions. A second law detailed thedefinition of the weapon.

2 November:Handicap Internationallaunched Fatal Footprint, the first global report on the human impact of clustermunitions.

17 November:Following the failure ofdiscussions on clustermunitions in the context ofthe Convention onConventional Weapons,Norway launched an alternativeprocess as Canada had donefor antipersonnel mines.

200722-23 February:Norway organized aninternational conference oncluster munitions. In the OsloDeclaration, 46 states agreedto sign a treaty before theend of 2008, banning clustermunitions and providing aframework for the assistanceto affected communities.

23-25 May:67 states took part in theLima Conference (Peru) oncluster munitions. Among theparticipants, 27 countrieswere participating in the Osloprocess for the first time. Thetreaty began to take shape.

5-7 December:138 states took part in theVienna conference (Austria)on cluster munitions.

200818-22 February:A new draft text of the treatywas discussed at theWellington Conference (NewZealand). After a week oftension between supportersof a complete ban andsupporters of exceptions,participating states acceptedto negotiate and agreed onthe rules of thesenegotiations.

March and April:During the various regionalconferences in Africa, SouthEast Asia and Latin America,the positions of governmentsgradually came together onthe draft text of the treaty.

19-30 May:After two weeks ofnegotiations, 107 statesparticipating in the DublinConference adopted the textof the Convention on ClusterMunitions.

27 November :Opening of the open-air Fatal Footprint exhibition inBrussels. Photographs takenby Belgian photographersshowed the suffering ofsurvivors of antipersonnelmines, cluster munitions andother unexploded ordnance.In 2009, this exhibition willalso travel to other Belgianand foreign towns.

3-4 December:At the Signing Conference in Oslo, 94 states signed theConvention on ClusterMunitions.

List of countries that signedthe Convention on ClusterMunitions in December 2008:

Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Australia, Austria,Belgium, Benin, Bolivia,Bosnia-Herzegovina,Botswana, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi,Canada, Cap Verde, CentralAfrican Republic, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Comoros,Congo (Republic of ), CookIslands, Costa Rica, Croatia,Czech Republic, Denmark,Ecuador, Fiji Islands, France, Gambia, Germany,Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Holy See, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia,Ireland, Italy, Ivory Coast,Japan, Kenya, Laos (People's Republic of ),Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Liechtenstein,Lithuania, Luxembourg, FRY Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Malta, Mexico, Moldavia, Monaco,Montenegro, Mozambique,Namibia, Nauru, Netherlands,New Zealand, Nicaragua,Niger, Norway, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Portugal,Rwanda, Saint-Marin,Salvador, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe,Senegal, Sierra Leone,Slovenia, Somalia, SouthAfrica, Spain, Sweden,Switzerland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, UnitedKingdom, Uruguay andZambia.

In a few words, Eyal has just summarized the philosophy thatinspired Handicap International to re-invest in emergencysituations: not forsaking those who need it. For HandicapInternational, one essential action is to provide aid for children,women and men who are hit harder still in a crisis.

The organisation is returning to a field of action in which it hadalready been engaged in the past. After all, Handicap Internationalhas its roots in the camps where Cambodians fleeing the RedKhmer regime took refuge in Thailand. Subsequently, HandicapInternational intervened in many crisis situations, particularly inthe Tanzanian camps of refugees from Burundi in 1995, and inAlbania in 1999. In 1996, its action in favour of refugees broughtit the Nansen award from the United Nations High Commission forRefugees.

Responding to the needs of disabled people in crisis situations ispart of our mandate, which clearly indicates an obligation to assistpeople with disabilities in humanitarian crises triggered by armedconflicts or natural disasters.

We know that people with disabilities are particularly vulnerable,and their needs are often poorly perceived by humanitarianplayers intervening in emergency situations. For example, in thecamps around Goma we often saw that people with disabilities werenot correctly registered. Are they on their own, or accompanied,what disability do they suffer from? All this information makes iteasier in very practical situations to take their needs into account;how do wheelchair bound people get to the toilet or go to thefood distribution counter when paths are in poor condition or non-existent. But the problem goes further than simple accessibility:Handicap International endeavours to improve the awareness ofhumanitarian players in charge of organizing life in camps to actin favour of people with disabilities who are living there as well.


Similarly, in the post-emergency phase after a natural disaster,reconstruction must be planned following the supply of initial aid.From our standpoint, this includes building more accessiblehousing and an environment enabling people with disabilities toreturn to active life.

2007 marked the beginning of a new approach in emergencysituations, and 2008 was an opportunity to materialize it in manycontexts. Thus, we have developed our projects in North Kivu, aregion that has been ravaged by internal conflicts for years, withtwo projects in particular, one for respiratory physiotherapy andthe other for physiotherapy in hospitals. We also intervened inChina after the earthquake that struck Sichuan, to prevent andlimit the appearance of disabilities due to the earthquake.

So Handicap International has made a clear choice to launchemergency projects in a field that the organisation knows well,physiotherapy. This choice means that we can act quickly, withlittle equipment, ensure a cost-effective on victims of crisissituations. These projects can at times be transformed intodevelopment projects, like in China. Beneficiaries of a project thatbegan in a crisis situation may need medium or long-termtreatment. In that case, we leave the field of emergency aid tomove into that of long-term projects helping develop the capacityof our partners to provide care for people with disabilities.

Handicap International provides real added value. All in all, thereare few humanitarian players with experience in caring for peoplewith disabilities or who have sufficient expertise in treating certaintypes of injuries. This observation was particularly poignant in ourintervention in Sichuan. From the very outset, hospitals werecalling for specialists in the field of spinal injuries, amputations andconcussions – the kind of injuries that our teams are used totreating in centres for para- and tetraplegics in Vietnam for example.

Handicap International andemergency situations:

new impetus

‘We have a commitment, a humanitarian mandate, and we do not take sides. It doesn’tmatter who is in power. We are here to help those who need it most, and that is what wewill continue to do. Handicap International will not forsake the population.’ These werethe words of Eyal Reinich, coordinator of Handicap International’s mission in Gomaduring the clashes in North Kivu in late October 2008.

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Victims of broken bones need physical therapists but the principleof physiotherapy – which has techniques that are indispensableto prevent permanent disabilities – is relatively unknown and littleused in China. The respiratory therapy administered to childrensuffering from malnutrition in Goma has proven its effectiveness.These children are very weak and their organisms offer littleresistance to respiratory diseases. Often, they are not able toevacuate the secretions that fill their lungs. Respiratoryphysiotherapy helps them recover faster. Many also show signs ofdelayed motor development that the physical therapists try toimprove by means of simple exercises.

Handicap International does not necessarily intervene alone. Thiswas the case in China, but we often work with other organisations.In Rutshuru, in North Kivu, we are working in a hospital backed byDoctors without Borders that asked us to set up a hospitalphysiotherapy project. In Myanmar, the project was led jointly withHandicap International France. The French section took charge ofrehabilitation treatment and psychological support for disabledpeople, while the Belgian section took charge of income-generatingprojects (for example, helping people with disabilities meet theirfamilies' needs by keeping a shop, raising pigs...) and actionsrelated to accessibility (putting in a ramp to reach the animal pens,or to gain access to the village). Material emergency aid suppliedto Cuba after hurricanes Ike and Gustav was coordinated by a fewhumanitarian players present in Cuba.

Sometimes we also need to intervene in a slightly different field ofaction, due to the lack of humanitarian staff. This was the case inCuba where we supplied goods for basic necessities (mattresses,blankets, etc.) and material to reconstruct schools. Few organisationsare working in the country and first and foremost, the beneficiariesof our development projects needed to recover decent livingconditions after the enormous damage done by the two hurricanesin 2008.

