The 2008 Activity Report for the Belgian branch of Handicap International is available now. Whereas 2007 was a year for reflection and for the repositioning of our actions, 2008 proved very eventful for Handicap International.

In 2008, we developed a range of emergency actions, as we had planned in 2007. Our teams intervened to respond to crisis situations following natural disasters in Myanmar, China and Cuba. We also continued to develop our projects in Kivu, a region that remains unstable to this day in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The past year marked a huge victory for Handicap International and all the other associations that requested an interdiction of cluster munitions. Following a lengthy diplomatic process, the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) was finally signed in Oslo on 3 December. Through the Ban Advocates, the persons affected by these weapons were able to voice their distress to the diplomats. The Ban Advocates is a group created at the initiative of Handicap International that gathers people having survived the explosion of a cluster bomb. 

This report was the ideal opportunity to review another theme close to our heart: mother and child health. These projects aim at preventing disabilities for mothers and young children, and at the early screening and treatment of the disability. This approach complements the Millennium Development Goals’ focus on maternal and child mortality reduction.

You will also find a presentation of our activities in all 13 countries where we intervene.

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT IN .PDF
A printed version is also available upon request.