Haiti: ICRC Special Fund for the Disabled Rebuilds and Rehabilitates

[icrc.sfd.americas]

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Haiti: ICRC Special Fund for the Disabled Rebuilds and Rehabilitates      Regular readers of this newsletter know that the ICRC Special Fund for the Disabled (SFD) supports local organizations in 30 countries with financial, material, and technical assistance to provide sustainable care for persons requiring prosthetic or orthotic devices.    Since 2005, one of the SFD's local partners has been Healing Hands for Haiti International (HHHI). On January 12, 2010, a 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti, destroying HHHI's entire infrastructure, including its building and equipment. The earthquake also caused thousands of injuries, including ones that required amputation. Officials estimated that the earthquake resulted in approximately 1,000 additional amputees, and between 8,000 and 10,000 amputees are currently in need of care.   Today, Haiti's physical rehabilitation needs far exceed its past and present rehabilitation capacity. To address this, the SFD and HHHI are working to build a new HHHI building, prosthetic and orthotic laboratory, and physiotherapy clinic. The two organizations have also devised a five-year plan that will redevelop the center's physical rehabilitation activities and train additional HHHI staff.    With generous support from the American Red Cross and Norwegian Red Cross, over the next five years, SFD and HHHI will provide prosthetic and/or orthotic rehabilitation services to fit an additional 1,000 persons with devices and to provide 10,000 physiotherapy treatments. The plan also commits resources to improving the quality of patient services and enhancing the long-term functioning of the HHHI center.   Progress on the new building is already underway. Together, the SFD, HHHI, and the ICRC delegation in Haiti will closely follow the implementation of the project so that the building, complete with new equipment and tools, will be finished towards the end of 2011. To support the work of the SFD, please visit its website.   To read more about the people assisted by SFD and HHHI in Haiti, please click here.

Interview with Andreas Lendorff, Member of the Board, ICRC Special Fund for the Disabled   The ICRC Special Fund for the Disabled (SFD) was created in 1983 and is an integral part of the ICRC strategy for physical rehabilitation. The SFD enables the ICRC to provide follow-up physical rehabilitation assistance in countries where ICRC is no longer operational, promoting sustainability, continued provision of services, and return on ICRC's earlier investments.   Andreas Lendorff, Member of the SFD Board, recently traveled to Haiti. Afterward, while in Washington, he took a few moments to answer our questions:   You just returned from Haiti. Tell us about your visit and the current situation there with respect to persons living with disabilities?   This was my first trip to Haiti and I only spent a few days there, so I'm unable to give a true assessment of the situation. I can tell you that in the physical rehabilitation sector a lot of good work has been done. SFD has been working in Haiti since 2005 with a local partner called Healing Hands for Haiti (HHHI). In the January earthquake, all of HHHI's buildings collapsed. The main purpose of my trip was to take part in a small ceremony and sign a Memorandum of Understanding with HHHI on November 15. We will work together to build a new prosthetic-orthotic workshop and to collaborate on a 5-year plan of rehabilitation activities.   The Haiti project is now a very substantial program for us. Before, our annual budget was about $5 million and now it is $7 million, thanks in part to the support given to SFD from the American Red Cross and Norwegian Red Cross, joint financial supporters of the 5-year SFD-HHHI project in Haiti.   What impressed you most about the planned collaboration with Healing Hands for Haiti International?   The key word is certainly sustainability. HHHI has been working in Haiti since 1999. It puts emphasis on long-term commitment to the people. As a result, our collaboration is not a one-off project as you can see from our five-year plan of activities. Likewise, HHHI does very high quality work. It has introduced ICRC SFD's polypropylene technology, and we enjoy a very good working relationship with our colleagues. In 2010, during the emergency phase subsequent to the January earthquake, HHHI has been working with other organizations too, like Handicap International, to run a temporary rehabilitation workshop. Despite the challenges, they are doing a very good job. And when the new building is finished by the end of 2011, these activities will move there.   On a 2009 visit to Washington, you mentioned that programs for amputees and disabled people are not at the top of donors' priority list. Has this changed in 2010? What is the outlook for 2011?   Last year I was not very positive about our financial situation, and unfortunately my fears were confirmed when for the first time in many years, SFD could not meet its fundraising goals. We ended the year with a shortfall of $500,000 and had to cut back our budget for 2010. The worldwide financial crisis caught up with us.   This year, we've done a lot of work, and I am cautiously optimistic. I think we will meet our goals and cover our expenditures for 2010. Despite some challenges related to low exchange rates, we are hopeful that donors will respond to the call expressed in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and that some new funds may be available starting in 2011.  -------------------------------------------END-----------------------------------------------------------