According to Irène Manterola – head of Handicap International inCuba – visited a town that had been struck by hurricane Gustav,she declared: ‘The only thing the population wants is to findacceptable housing and recover basic living conditions (…) they havenothing left! In villages that had 24 or 25 houses, only one or twoare still standing – the shops have been destroyed, the fieldsdevastated, the electricity poles swept away… ’.

Our objective in 2008 has been to respond to emergency situationswhere we feel we have real expertise to contribute to the victims’welfare. These actions continue in 2009. Although we don’t knowexactly where we will intervene tomorrow – that is the rule foremergency action – we are certain that we will continue to beactive in this kind of context, both to prevent and care fordisabilities, and above all to see that people with disabilities areno longer rejected in emergency situations. We were at their sidein 2008, and we will be there in the years to come.


Our objective in 2008 has been to respond to emergency situations where we feel we have real expertise to contribute to the victims’ welfare. These actions continue in 2009.

Programmes

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IN FIGURESInternational staff: 6National staff: 61

Budget: 1.551.693 €

Principal donors:Belgian Directorate General forCooperation and Development (DGCD),Canadian Auto Workers’ Union (CAW-Canada), Canadian Inter DevelopmentAgency (CIDA), Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Embassy of France in Angola, Embassy of Japan in Angola,European Commission (EuropeAid),Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ireland(Irish Aid).

Handicap International has been working in Angola since1995. This country has been deeply scarred by more thanthirty years war of and by the impact of landmines.Handicap International has developed various types ofprojects there. The physical rehabilitation centres weretaken over by the National Rehabilitation Programme in2005, but Handicap International continues its actionsparticularly with projects for education on the risks ofmines, social-economic integration, promotion of therights of people with disabilities and community-basedrehabilitation (CBR).

Africa


Luanda

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In 2008, teams for the CBR project – whichcovers the provinces of Benguela, Huila,Namibe and Huambo – have provided moralsupport and advice to people with disabilitiesand their families. In addition, the projectalso referred many of them to existingmedical or physical rehabilitation services,directly helping them obtain wheelchairs,crutches, medicines, to benefit from surgicaloperations, or aid their return to active life(vocational training or professional inte-gration) and gain access to school.

In the same year, the project Support toAssociations was in a start-up phase inseveral municipal districts in Benguela,Huambo and Lubango Provinces. Thisproject aims to strengthen organisations ofpeople with disabilities in claiming theirrights.

With the social-economic and socialintegration project, Handicap Internationalhas reinforced and supported teams of twopartner associations in Huambo Province.At the same time, the organisation beganto sensitise public administrations, micro-

credit agencies and private companies;these steps culminated in the signature ofpartnership contracts to promote employmentof people with disabilities. In 2009, HandicapInternational will continue to support thedevelopment of professional projects andtrain partner associations in the promotionof the right of employment for people withdisabilities.

But 2008, was also the end of the mine riskeducation project (MRE). For financial andstrategic reasons, Handicap Internationalhas decided to close its activities in thisfield by the end of the year.

In 2009, the organisation will focus on howto increase its impact on people benefitingfrom its projects, while limiting geographicdispersion. Handicap International will alsofocus on defending and promoting therights of people with disabilities, on theone hand in the implementation of concreteprojects and, on the other, in a more globalway, by reinforcing the associations ofdisabled persons in their capacity to claimtheir rights.

BurundiTen years of war in Burundi have left their mark on this country whererefugees make up more than 10% of the population. Since 1992, HandicapInternational has been in Burundi, where it tries to improve the autonomyand the dignity of people with disabilities. A cross-cutting approach is takenby the projects in Burundi, aiming at bringing a global change on disabilityin the country.


02


Budget: 852.249 €

Principal donors:Belgian Directorate General for Cooperation and Development (DGCD),European Commission (EuropeAid), United Nations Development Program(UNDP).

Bujumbura Gitega

MAKAMBA

RUTANA

RUYIGI

Muyinga

GITEGA

MUYINGA

Many new projects began in 2008. One ofthem is implemented in the Ruyigi province.This community-based rehabilitation projectstarted in April. Surveys identified morethan 4,000 people with disabilities in theprovince. The project team also participatedin a series of training sessions optimallyprepare future actions.

A project to support the associations ofpeople with disabilities was also launched,aiming at supporting the Burundiassociations of people with disabilities intheir role of service to and advocacy infavour of people with disabilities. To reachthis goal, Handicap International supportedthe creation of a network of associations toreinforce their capacities to organise andconduct projects and to promote the respectof the rights of people with disabilities.

In 2009, Handicap International will pursueits efforts in the area of physical rehabilitationby supporting the implementation of anetwork of 12 rehabilitation centres, fiveof which are already supported by theorganisation, with a view towards effectiveautonomy of these centres by 2012. Its CBRactivities will be extended to two otherprovinces that Handicap Internationalknows well, through its prior actions inmine risk education.

Ivory Coast

Handicap International launched its first project in the Ivory Coast in1996. At the time, the organisation supported physical rehabilitationcentres and trained national staff. Such training did not exist in theIvory Coast, a country that was in dire need of specialised physio-therapists and technical experts to make prostheses and orthoses.Handicap International has always been careful to conduct its actions incollaboration with local partners who would be capable of taking overthe projects in the long run and could supply the necessary services forpeople with disabilities following the departure of our organisation.



Budget: 453.078 €

Principal donors:Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belgium(emergency aid).

Abidjan

BouakéMan

Danané

03

Despite several evacuations over the yearsof the expatriate teams following thepolitical instability of the country, HandicapInternational was able to pursue its effortsthanks to its partners. However, these yearsof armed conflict greatly weakened thegeneral health of the population andcontributed to the deterioration of medicalinfrastructures. Thus, Handicap Internationalput in place several hospital physiotherapyprojects: first in Bouaké, then in Man andDanané. Indeed, physiotherapy is anefficient means to prevent and reduce thedisabling after-effects for hospitalisedpatients. Some cases treated (after-effectsof meningitis, cerebral malaria, HIV-AIDS)by the three teams of physiotherapistsdemonstrate the extent to which theindirect effects of the internal conflicts stillaffect the population, particularly due to adecrease in the number of children

vaccinated and problems in the implemen-tation of primary prevention programmes(malaria, HIV-AIDS).

The other patients treated, suffering frombedsores, after-effects of burns, amputations,respiratory problems or muscular weak-nesses… demonstrate that physiotherapy isan integral part of the global care of patientsand contributes to an improved and morecost-effective quality of hospital care,particularly with shorter hospital staysand a quicker functional recuperation of thepatient.

In 2008, after Abidjan's physical rehabilitationcentre ‘Vivre Debout’ was officially handedover to the local partner at the beginning ofthe year, the hospital physiotherapy projectsof Bouaké, Man and Danané reached theirconclusion.

The process of handing over the activitiesin the hospitals of Bouaké, Man andDanané ended in late February 2009, whenHandicap International withdrew from theIvory Coast, leaving the management to thepartner hospitals.

In Kinshasa, the CBR project took a newdirection in 2008. The objective of thisproject, which will run through 2008-2010,is to strengthen capitalization to reinforcethe training of the players involved in theCommunity Rehabilitation Committees, incharge of CBR activities and theirempowerment. Still in Kinshasa, theorganisation continued its project ofinclusive education, and launched a newmaternal and child health project mid 2008.Handicap International wants to reinforcethe staff competencies in several healthand motherhood centres in the area ofprevention of disability at birth.

In 2008, Handicap International led aproject supporting six rehabilitation centreslocated in the regions of South Kivu, NorthKivu and Maniema in eastern DRC inpartnership with the ACHAC (Associationdes Centres de Handicapés d’AfriqueCentrale). These six centres, working in acontext of war and isolation, neededequipment and consumables to respond tothe demands and needs of people withdisabilities.

