Physical and mental health
Good health is a compulsory first step towards social inclusion and for Handicap International, treatment is not limited to orthopaedic fitting and rehabilitation. The prevention of disabling diseases, the creation of community health services, the provision of psychological support for victims, all these initiatives aim to fulfil the same objective: to ensure every man, woman and child receives the same level of healthcare.
The prevention of disabling diseases: a new challenge
HIV / AIDS, lymphatic filariasis, epilepsy, poliomyelitis, diabetes or leprosy... These diseases are a real scourge on numerous countries where they leave their sufferers severely disabled and often socially excluded. However, health precautions, information, vaccination and screening campaigns enable populations to protect themselves from these diseases and reduce or set back the onset of the most seriously disabling consequences thanks to an early diagnosis. If these diseases are better understood they are also better treated and better accepted by the patient's family and friends. In Mozambique, Kenya and Burundi, Handicap International works in close collaboration with local organisations, institutions and health workers, to carry out vaccination and awareness campaigns, set up information and screening centres and offer training for trainers.
The Africa Campaign on Disability and HIV & AIDS
Giving disabled or vulnerable people the right to be treated
The health projects developed by Handicap International aim to establish or reinforce access to high-quality healthcare for the most vulnerable. This is done by setting up community health services and local pharmacies, improving how patients are received, training health workers, providing technical, methodological and financial support etc.
Psychological support
Handicap International offers support to those suffering from psychological problems including the victims of conflicts or terrorism, refugees, child soldiers, autistic or mentally disabled children. Our teams work in close collaboration with local healthcare workers to ensure the best treatment for these traumas through: officially recognised training, financial support, therapeutic mediation through games, theatre or drawing, and assistance in setting up networks of professionals.
Contents
On the field
Vital psychological support in Sierra Leone
The violent civil war which shook Sierra Leone for over ten years (officially ending in January 2002) traumatised thousands of children including former “child-soldiers”.
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