Angola

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Our key activities

• Community based rehabilitation
• Income generating activities
• Support to local associations and Disabled People's Organisations (DPOs)
• Mine action

Context
Five years after the peace agreements, Angola still lives a crisis due to 30 years of civil war. The armed conflict provoked massive movements of populations and destroyed basic services. The UNDP human development indicator for 2006 places Angola at the 160th rank out of 177 countries. Even if the general situation has slightly improved, the life expectancy remains below 45 years old, 68 % of the population (around 16 millions) live under the poverty line and one child out of four will die before turning five.

Background
Handicap International has been working in Angola in 1994 in different fields:

• Prevention: from 1995, the Mine Risk Education (MRE) approach has undergone various transformations resulting from the ongoing instability and outbreaks of war. Throughout these years, Handicap International has focused on strengthening MRE competencies and leadership among local networks and administration, national NGO.
• Physical rehabilitation: Handicap International started to support the orthopaedic centers in 1994 in four provinces, and later a unit of foot production in rubber to supply the country. The process of self-sufficiency of the centers initiated in 2004 the centres were transferred to the local authorities in 2005. In 2006, support switched from technical to institutional and activities related to physical rehabilitation ended.
• Inclusion: The first project of professional training and socio-economical inclusion started in 2001. Once the war ended in 2002, numerous reconstruction projects began, but very few initiatives for the economical insertion of people with disabilities were existed. Handicap International has worked in Luanda and Huambo to strengthen the professional education of disabled people and to support micro-enterprises’ creation.

Strategy
Handicap International aims to reinforce its presence in Angola and its impact in favour of disabled people. With five provinces of intervention, Handicap International intend to be a key actor in the field of disability to keep the debate going, ensuring the prevention / rehabilitation / inclusion continuum thanks to partnership with civil society.

This strategy is based on two mains axes:

• strengthening harm risk prevention linked to population movements
• promoting the participation of people with disabilities in civic, social and economic life notably through local association support.

Activities

Promotion of the socio-economic inclusion of people with disabilities
This project aims to ensure the full participation of people with disabilities in the social and economic development of the city of Huambo through:

• Economic sectors of Huambo are identified through a market study in order to identify training and employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
• A network of stakeholders and partners involved in the implementation of the project is set up with the specific commitment of two local associations.
• Professional training and employment of people with disabilities are promoted.
• The development and the viability of the supported micro-enterprises are ensured by facilitating access to micro-credit structures and to markets.

Long term sustainability of mine risk education in Angola through local networks
This project aims to support Angolan networks and organisations to provide integrated and sustainable MRE to the at-risk populations in the Planalto region:

• MRE local networks’ capacities develop risk reduction initiatives in the affected areas based on community based solutions approach. Their actions target the most vulnerable and respond accordingly with regard to the national electoral process.
• National NGOs are able to implement MRE activities and projects, and become recognized as development actors.

Community-based rehabilitation (CBR)
The project aims to strengthen networks and capacities of the stakeholders committed in the integral rehabilitation perspective of the disabled people in the communities. The expected outcomes are:

• The needs of the disabled people and their families are well known in Huíla and Benguela provinces in order to determine suitable solutions using existing resources and services in the communities.
• Representation and intervention capacities of the local associations are strengthened in the urban, suburban and rural zones.
• Disabled people are better accepted within the targeted communities.

	Beneficiaries	Partners
I N C L U S I O N	350 disabled people and their families	- Training centres - DPOs - MINARS (Ministry of Social Affairs & Reintegration) - CNIDAH (National Intersectorial Commission for Demining & Humanitarian Assistance)
M R E	Rural population of municipalities of the provinces of Bié, Huambo and Benguela.	- Agents and leaders from networks - MRE referents at municipal level - DPOs - CNIDAH
C B R	Disabled people of six communities including mine victims Members of the communities Local DPO	- Provincial direction of MINARS - DPOs

Resources
The team is divided in “operations” and “support services”. There are three offices in provinces and a representation and coordinating body in Luanda. The team is composed of nine expatriates and 70 national staff.

Contact in Angola
Claire Fehrenbach, Country director
Tel : 244.222.35.10.13
e-mail : hib.angola@gmail.com