In Kisangani, the teams working on theproject of reducing the risks linked tomines and unexploded ordnances (UXO)broadened their field of action beyond theborders of the province. One last - albeitvery important - part of this project wasconducted in North Kivu and somedistricts of the Eastern Province. Handicap

Handicap International has worked in theCongo since 1995. Up until now, the organisa-tion has developed activities in Kinshasa andKisangani. In Kinshasa, Handicap Internatio-nal’s action is structured around prevention,insertion, and rehabilitation. In Kisangani andthe neighbouring provinces, our objective isto reduce the risks linked to unexplodedordnances. In parallel to the long-termdevelopment projects, Handicap Internationalparticipates in emergency humanitarian aidthat is brought to the populations of theeastern part of the country, who areparticularly affected by the conflicts that haveshaken the region.



Budget: 3.078.615 €

(Emergency projects included)

Principal donors:Belgian Directorate General for Cooperationand Development (DGCD), Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Commission (EuropeAid), Embassy of France in D.R. Congo,Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belgium (ConflictPrevention), Survey Action Center (SAC), United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

Kinshasa

Kisangani

GomaNORTH-KIVU

EASTERNPROVINCE

RWANDA

BURUNDI

04

International conducted surveys on socialand economic impact together with localorganisations. These surveys allowed forthe drawing of precise table on problemswith mines and UXO and allowed for there-appropriation of lands that were sus-pected to be contaminated.

In 2009, Handicap International will pursueits work in the area of CBR in Kinshasabut will focus even more on reinforcingpartnerships with the civilian society anddefending the respect of people withdisabilities. Regarding the mother and childhealth services projects, it will besomewhat adapted to more adjusted tothe health context of the capital. Anexploratory mission will also take place inthe province of Central Congo, in both ruraland urban areas, in view of launching aproject in 2010-2011. In Kisangani, HandicapInternational will continue its ongoingactivities focusing on our efforts to reinforcethe local capabilities in view of a transfer ofthe project to the Congolese organisationsin 2011.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Since 1997, Handicap International has intervened in Colombia,first by supporting a Colombian organisation specialised in therehabilitation of persons with disabilities in Cartagena, then bydeveloping partnerships and activities with different kinds ofinstitutions in various parts of the country. In 2008, from ourMedellin and Cartagena offices, we intervened in five areas:Antioquia, Bolívar, Sucre, Santander and North Santander.

Latin America


Colombia


Budget: 787.411 €

Principal donors:Canadian International DevelopmentAgency (CIDA), Directorate General forCooperation and Development (DGCD),European Commission (EuropeAid), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belgium(Conflict Prevention and EmergencyAid), Swiss Agency for Developmentand Cooperation (SDC).

Medellín

Bucaramenga

Cartagena

Sincelejo

Cúcuta

05

The work of Handicap International isbased around three main axes: to facilitatethe access of persons with disabilities tobasic services and ensure that their rightsare being respected; to support theprocesses of assistance to civilian casualtiesof the armed conflict and specificallyvictims of landmines and to promote theparticipation of persons with disabilities inthe social and economic life of societythrough the reinforcement of associationsof persons with disabilities.

There are in fact two parts to the project‘Assistance for the victims of landmineaccidents’. One branch is institutionalreinforcement, aimed at improving thetreatment of the victims of landmineaccidents by building the capacities of theauthorities and local institutions which arethemselves often ill-informed about therange of possible aids for victims. Thesecond aspect seeks to improve the livingconditions of the civilian victims of mineaccidents.

With its Community-based rehabilitation (CBR)project, Handicap International strengthensthe capacity of local communities toaddress disability. Local CBR committeesidentify the needs, conduct an analysis andconsider the context and family situation

before implementing an action strategy incollaboration with the disabled individualand his other relatives. The project forimproving the living conditions of personswith disabilities was launched in its currentform in 2008. Upon completion in 2010,2,700 persons will have benefited from it.

One of the new projects also launched in2008 was dedicated to the support forassociations. Ten associations for personswith disabilities will benefit from supportto reinforce their structure and modes ofoperation so that they may claim theirrights within the framework of the UnitedNations Convention on the Rights of Personswith Disabilities.

In March 2009, Handicap International is setto extend its activities to five new areas ofthe country. The organisation will alsoconduct a survey on the situation andneeds in the field of education on the risksof mines, and examine the feasibility andnecessity of developing a project in thisarea. One of the key events for 2009 willbe the second follow-up conference on theOttawa Treaty (Mine Ban Treaty). Thisconference will be held from 30 Novemberto 4 December in Cartagena, the centre ofHandicap International’s activities inColombia.

Handicap International first intervened in Cuba in 1998 by contributing aidfor the production of prostheses. Since 2001, the organisation has gearedits actions to community-based rehabilitation (CBR) programmes, to whichthe field of inclusive education has been added, to promote integration ofthe most vulnerable people in Cuban society. In 2008, the mission openeda new CBR project in Holguín, as well as a project to support and reinforcethree associations representing people with disabilities in Cuba. The yearwas also marked by two particularly violent hurricanes striking the islandjust one week apart, leaving a fair proportion of the population inprecarious living conditions in the hardest hit areas.

Cuba


06IN FIGURESInternational staff: 2National staff: 3, financed by our partners to support Handicap International,plus the project teams, in all 87 people(financed by our local partners).Budget: 591.826 €


Principal donors:Belgian Directorate General forCooperation and Development (DGCD),Flemish Ministry of Education (Belgium),Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Havana

PINAR DEL RIO

GRANMA

HOLGUIN

The community-based rehabilitation project(CBR) continued in Granma Province (Westof the country) and in the eastern provinceof Pinar del Rio, reaching people withdisabilities living in rural zones far fromurban centres. These projects offer bothphysical rehabilitation care and psychologicaland social support. In 2008, the communityrehabilitation project was extended tothe Holguin region, neighboring GranmaProvince, with an approach geared more toaccess in the broad sense of the word(physical access to infrastructures, access toinformation and communication techniques,etc) for all kinds of disabilities. HandicapInternational also continued the project offurthering inclusion in the school system inCuba.

Another new project was set up early 2008to reinforce associations representingpeople with disabilities, particularly intheir management capacities. An importantpart of the project targets improving accessof people with disabilities to variousvocational training courses. This means thatHandicap International has worked onvocational training with members of threeassociations for the disabled active in Cuba,and, more generally, the organisation hasequipped adult vocational training centres tomake them more accessible to people withdisabilities and worked on diversification oftraining courses offered in vocational andspecial education schools. Handicap Inter-national will also be supporting these threeassociations so they can organise awarenesscampaigns in favour of inclusion.

The objective of Handicap International inCuba in 2009 continues to be to act as a

catalyst for various initiatives that focus onbuilding a more inclusive society by rein-forcing existing expertise and the socialstructure. With this is mind the organisationwill consolidate existing projects first andforemost, to capitalise on the lessons learnedfrom the experience acquired, while focusingon certain approaches, such as accessibilityfor all people with disabilities.

One of our objectives for the future is also towork more in the field of rehabilitation ofpeople with a mental impairment and toimprove the quality of the services offeredto them.

Phnom Penh

Battambang

Takeo

Siem Reap

Banteay MeancheyPreah Vihear

The approach developed by Handicap International in Cambodiahas evolved considerably, leading us into a more participatoryapproach based on the respect and promotion of rights. Peoplewith disabilities and their associations are more than ever equalpartners, working with us on programmes from their conceptionto their final evaluation.

Asia


Cambodia

07


Budget: 1.506.380 €

Principal donors: Australian Agency for InternationalDevelopment, Cambodian Ministry of Social Affairs, Directorate General for Cooperation and Development(DGCD), European Commission(EuropAid), Global Road SafetyPartnership, Handicap InternationalLuxembourg, Japan InternationalCooperation Agency, LuxembourgMinistry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belgium (Conflict Prevention), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, Nippon Foundation, UNICEF.

