Handicap International has been implementing a Disability & Vulnerability Focal Point (DVFP) project in North Bekaa since June 2012 and has extended it in West and Central Bekaa from mid December 2012. In the same month Handicap International initiated its emergency winterization project, for approximately 3500 beneficiaries. Finally Handicap International has also started to implement a distribution project for families affected by the Syrian crisis (principally newcomers) of NFI and food parcels in West and Central Bekaa.

Twins Tiyan and Zahara Bushra grew up doing everything together—playing, going to school, and helping their mother with her sewing business. However, at age seven, the parallel trajectory of their lives suddenly, irrevocably came to a halt. Tiyan suffered a massive seizure, the cause of which is still unknown. When her seizure had passed, Tiyan opened her eyes but could see only darkness. She tried to get up, but her limbs refused to move.

Handicap International is responding to the needs of injured people in Ya'an, a city in China's Sichuan province, after a deadly earthquake struck on April 20. “Our main aim is to ensure that people who have been injured don't develop permanent complications or impairments because of lack of care,” says Eric Weerts, an emergency response and rehabilitation expert for Handicap International. “According to the Chinese government, around 200 people were killed and over 11,000 were injured.

Suisse – L’OIM et la Fédération Handicap International ont signé un mémorandum d’accord visant à collaborer dans des situations d’urgence pour aider des personnes vulnérables, dont les personnes handicapées et blessées, et celles qui sont confrontées à des déplacements forcés, en particulier après une catastrophe naturelle.

Switzerland – IOM and the Handicap International Federation have signed a global Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to work together in emergencies to help vulnerable people, including people with disabilities, the injured, and those struggling with forced displacement, particularly following natural disasters.

Ten years after the launch of Anglo-American military operations in Iraq, Handicap International has expressed its alarm at the dire situation facing the country’s civilian population. For the last 10 years, civilians have borne the brunt of armed violence in Iraq and the withdrawal of coalition troops has not improved the security situation.

On the second anniversary of the Syrian uprising, Handicap International condemns the inaction of the international community, which has failed in its duty to protect civilians or to give them equal access to humanitarian aid.

Handicap International has been aiding victims of the Syrian conflict for ten months. After launching a relief effort for Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon, it extended activities inside Syria, where conditions are extremely harsh.

Women with disabilities are twice as likely to be victims of domestic violence as other women [1].Based on this finding,Handicap International has decided to highlight their plight when it takes the floor at the 57th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, on International Women’s Day. According to Muriel Mac-Seing, Technical Advisor on gender based violence at Handicap International, “Women with disabilities often face double discrimination. It’s our duty to bring this injustice to an end.”

Experienced humanitarian workers Guillaume Woehling and Diana Hiscock have worked in a number of conflict zones over the last ten years. But the horrific violence they witnessed during their mission to Syria for Handicap International was the worst they had ever seen. After recently returning home in February, they spoke about their experiences.

Horrific violence