Early Intervention and Physical Rehabilitation
Support to two Physical Rehabilitation Centres
Happy Child Project
Empowerment
CABDICO
Mine Action
Cambodia Mine/UXO Victim Information System
Mine/ERW Risk Education – Community Empowerment
Prevention of road traffic injuries in Phnom Penh
Road Traffic Accident and Victim Information System

Improving the quality of life of people with physical disabilities
Our work in physical rehabilitation is well established, and although originally the centres provided prosthesis and orthosis to landmine and UXO survivors, there has been a gradual evolution of services to not only veterans but to all those who can benefit from a prosthesis, orthosis or mobility device. In 2006 we provided services to over 5 000 clients, almost 27% of whom were women (an increase on last year). Now, less than half of our group of clients consists of people with amputations, instead a greater proportion of them are people with polio, cerebral palsy and club foot, 47% of clients being children. As well as providing technical services and physiotherapy in the centres, we also provide social services, and follow up outreach services in the community, aiming to promote inclusion and improve economic stability for our clients and their families. We continue in our endeavours to improve the quality and coverage of services provided.

Preventing and minimising unnecessary disability in young children

Over the past year, Handicap International has completed a landmark study in the provinces of Siem Reap and Takeo in 500 households where a disabled child was identified, in order to learn how some of the disabilities could have been prevented or minimized. An additional 500 neighbouring households were also surveyed to learn more about community perceptions of the health system. Out of that study has emerged a pilot project designed to:
1) raise awareness
2) increase collaboration between organisations
3) provide early detection and intervention services
4) strengthen the health system

Beneficiaries will include families, infants and young children in the operational districts where the project will be piloted, as well as local providers such as traditional birth attendants and support group health volunteers. Partners will include the Department of Preventive Medicine in the Ministry of Health, Angkor Hospital for Children, CABDICO, the Physical Rehabilitation Centres, and the communities themselves.

Improving the inclusion of people with disabilities in their community

CABDICO is a Cambodian NGO created in January 2006 from a former community-based rehabilitation project named CABDIC. CABDICO’s objective is to strengthen the capacity of people with disability and their family members in order to facilitate their educational, economic and social integration into their community and society. In 2006, 457 children with disability and their families benefited from rehabilitation services and basic skill trainings. 50 children were enrolled in 35 schools and two Provincial Implementation Teams from the inclusive education projects received training on education management for children with disabilities. In addition, the Education Policy for Children with Disabilities has been drafted by the Ministry of Education.

Building on the work achieved in 2006 by Handicap International, via the described projects, Cambodia is keen to expand our activities with new and innovative interventions.

A vital source of information about mine and UXO accidents

The Cambodia Mine/UXO Victim information System (CMVIS) has been established by the Cambodian Red Cross (CRC) and Handicap International to provide a continuous and systematic collection, analysis, interpretation and dissemination of information about casualties due to landmines, unexploded ordnance, improvised explosive devices and abandoned explosive ordnance. CMVIS has been in operation since 1994.

A positive development in Cambodia during 2006 was the significant drop in the number of victims of landmines and UXO recorded by the Cambodian Mine/UXO Victim Information System (CMVIS). According to CMVIS data the total mine/UXO casualties reported from January to December 2006 totalled 450, representing a decrease of 49% compared with the 865 casualties reported for the same period in 2005.

In the Battambang province and in Pailin Municipality (16 villages)
Empowering affected communities to mitigate the threat of ERW (Explosive Remnants of War)


An in-depth analysis of the CMVIS data from January 2001 to December 2004, cross-checked with the 2002 CMAA (Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authorities) Level 1 data survey, identifies the four target districts of the mine/ERW project as the highest affected. The CMVIS also reports a new trend: accidents by UXO/AXO (Abandoned Explosive Ordnance) which now represent the majority of casualties when compared to land mine accidents. Handicap International's strategy is fed by the recent evolution in Mine Action in Cambodia and now focuses its support on the National Police in the field of Law enforcement, control of Mine/ERW movements, reporting of Mine/ERW presence.

A national approach to road safety
In collaboration with national and local authorities and international partners, Handicap International’s continued advocacy, education and awareness raising efforts in traffic safety. More than 70% of the Cambodian population has continued to see awareness messages. Over 80 NGOs, private companies and international organizations have joined the road safety network set up by Handicap International and 6 of them distribute helmets to all their employees. We also managed to officially include a road safety curriculum in the national education system.

Collecting sound data for appropriate action

The Road Traffic Accident and Victim Information System (RTAVIS) is a permanent database, established in 2004, providing data on both road traffic accidents and victims. It shows that in 2006 there were over 26 000 causalities and almost 1 300 fatalities. We have been training traffic police and health workers in the Provinces to complete the data collection forms which are then sent to the government, and entered into their data base. We have also trained the Phnom Penh Traffic Police to use GPS devices to record the location of accidents in order to identify the black spots. This is part of a pilot project which shall be completed in 2007. There are over 300 end users of the system who receive either e-mail or hard copy of the most recent statistics. This continuous and comprehensive information on road accidents and victims in Cambodia will help to improve the ways in which we tackle such accidents. The reporting system is widely used by authorities and media and has proven to be an extraordinary lobby tool.