Handicap International has continued itsroad safety programme. In 2008, focus wasdirected to the issue of wearing a helmet,which therefore increased from 27% in June2008 to 52% in December. This year theorganisation also prepared the resumptionof the RTAVIS project (data collectionconcerning road accidents) by the nationalassociations. Finally, we supported theMinistry of Health in the establishment of aglobal service for the study of accidents, nolonger limited only to road accidents.

In the area of the prevention of mine andunexploded ordnance accidents, HandicapInternational has progressed in preventionactivity by informing the public about theprohibition against the sale of suchdevices. The transfer of information has alsoimproved in order to speed up deminingoperations. These new projects have alreadydelivered their first results: a reduction of45% in the number of accidents in the areaconcerned, far greater than in the rest ofthe country.

Handicap International continues to beactive in the physical readaptation centresof Siem Reap and Takeo. Linked to thesecentres, the ‘Happy Child’ project in 2008allowed us to offer training in the earlydetection of disability in very young children,both by the personnel in treatment centresand by traditional midwives, and to improvethe quality and efficacy of the treatment inthe centres.

The ‘Rights and Inclusion’ programmestarted in 2008. This approach aims toreinforce the Cambodian Disabled People’sOrgani-sation (CDPO). At the village level,Handicap International has supported thecreation of local disabled people’sassociations. This part of the programmecurrently operates in 24 villages. Finally, the‘Sport for all’ programme has just beenrevised. Twelve sports clubs have beencreated in primary schools, integrating able-bodied and disabled children, aiming toalter the attitude of the children and thecommunity towards disability.

In 2009, the transfer of competences willbe the key word in the orientation of ourfuture rehabilitation activities. Indeed, theprocess of handing over the physicalreadapation centres has already beenlaunched by the concerned NGOs and theMinistry of Social Affairs, Veterans andYouth. Also, by the end of 2009, the CMVISprogramme for the collection of informationabout mine accidents should be entirelytaken over by the Cambodian Red Cross.The programme for the prevention of minerisks will be extended to five provinces.



Budget: 1.367.412 €


Principal donors:Belgian Directorate General for Cooperationand Development (DGCD), Canadian Embassy in China, European Commission(EuropeAid), Grivat Foundation, Hirzel Foundation, Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign Affairs, State Department for International Development of UnitedKingdom (DFID).

In 2008, projects for the early detection,prevention and intervention of disabilitiesin young children were launched inSichuan, in the Yuexi County and in Tibet,in the prefecture of Lhassa. One of the mainlines of this project is the training ofhealthcare professionals to the causes ofdisabilities during pregnancy and at birth,to prevent and identify disabilities ininfants and young children and ensurebetter care if necessary. Awarenesscampaigns aimed at the population alsotook place.

Handicap International pursued its rehabilita-tion projects in Tibet, as well as community-based rehabilitation projects in Sichuan,Guangxi and Tibet through the developmentof two new lines, in the area of educationand social insertion.

Throughout the year, the organisationpursued its actions supporting associationsof disabled people, amongst which itspartnership with the Tibetan association ofdeaf people and associations in Beijing andNanning (Guangxi).

Late 2008, the training project for health-care staff in orphanages came to an end. Inthe long term, this project should benefitsome 570,000 orphans and 200,000 health-care staff in orphanages.

2009 will see the launch of a community-based rehabilitation project in Sichuan inthe area struck by the earthquake. This willmark the passage to the next stage of anemergency project. This new project forhelping the victims of the seism shouldspread over two years.

At the same time, Handicap Internationalwill work on a capitalisation document inthe area of community-based rehabilitation.This work will also lead to the organisationof an international seminar on community-based rehabilitation hosted in Beijing inSeptember.

China

Despite a growth rate of 9% in 2008, there are still many inequalities inChina, and people with disabilities are the first victims. Indeed, peoplewith disabilities hardly benefit from the country’s growth. The action thatHandicap International has conducted since 1997 to improve the care ofthese people is thus still justified. Since that date, Handicap Internationalhas developed projects in the area of prevention, rehabilitation andinsertion, also conducting advocacy actions these past few years in anaim of raising the awareness of the population to the issues people withdisabilities are facing. We concentrated our interventions to areas in theSichuan province and in the autonomous regions of Guangxi and Tibet.2008 was marked by the earthquake that ravaged Sichuan. HandicapInternational was amongst the first to intervene.

Beijing

ChamdoLhassa

Nanning

ShigatseSICHUAN

TIBET

GUANGXI

08

INDIA

Malé

Maldives The first Handicap International projects in the Maldives began after thetsunami of 26 December 2004. Since that time, the organisation hasprovided technical support to the Red Cross to improve access tobuildings and services for people with disabilities. It also supports thepublic authorities develop a national strategy in favour of people withdisabilities. Handicap International has thus facilitated the process ofthe integration into national law of the United Nations Convention onthe Rights of Persons with Disabilities. A community-based rehabilitationproject has been set up as well.



Budget: 303.188 €

Support to Tsunami projects imple-mented by Handicap InternationalFrance in Sri Lanka and Indonesia:592.609 €

Principal donors:Consortium 1212.

09

For 2008, one of the main objectives was toconceive and carry out a national survey onthe situation of people with disabilities toget a census of this population and itsneeds. In collaboration with governmentauthorities and community actors HandicapInternational has developed a functionallimitations screening process that enablesthe assessment of school-age children andadults, and is followed by referral toappropriate services.

On Thinadhoo and Hithadhoo Islands,Handicap International has already done thesurvey. People with disabilities have beenidentified and their situations have beenrecorded. Subsequently, they are put incontact with social workers.

During 2008, Handicap International alsosupported the creation of organisations ofpeople with disabilities. The organisationfor the deaf and hard of hearing ‘MaldivesDeaf Association’ (MDA) has been officiallyregistered, along with the association ofparents of children with disabilities, ‘TheAssociation for Disability and Development’.These associations are now active in aseries of projects and awareness-raising.Thanks to the project implemented byHandicap International in cooperation withthe MDA and the Ministry of Education, fiveteachers have received training in signlanguage. Today, these individuals areleading training courses for teachers inspecial education. The Maldives signlanguage dictionary is now complete andwill be distributed to each school and tothe families whose members include a leastone deaf person.

At the end of 2009, the Handicap Interna-tional projects in Maldives will be finalizedand the organisation will withdraw fromthe country. In this last year, we areemphasizing research, advocacy andgovernment capacity building.

Democratic People’s Republic of KoreaAt the end of the Korean War in 1953, the Korean peninsula was divided into two parts: the DemocraticPeople’s Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (ROK or South Korea). NorthKorea has more than 23 million inhabitants. Handicap International has carried out interventions in NorthKorea since 1999 at the request of the Korean Federation for the Protection of the Disabled (KFPD). Theobjective was and still remains to provide the federation with technical support, to strengthen it and toenable the improvement of support offered to people with a disability. In 2005, the North Korean governmentannounced the end of humanitarian aid in the country and demanded the departure of non-governmentalorganisations. The former programmes were resumed within a support structure divided into seven units.European experts implement the projects. Since then, Handicap International’s projects have continued aspart of ‘unit seven’ which focuses on healthcare.

In 2008, we continued our support fororthopaedic services. A sanatorium forelderly and disabled people has alsobenefited from redevelopment work, technicalsupport and the distribution of walking aids.

Four years ago, a unique special educationproject was started at the school for thedeaf and hard of hearing in Wonsan.Handicap International also provides supportfor the special schools in Hamhung, andthere are now plans to merge the twoestablishments to increase capacities andto improve the services provided by theseschools.

All of the projects in the DPR of Korea arecarried out in close partnership with theKFPD. The strengthening of the Federation


Pyong Yang

Hamhung

Weonsan

IN FIGURESInternational staff: 3National staff: 7 provided by our Korean partners.Budget: 791.784 €

Principal donors: Agency of the Federal Republic of Germany in Pyongyang, Belgian Directorate General for Cooperation and Development (DGCD), EuropeanCommission (ECHO, EuropeAid), Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).

