Humanitarian response in West & Central Africa Region: CBM training key humanitarian actors on amplifying disability-inclusion.

This is the focus of a three-day Regional Training on: “Amplifying changes towards a disability-inclusive humanitarian response”.

The training organised by international Christian development organisation, Christian Blind Mission, CBM Cameroon, went underway in Yaounde yesterday. It will wrap up Thursday October 26. 

The 26 participants at the high-level training includes project managers and technical advisors of mainstream humanitarian actors of local NGOs, international NGOs and UN agencies from West and Central Africa. 

Participants are drawn from Togo, Niger, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon and Germany. 

They are from organisations including Plan International, Danish Refugee Council, World Food Programme, Handicap International, International Federation of Red Cross, Presbyterian Church in Cameroon, Caritas Cameroon, Network of Persons with Disabilities from North West Region of Cameroon and the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities in Nigeria among others.

It is holding within Phase 3 of the consortium project, Leave No One Behind (LNOB 3), which CBM is championing with Handicap International and Ruhr-University Bochum’s Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict, IFHV. 

The project spans a combination of global and local actions that aims to benefit the entire humanitarian community by disseminating and operationalising the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Guidelines on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action through disability-inclusive programming. 

Cross section of participants following lessons during training 

Speaking while opening the training, CBM Cameroon Country Director, Julius Niba Fon, said the project builds on the results, good practices, lessons learned and identified needs of Phase I and II.

He said it also builds on the profound experience of inclusive humanitarian programming by Handicap International and CBM. 

The training, Fon said, seeks to familiarise participants with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, UNCRPD, and enable them have a better understanding of the concept of disability and rights of persons with disabilities. 

He said it will also enable them to understand why and how to engage Organisations of Persons with Disabilities, OPD, be familiar with IASC guidelines on inclusion of persons with disabilities in humanitarian response.

Fon said participants will through the training gain understanding on the application of the Washington Group Short Set of Questions in order to be able to review tools, collect and analyse disability disaggregated data. 

He added that participants will also be able to develop and adapt their tools and approaches to make their programs/actions inclusive of men, women, boys and girls with different disabilities.

The training, Fon said, it will also help participants develop an action plan as part of their commitment to put in practice knowledge acquired. 

Findings from assessments made in countries affected by crises indicates that the inclusion of persons with disabilities within humanitarian response is still low, especially with insufficient disaggregated data, inaccessible environments, attitudinal barriers and lack of meaningful participation of persons with disabilities in humanitarian response project planning and implementation. 

The CBM component of the project, it should be said, is implemented in three pilot countries in – Niger, Nigeria and Cameroon. 

One of the desired outcome of the project in the pilot countries include the installation of an inter-agency technical support mainstream on disability inclusion in humanitarian action. 

The LNOB 3 project also offers mainstream actors technical expertise to work on the adaption of needs assessment and monitoring tools to become more disability-inclusive. 

About CBM Cameroon 

CBM is an international Christian development organisation committed to improving the quality of the life of people with disabilities in the poorest communities of the world irrespective of race, gender or religious belief. 

Inclusive humanitarian action is one of CBM’s initiatives where it aims remove barriers that people with disabilities face in accessing assistance, protection and recovery, address acute needs in the community including medical and rehabilitative services and ensuring meaningful participation of people with disabilities in humanitarian decision making.