Liberia
Promoting the rights of people with disabilities
 Handicap International.jpg)
© Handicap International |
Handicap International works in Liberia to guarantee the full and equal enjoyment of human rights by people with disabilities. We also promote equal access to education and support the development of quality rehabilitation services.
Our activities in Liberia began in 2000 when we set up a rehabilitation centre in Monrovia to meet the physiotherapy and orthopaedic care needs of people with disabilities and the victims of the civil war.
Key facts
Figures from the country's last census show that people with disabilities account for 16% of the population. Misunderstanding about disability based in cultural beliefs mean that disabled people are often stigmatised and pushed to the margins of society. This discrimination sees disabled people excluded from the education system, from employment opportunities, health services and many other areas of life.
• Human Development Index: 182nd out of 187
• Life expectancy: 57 years
• Population: 4.1 million
Source: UNDP HDR 2011
A new wheelchair, a new lifeLiberia, March 2009. Ebenezer Adamtey, 44, had a car accident in 1979 that left him with multiple fractures in his left leg. He moves around in a “WorldMade” wheelchair he received from the Monrovia rehabilitation centre, with the support of Handicap International. Unlike other models, it enables him to move around easily and over long distances.
Our projects
 | Emergency mission to assist refugees Goal: Handicap International launched an emergency mission in March 2011 to support people fleeing the violence following the elections at the end of 2010.
Beneficiaries: People displaced by the violence that followed the elections in 2010. |
 | Functional rehabilitation and assistance for conflict victims Project run in Algeria, Cambodia, Liberia, Nepal, Sierra Leone and Somaliland.
Goal: To support activities assisting the victims of conflict by promoting the sustainability of these services and by building the capacity of civil society organisations to effectively advocate for disability rights. The project supports advocacy for the inclusion of disability issues in development programmes and also includes activities focusing on community inclusion, the provision of technical support and activities to raise awareness about disability issues.
Beneficiaries: People with disabilities, rehabilitation professionals and community workers.
|
 | Rights, Equality, Citizenship, Solidarity and Inclusion for People with Disabilities (West Africa) Regional project run in Benin, Burkina Faso, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.
Goal: To guarantee the full and equal enjoyment of human rights by people with disabilities by working with local and national stakeholders to tackle barriers to inclusion.
Beneficiaries: People with disabilities, national and local disabled people's organisations and the wider population in the capital, Monrovia. |
| Promoting the full participation of children with disabilities through education (West Africa) Regional project running in Burkina Faso, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Togo.
Goal: To strengthen the capacity of civil society organisations to effectively promote the rights of people with disabilities, particularly disabled children and their inclusion in society. Disabled people's organisations, schools, local authorities and other partners in the education sector receive training to make the education system more inclusive.
Beneficiaries: People with disabilities, particularly disabled children and their families, schools, local authorities and national and local disabled people's organisations. |
 | Promoting rights Goal: To build the capacity of disabled people's organisations to undertake advocacy alongside decision makers and to influence public policy that includes people with disabilities.
Beneficiaries: People with disabilities, disabled people's organisations, national federations of disabled people's organisations and public representatives. |