10 for the Protection of the Disabled aims toenable it to effectively carry out advocacyinitiatives concerning the application ofrights people with disabilities. Trainingsessions, seminars and material to raiseawareness have been developed for thispurpose.

In addition to pursuing the initiativesundertaken in 2008, in 2009 we willcontinue to provide support for the KFPDwith the prospect of carrying out a nationalsurvey on disability and the structures forthe disabled, the setting-up of a fundingsystem to allow potential donors to providethe federation with direct support. We willalso provide the KFPD with supportconcerning the process of revising the lawon the protection of disabled people.

For the past ten years, the country has expe-rienced significant changes: population increasebut also a greater gap between the rich and thepoor, expansion of the road network andinfrastructures linking Laos to its neighbours. In1996, the organisation was selected by Laotianauthorities to conduct a national survey on theimpact of unexploded ordnances (UXO). Afterthis, Handicap International focused its activitieson bomb clearance and the awareness of therisks of mines before extending its actions toroad safety and the insertion of people withdisabilities within the community.

Lao People’s Democratic Republic


11IN FIGURESInternational staff: 6National staff: 88

Budget: 849.290 €

Principal donors:Australian Agency for InternationalDevelopment (Ausaid), BelgianDirectorate General for Cooperationand Development (DGCD), EuropeanCommission (EuropAid), Georg KrausFoundation, United Nations Children’sFund (UNICEF), United States Agencyfor International Development(USAID).

Vientiane

Savannakhet

Also in 2008, Handicap International supportsthe Lao Disabled People Association (LDPA)to promote the economic rights of peoplewith disabilities. Handicap Internationalconducted a survey and an analysis togather the information on the employmentsector in Vientiane, the capital city, and toexplore the employment opportunities forpeople with a disability.

The great majority of our projects areimplemented in Savannakhet Province. In2008, Handicap International conducted afirst task to evaluate the way in which thedifferent projects could be brought nearertogether in an aim of working in closecollaboration. For example, community-basedrehabilitation and mother and child healthprojects will work in the same districts, inan integrated manner. Handicap Internationalwill launch more concretely the project forthe employment of people with disabilitiesand will work following an approach basedon the rights of people with a disability.

Also in 2009, the organisation will work toreinforce the capacities of the governmentand local partners. Handicap Internationalwill encourage its partners so that, in thelong term, these partners will be capable oftaking over these projects when HandicapInternational will leave.

In 2008, in addition to the activities in thearea of road accident prevention and thereduction of the threat of unexplodedordnance (demining, accident prevention),a number of projects were undertaken ordeveloped further. This was the case withthe community-based rehabilitation project(CBR), implemented first in 2006 in theprovince of Savannakhet. 2008 marks a newapproach with planned visits in thevillages. These meetings gather the inhabi-tants of several villages to offer themhealthcare advice, consultations with amedical team – doctors and nurses – andorthopaedic technicians and physiothe-rapists. People immediately benefit fromthe necessary care. If a direct interventionis not possible, measurements are takendown for fitting patients with a prosthesisand are then sent on to a specializeddepartment in Savannakhet.

In late 2008, Handicap Internationallaunched a maternal and child healthproject. The organisation also developed anawareness programme aimed at parentsand healthcare professionals to raise theirunderstanding of the specific needs ofchildren with disabilities. A network ofvolunteer health workers active in thevillages was trained to offer direct supportat home.

At the end of 2007, Handicap Internationalset up in Hanoi to develop a project similarto that of the Bach Mai Hospital in Ho ChiMinh City. In 2008, 58 patients wereregistered. They suffer from spinal injuries(para and tetraplegia) as a result of trafficaccidents, accidents at work or falls. From2010 to 2012, Handicap International willsupport the Vietnamese authorities indecentralizing the centre, by opening upsatellite centres in six of the poorestprovinces in northern Vietnam.

Handicap International has continued in2008 to develop its maternal and infanthealth projects. Early 2008, a new projectbegan in Hue. It targets developing a modelfor prevention, early intervention andmonitoring of children suffering from acongenital disability. The organisation alsocontinued its project ‘Welcome to Life’,which aims at preventing deaths anddisabilities before and during birth. Thisproject was developed in Khanh HoaProvince. Handicap International supportstwo hospitals, one in Hue and the other inKhanh Hoa, to enable them to provide bettertreatment of hydro-cephalus, offering trainingand equipment.

Finally, in 2008, the organisation hascontinued its road safety actions. HandicapInternational launched a road safety projectin a rural environment in 2008 in Dong NaiProvince where the number of accidents isgrowing dramatically. Providing equipment,donating ambulances, creating 25 basichealthcare stations and training volunteersin a partnership with the local Red Cross,awareness work and education of youngerchildren to road safety – these are alsoimportant aspects of this programme.

The projects carried out in 2008 willcontinue in 2009. The ‘Welcome to life’project will be moving into the centralizationphase with a view to reaching an ever-growing number of beneficiaries. Two studieswill also be done in 2009 to set up newprojects. One will deal with social-economicintegration of people with disabilities, andthe other with people with disabilities inethnic minorities.

VietnamVietnam is a country enjoying strong growth. A positive evolution, but it iscrucial to ensure that people with disabilities are not marginalised orexcluded from this overall improvement of the situation. Since 2001,Handicap International has been involved in Vietnam in the implementationof projects for prevention of disabilities and rehabilitation of people withdisabilities due to war, accidents, and congenital or incapacitating diseases.Each project is implemented with a view to turning it over to local authoritiesso that the actions can continue in the long term and benefit as manypeople as possible.


Ho Chi Minh

Hanoï

Hué

Nha Trang

12IN FIGURESInternational staff: 4National staff: 20

Budget: 923.323 €

Principal donors:ANOVA, Association of the French inVietnam, BBGV, Belgian DirectorateGeneral for Cooperation and Development (DGCD), Belgian National Lottery, Children for a better World foundation, European Commission (EuropeAid),Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Province of Limburg (Belgium).

Handicap International started its activities in Iraqi Kurdistan in 1991,with the creation of a Physical Rehabilitation Centre (PRC) in the town ofSuleymaniyah. Seven years later, a second centre opened in Halabja,where more than 5,000 Kurds died and 12,000 were wounded in 1998,following attacks by Saddam Hussein's troops. Today, the victims of thistragedy are still treated at the Halabja centre. In 2001 and 2002, twosatellite units were opened in the border cities of Penjwin and Kalar. Athird unit in Raniya opened its doors in 2005: all these cities are inseverely mined areas. The centres and satellite units are situated in thegovernorate of Suleymaniyah, Northwest Iraq.

Middle East


Iraqi Kurdistan

13IN FIGURESStaff employed by KORD: 61

Budget: 151.047 €

Principal donors:Cordaid, Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Suleymaniah

In 2005, after more than 12 years in theregion, Handicap International decided tosupport the creation of a local NGO thatwould take over its activities. This efforthas continued over the past few yearsthrough the remote support of KORD, thenewly-formed national NGO. This remotesupport continued in 2008 through a newpartnership agreement covering the period2008-2011 and grew further thanks to thecollaboration of Handicap InternationalLuxembourg. The key elements of ourpartnership are assistance with financialmanagement and participation in thedevelopment and the implementation oftheir strategic plan.

On behalf of KORD, Handicap Internationalhas thus obtained financing, thanks to theDutch cooperation, for the period covering2008-2011 and new financing thanks to theLuxembourg cooperation (via HandicapInternational Luxembourg). Furthermore,short-term missions were carried out to

help KORD staff better prepare andimplement their awareness and lobbyingactivities with the Iraqi government.

In 2008, KORD’s main activities remain thesupply of lower limb prostheses and lowerand upper limb orthoses. KORD has alsocontinued to develop its revenue-generating activities to help the victims ofantipersonnel mines care for their families,as well as activities to raise awareness ofdisability. Finally, the Iraqi organisationprepared the ground for lobbying activitywith the Iraqi government. This activity willmainly focus on the training and networkingof organisations that are composed ofpeople with disabilities.

Obviously, in view of the chronic instabilityof Iraq since 2003, choosing a self-runninglocal organisation with a quasi-nationalinfluence proved to be a wining option.Indeed, it would have been very difficult,even dangerous, to maintain teams made

up of expatriate staff. Furthermore, HandicapInternational has always felt that it isessential to prioritise its activities on thedevelopment of a local structure to avoidan over-dependency in international aid,while lending greater legitimacy to a projectentirely run by Iraqi civil society.

Europe

The work conducted by Handicap International in Belgium targets twospecific objectives. One part, with an international vocation, is the policywork as described in ‘Themes’ section (pages 7 and 8). However, theorganisation also works on the awareness of the public on the issues ofdisability and unexploded ordnances. In schools, festivals or through themeans of exhibitions and the ‘bricoleur du coeur’ contest, projects ofawareness and education in development were reinforced in 2008 toreach an ever-growing public.

Belgium


IN FIGURESStaff: 19

Budget: 757.634 €

Principal donors:European Commission, Directorate General for Cooperation and Development (DGCD), General Commissioner of International Relationsof the French community of Belgium,German Ministry of Foreign Affairs,ICBL, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway, Municipality of Waterloo (Belgium).

Disability and international solidarityIn 2008, an important part of the educationin development project started, aiming atbringing awareness to the Belgian publicon the issue of disability in countries of theSouth. This theme is essential in view ofthe important link between disability andpoverty, causes of exclusion that mutuallyreinforce each other. In schools, upperprimary to end of secondary classesparticipated in activities and reflectedabout this thematic. At the same time,pedagogical supports were made availableto teachers within the framework of the‘Handigosolidaires’ international project.Handicap International also orga-nisedanimations on the themes of ‘decent work’at the Esperanzah! music festival, and gavesome conferences in university circles,essentially to introduce physio-therapystudents to the specificities of theirprofession in the South.

North/South Associations of people with disabilities –both in the South and in Belgium – developan experience and competences that wouldbe worth sharing. Handicap Internationalnoted this and wanted to serve as a link.Thus, the association implemented theNorth/South project with the aim ofimproving the exchanges between thesevarious different associations. In 2008, afirst project allowed a meeting in China ofWoonheim Thaleia, a De Pinte non-profitorganisation, with local associations ofdisabled people.

In photosIn 2008, the Blue Laces exhib hit five Belgiantowns. The exhibition showed the inter-pretation by different Belgian artists of theBlue Laces, Handicap International’s symbol.

Handicap International also sent Belgianphotographers to Cambodia, Laos, Colombiaand Ethiopia, where they encountered actualwitnesses of the consequences of suchweapons as mines and cluster bombs. Theresult of their work is an exhibit, ‘FatalFootprint’, which was shown in Brusselsthroughout December to celebrate thetreaty banning cluster bombs that had justbeen signed in Oslo.

Bricoleur du cœur Each year, Handicap International celebratesthe people who – by implementing theirclever ideas – make the daily lives of disabledpeople easier and more autonomous. The‘Bricoleur du Cœur’ competition gives awardsfor the best conversions and adaptationsbut also allows for these ideas to bedistributed.

Projects incrisis situations


Budget: 103.079 €

Principal donors: Chaine du Bonheur, City of Paris, Handicap International Germany, Reuters Foundation AIDfund,Sanofi Aventis, Brussels-Capital Region.

On 12 May 2008, one of the most violent earthquakes in recenthistory struck the Chinese province of Sichuan. More than 80,000people were killed, 370,000 injured and 5 million lost theirhomes. Among the injured, an estimated 50,000 suffer fromdisabilities, of which 20,000 will be disabled for life.

The day following the earthquake, Handicap International’s teamswere already on the spot to back up the two main hospitals inChengdu, the capital of Sichuan, providing rehabilitation services,training hospital personnel in active methods for rehabilitation andproviding basic equipment. Six months after the earthquake, mostof the injured who received basic care in referral hospitals in theprovince have returned to their villages or their towns, or havegone back to temporary camps. These camps will house the victimsfor 2 to 3 years while the villages and towns which were destroyedare being reconstructed.

In 2009, this project will move into a post-crisis phase. HandicapInternational has assessed the situation in the hardest hit regionsand has identified a crying need for training in physicalrehabilitation techniques for the personnel in smaller hospitals,plus the need to set up monitoring services for home patients.Handicap International will be working in Mianzhu County (500,000inhabitants), located about 80 km north of Chengdu in one of thehardest hit zones with more than 50,000 seriously injured.

ChinaSichuan earthquake

Budget: 119.583 €

Principal donors: City of Paris, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belgium (Emergency Aid).

In September 2008, two hurricanes swept over Cuba with windsof more than 300 km/h. Material damage was enormous, and theeconomy, based to a large extent on tobacco production, nickelmining and tourism, was hard hit. The three provinces whereHandicap International is working were struck by both hurricanes,Gustav and Ike. The Handicap International projects for peoplewith disabilities had to be put on hold for emergency actions.

In a first phase, Handicap International provided a response todirect material needs after an assessment mission. Further to thisassessment, Handicap International ordered necessities likemattresses, sheets, blankets and towels, all articles that were nolonger available for purchase nor produced in Cuba since thestorms.

In Cuba, Handicap International leads community-based rehabi-litation and inclusive education projects in close collaboration withlocal partners, who distributed 3000 mattresses, sheets andblankets. The distributions continued early 2009 with roof-repairmaterial (corrugated iron and fixing equipment) to 250 families inPinar, and 750 families in Banes, Holguin. In the four schools wherewe conduct inclusive education projects, we assumed the cost ofrepairing doors and windows.

CubaTwo hurricanes ravage the Cuban coast

Budget: 329.717 €

Principal donors: Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign Affairs,Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belgium (Emergency Aid).

The eastern region in the Democratic Republic of the Congo hasbeen unsettled for many years by a latent conflict. The localpopulation is the first victim of this crisis. Currently, estimatescount roughly one million displaced persons.

In 2008, Handicap International worked at various levels to limitthe emergence or the consequences of disabilities, first in a hos-pital physiotherapy project for patients hospitalised in Virunga Hos-pital in Goma, then, with respiratory physiotherapy projects formalnourished children in a nutritional centre (CNT) and in campsfor displaced persons, complemented by physiotherapy for thosesuffering from motor impairments.

Handicap International also identifies children from 0 to 10 yearsold with disabilities living in camps to ensure that they get all theaid they need. This includes referral to other structures fortreatment. In this action the organisation back its partners workingin the camps, agents and community networks that are in a betterposition to identify children with disabilities and to send themto Handicap International for the necessary aid. Finally, theorganisation has opened a hospital physiotherapy project inRutshuru, in a hospital managed by MSF (Doctors without Borders)France.

In 2009, the organisation will also focus on taking into accountthe special needs of persons with disabilities and will work in thisfield with agencies organising life in the camps. We will also lookinto the possibility of developing actions geared to the health ofmothers and infants in camps of displaced persons, as childbirthconditions have been identified as a major cause of disability.

Democratic Republic of CongoHumanitarian crisis in Kivu

Budget: 47.017 €

Principal donors: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belgium(Emergency Aid).

Hurricane Nargis struck Myanmar on 2 May 2008, devastating alarge part of the Irrawaddy Delta. In June, Handicap Internationalgot authorisation to do a needs assessment mission. The projectdeveloped subsequent to this assessment anticipated mal-nutrition problems predicted by most of the players working inMyanmar, and planned for respiratory physiotherapy along thesame model as the project set up in Goma.

In September, when the project was about to be implemented,Handicap International realised that it had to be re-orientated sincethe anticipated famine fortunately did not take place. The Belgianand French sections decided to collaborate on a new projectconducted in a partnership with the PMI association. The Belgiansection of Handicap International gave physiotherapy trainingcourses to the PMI physical therapists, and the French section tookcharge of the physiotherapy and psycho-social support. HandicapInternational Belgium also helped transform the living area of peo-ple with disabilities to improve the accessibility of houses andpaths, for example. We also supported income-generating activitiesfor people with disabilities and their families.

MyanmarHelp for the victims of Nargis


2006 and 2007 closed with a major deficit, but encouragingelements in 2007 showed that the financial recovery of HandicapInternational was on the right track. This recovery was confirmedin 2008 with a deficit of € 172,654 after allocation of provisions,charged to the organisation's own resources.

Financial results for 2008 show a clear improvement over previous years,resulting from the stabilization of costs at headquarters despite three wageindexations and an increase in operating costs due to the rise in the cost ofenergy (gas, electricity, …). Again on the subject of cost control, an effective jobwas done to control certain financial risks for which provisions were allocatedin 2007. Some of these provisions were taken back, which has had a positiveeffect on the results for 2008.

Among the positive points for the past year, we should also note animprovement in the results expected for private fundraising. On the one hand,this is due to a reduction in the cost of producing mailings and on the otherhand, from income coming in from other sections of Handicap International.These occasional external incomes compensate a drop in funds collected bymeans of direct mailing. This drop has been particularly significant since thefinancial crisis broke out in September 2008.

The total budget of the organisation consists of 31.6 % of own resources and of68.4% from funds supplied by institutional donors in the broad sense of theword (international bodies, ministries, foundations ...). Our institutional funds arerising and support the bigger 2008 budget, related to the expansion ofprogrammes in keeping with the organisation's operational strategy:consolidation of programmes around certain development themes (rehabilitation,inclusive education, social and professional integration, road safety, maternaland child health, ... ) and an increase in emergency response programmes.

Nevertheless, we were forced to allocate new provisions to certain risks in 2008.One of the essential characteristics of the financial structure of the Belgiansection of Handicap International is that it is closely related to institutionalfunding. However this requires complying with very strict rules for eligibility ofexpenditures, conclusion of contracts and other criteria for the validity ofinvoices. In recent years, controls have been reinforced, in the sense of verystrict compliance with administrative rules that not always take into accountthe constraints of the contexts in which we work. Consequently, we must foreseethe possibility of adjustments and continuously improve our tools andmonitoring procedures so that they remain as close as possible to this evolution.This improvement is now moving forward, but it means that we must chargecosts to 2008 for risks that have potential consequences for the future.

In this difficult context, Handicap International must recover its financial balance,budgetted for 2009, and that should continue in subsequent years. We will bepay particular attention to risks related to the world economic crisis affecting ourprivate donors and also potentially influencing the budgets of institutionaldonors.

Programme realisation 76 %Communication and Fundraising 12 %Operating costs 8 %Lobbying and Education 4 %

Self-funding 31 %Belgian cooperation 26 %European Union 17 %National cooperation 13 %EU (outside Belgium)

Private financing 5 %(fondations, companies...)

National cooperation outside EU 5 %United Nations 3 %

Financial report 2008


Expenditures

Income

Expenditures (in €) 2007 2008

Programme realisation 12 850 901,98 13 845 036,39

Programme implementation 11 234 300,41 12 226 580,47

Exploratory missions 2 491,89 0,00

Equipment and investments 1 115 315,57 1 171 858,13

Transportation, communication and operating costs 1 673 513,35 1 922 678,08

Materials and consumables 423 393,52 528 457,82

Transport 47 041,87 97 218,59

Local and expatriate staff 5 297 717,23 5 972 385,37

Training, prevention and local education 987 558,04 888 663,68

Support to partners, individuals 830 484,18 864 637,67

Programme monitoring and evaluation 205 559,59 155 346,44

Support actions Handicap International France (tsunami) 597 609,17 592 609,00

Other programme costs 53 616,00 32 725,69

Technical support 1 616 601,57 1 618 455,92

Programme management 852 654,54 743 005,79

Specialised services 763 947,03 875 450,13

Lobbying and Education 564 017,30 757 634,22

Fundraising 2 155 866,81 2 157 063,04

Appeal and management of donations and sponsorship 1 848 266,00 1 811 103,86

Communication & events 307 600,81 345 959,18

General services 528 395,69 678 202,12

Exceptional charges 141 132,13 517 050,42

Financial charges 294 245,90 336 923,68

Total expenditures 16 534 559,81 18 291 909,89

Income (in €) 2007 2008

Public financing 10 098 098,02 11 510 039,76

International organisations 2 805 406,46 3 571 009,30

European Union 1 843 025,90 3 078 759,23

United Nations 962 380,56 492 250,07

National organisations 7 292 691,56 7 939 030,46

DGCD (Action Plan) 3 915 837,75 3 657 736,31

Belgian Cooperation and others 991 000,71 1 072 756,65

Within the European Union 2 093 586,17 2 297 006,95

Outside of the European Union 292 266,93 911 530,55

Private Financing 965 858,51 1 010 394,06

Self-funding 4 609 424,34 4 913 748,08

Fundraising 3 225 026,11 3 670 282,84

Legacies and inheritances 416 376,26 232 880,7

Sales and service provisions 72 645,46 25 265,17

Sponsoring 31 983,00 14 800

Others (Consortium) 863 393,51 970 519,37

Other operating income 145 916,50 169 967,43

Subsidies 37 247,30 38 868,21

Costs billable to third parties 28 797,39 16 914,77

Other income 79 871,81 114 184,45

Financial resources 261 034,96 273 559,68

Financial income 105 271,64 80 592,82

Effect of exchange rate changes 155 763,32 192 966,86

Exceptional resources 80 829,25 241 546,14

Total receipts 16 161 161,58 18 119 255,15

RESULT -373 397,85 -172 654,74

Financial transparency We are particularly careful to ensure good management of thefunds made available to us. All the accounts of the association aresubject to external audits carried out by an auditor appointed bythe General Meeting, the Bureau Bossaert, Moreau, Saman sprl,corporate auditors. In addition, expenditures for our projects areregularly verified in specific audits ordered by our institutionaldonors. The accounts were approved by the General Meeting ofJuly 8, 2009. These various controls, reinforced by an internal auditand strict procedures, guarantee the optimal management of theresources put at our disposal.

Your right to information Handicap International is an active member of the Association pourune Ethique dans la Récolte de Fonds (AERF) (Ethical FundCollecting Association) and subscribes to the AERF code of goodconduct which includes the right to information. Donors, friendsand staff members are automatically kept informed of the use offunds. This is the purpose of the annual report. In addition, youcan always ask us for additional information:

■ an overview of the analytical operating accounts for costs, ■ comments on what the organisation means by the use of cost

centres, particularly for collecting funds, ■ the auditor’s report, ■ the wage spread (ratio of the lowest to the highest gross wages), ■ depreciation table.

These documents are available following a simple phone call to02/280.16.01 or on request by post or by e-mail. They can also beconsulted at the head office of Handicap International, rue de Spa67, 1000 Brussels.

www.vef-aerf.be

Community-based rehabilitation 25 %

Demining 21 %

Rehabilitation centres 17 %

Support to associations 8 %

Emergency 7 %

Tsunami projects 7 %

Road safety 6 %

Maternal and child health 5 %

Inclusive education 3 %

Socio-economic integration 1 %

Implementation of programmes

Africa : 43 %

Latin America : 10 %

Middle East : 1 %

Asia : 40 %

| 30

Tsunamiprojects :

6 %

Expenditures by theme

Financial results as on 31st december 2008

Assets (in €) 2007 2008

Intangible assets 29 975,13 9 414,36

Tangible assets 263 940,91 243 962,75

Buildings and fitting 239 566,24 213 028,66

Furniture and equipment 24 374,67 30 934,09

Other financial assets 60 593,24 67 526,12

Total fixed assets 354 509,28 320 903,23

Reditors 2 762 040,30 2 551 446,10

Operational active debts 482 886,41 34 466,18

Transitional accounts 13 357,01 0,00

Donors 2 215 824,00 2 381 964,67

Other active debts 49 972,88 135 015,25

Stocks 7 631,33 6 607,92

Prepayments and accrued income 384 450,57 467 658,38

Cash at bank and in hand 5 877 648,87 3 606 583,54

Shares 513 944,19 114 686,60

Cash at bank 5 053 963,09 3 103 708,81

Cash in hand 298 771,87 377 370,03

Internal transfers 10 969,72 10 818,10

Total current assets 9 031 771,07 6 632 295,94

TOTAL ASSETS 9 386 280,35 6 953 199,17

Liabilities (in €) 2007 2008

Capital and reserves 2 579 372,96 2 205 975,11

Result for the financial year -373 397,85 -172 654,74

Total capital and reserves 2 205 975,11 2 033 320,37

Provisions for charges 10 000,00 0,00

Provisions for liabilities 235 666,02 238 772,00

Provisions for argument 24 701,90 11 500,00

Total provisions 270 367,92 250 272,00

Long term debts 0,00 0,00

Short term debts 4 558 547,15 3 394 426,17

Donors 2 278 963,49 2 168 131,84

Fiscal and social debts 296 883,38 184 140,91

Suppliers and other accounts 1 982 700,28 1 042 153,42

Prepayments and accrued income 2 351 390,17 1 275 180,63

Total debts 6 909 937,32 4 669 606,80

TOTAL LIABILITIES 9 386 280,35 6 953 199,17


Donors

INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC DONORS

European CommissionEuropeAid Co-operation Office to the European CommissionHumanitarian Aid Department of the European Commission (ECHO)

United NationsUnited Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)United Nations Development Program(UNDP)United Nations Office for the Coordinationof Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA)

NATIONAL PUBLIC DONORS

Belgian Directorate General for Cooperation and Development (DGCD)

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belgium ‘Conflict Prevention’‘Emergency Aid and short term Rehabilitation’

National Public Donors inside the EUAgency of the Federal Republic of Germany in PyongyangBrussels-Capital RegionCity of ParisDutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs Embassy of France in AngolaEmbassy of France in D.R. CongoThe Flemish Ministry of Education (Belgium)General Commissioner of International Relations of the French community of Belgium German Ministry of Foreign AffairsIreland Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Irish Aid)Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign AffairsMinistry for Foreign Affairs of Finland (FINNIDA)Municipality of WaterlooProvince of Limburg (Belgium)State Department for International Development of United Kingdom (DFID)Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA)

National Public Donors outside the EUAustralian Agency for International Development (Ausaid)Cambodian Ministry of Social Affairs (MOSALVY)Canadian International DevelopmentAgency (CIDA)Canadian Embassy in China (canada Fund)Japan Embassy in AngolaJapan International Cooperation Agency(JICA)Ministry of Foreign Affairs from NorwaySwiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation - SDC)United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

PRIVATE DONORS (NGOS AND FOUNDATIONS)

ANOVAAssociation of the French in Vietnam (AFV)Belgian National LotteryCanadian Auto Workers’ Union (CAW-Canada)CORDAID (The Netherlands)Chaine du Bonheur Children for a Better World Association Georg Kraus FoundationGertrude Hirzel FoundationGlobal Road Safety PartnershipInternational Campaign to Ban Landmines(ICBL)Luce Grivat FoundationNippon FoundationReuters Foundation AIDfundSanofi AventisSurvey Action Center (SAC)

OTHER SECTIONSOF HANDICAP INTERNATIONAL

For the emergency action in Chinaafter the earthquake in May, Handicap International French, German and American sections have contributed in 2008.

The Swiss section of Handicap International has trasmitted some legations for our projets in Angolaand in Vietnam.

The French section of Handicap International has contributed to ourprojets in Angola, in Cambodia andin Vietnam.

Some projects are jointly managedwith the Luxembourg section, namely:

Community-based rehabilitation in CubaCapacity building of people with disability in the community in CambodiaImproving services for children withdisabilities through the communityin Lhasa (Tibet - China) Happy Child in CambodiaSpinal cord injuries project in Hô Chi Minh City: care and rehabilitation of spinal cord injuries, VietnamSupport to the Kurdish Organisationfor the Rehabilitation of the Disabled(KORD)

Where do we work?

Latin America

BrazilColombiaCubaHaïtiHondurasNicaragua

Europe

AlbaniaBosnia-HerzegovinaFranceGermanyKosovoMacedoniaMontenegroRussian FederationSerbiaUzbekistan

Middle East

AfghanistanEgyptIraqJordanLebanonPakistanPalestinian territories

Programmes operated by the Belgian sectionProgrammes operated by the French sectionProgrammes where both sections work alongsideInternational network (sections, offices and representations)

Asia

BangladeshCambodiaChinaD.P.R. KoreaIndiaIndonesiaLao P.D.R.MaldivesMyanmarNepalPhilippinesSri LankaThailandVietnam

Africa

AlgeriaAngolaBurkina FasoBurundiCape VerdeD.R. of CongoEthiopiaIvory CoastLiberiaKenyaMaliMadagascarMoroccoMozambiqueNigerRwandaSenegalSierra LeoneSomalilandSudanTogoTunisia

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is an international non-governmental organisationwith the mandate to prevent and limit the impact of disabilities, byoffering assistance to people with disabilities and those at risk ofdisability and supporting them in their efforts towards autonomy andsocial integration. Handicap International has existed for 26 years. In1997, the organisation received, as a co-founder of the InternationalCampaign to Ban Landmines, the Nobel Prize of Peace for its action infavour of the victims of landmines.

Handicap International’s network has sections in 8 countries, includingBelgium. Since its creation, the organisation has set up developmentprojects in about 60 countries and intervened in multiple emergencysituations.

The Belgian section of Handicap International currently manages projectsin 13 countries. This annual report summarises our activities in 2008.

Handicap International

Handicap International BelgiumRue de Spa 67B-1000 BrusselsTel.: +32 (0)2 280 16 01Fax: +32 (0)2 230 60 30E-mail: [email protected]

Handicap International Canada1819, boulevard René-Lévesque OuestBureau 401Montréal (Québec) C-H3H 2P5Tel.: + 1 514 908 2813Fax: + 1 514 937 6685E-mail: [email protected]

Handicap International France14, avenue BerthelotF-69361 Lyon - Cedex 07Tel.: + 33 (0)4 78 69 79 79Fax: + 33 (0)4 78 69 79 94E-mail: [email protected]

Handicap International GermanyGanghofer Str. 19D-80339 MünchenTel.: + 49 (0)89 547 6060Fax: + 49 (0)89 547 60 620E-mail: [email protected]

Handicap International Luxembourg140, rue Adolphe-FischerL-1521 LuxembourgTel.: + 352 (0)42 80 60 1Fax: + 352 (0)26 43 10 60E-mail: [email protected]

Handicap International SwitzerlandAvenue de la Paix 11CH-1202 GenevaTel.: + 41 (0)22 788 70 33Fax: + 41 (0)22 788 70 35E-mail: [email protected]

Handicap International United KingdomCan Mezzanine32-36 Loman StreetUK-SE1 OEH LondonTel.: + 44 (0)870 774 37 37Fax: + 44 (0)870 774 37 38E-mail: [email protected]

Handicap International United States6930 Carroll Avenue - Suite 240Takoma Park, MD 20912-4468 - USATel.: + 1 301 891 2138Fax: + 1 301 891 9193E-mail: [email protected]

www.handicap-international.orgUnder the patronage of HerRoyal Highness Princess Mathilde

Documents

Annual report 2008 - english