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More than 90 people were killed and 270 injured after a 6.4 magnitude earthquake hit Indonesia's Aceh province on Wednesday 7th December. Already present in the country, Handicap International is assessing the needs of those affected in preparation for a possible emergency response.

The lives of civilians in the Gaza Strip are still at risk from explosive remnants of war, one year after the start of the conflict between Israel and Palestinian armed groups. Active in Gaza since 1996, Handicap International has been conducting risk education activities to help prevent accidents in the future. Guillaume Zerr, the head of Handicap International’s mission in the Palestinian Territories, explains more.

Without immediate and thorough rehabilitation, people with serious injuries can develop complications that can make it difficult or impossible for them to regain their mobility. Nowhere is this clearer than with the Nepal earthquake survivors who had legs amputated.

Sunil Pokhrel, Senior Physiotherapist at Handicap International Nepal, discusses how our teams are helping earthquake survivors with amputations to walk again.

Since March 2015, Handicap International has been leading risk education sessions in several parts of the Gaza strip. After the military operations in July and August 2014 there are explosive remnants of war absolutely everywhere, which poses a serious threat to the population.

More than 1,500,000 people were affected when Typhoon Nock-Ten (known locally as Typhoon Nina) made landfall in the Philippines on 25th December 2016. Handicap International is now helping victims of the disaster to access accommodation and drinking water.

Lyon will be playing host to the World Congress of the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics (ISPO) between 22 and 25 June. Handicap International, which has its head office in Lyon, will use this congress to underline the importance of enabling people to access rehabilitation services at each stage of a humanitarian operation, from emergency operations to development programmes. Physical rehabilitation enables individuals to make full use of their physical abilities and promotes their inclusion within society.

Over 60 years of conflict have left the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir heavily polluted by landmines and other explosive weapons. Accidents are frequent and half of all the victims are local people often employed the military. Although Urdu is the first language of most people in the state, many of the signs that warn people about the proximity of these weapons are in Hindi.

Humanity & Inclusion is improving rehabilitation departments in hospitals for people with brain lesions in Vietnam. The organisation is currently helping set up the hospital's new speech therapy unit.

Torrential downpours and flash floods in southwest Sri Lanka over the weekend claimed at least 169 lives. More than half a million people are affected, and 75,000 people have been forced to leave their homes. Handicap International’s emergency response experts and the local team in Sri Lanka are evaluating ways to help.

Last November, Mostafa's house was bombed and his legs were seriously injured. He is now living in a shelter made from corrugated iron and tarpaulins with his brothers and his sister. With her help, and with support from Handicap International, Mostafa is getting back both his mobility - and his smile.

Dalal is seven-years-old. Born with cerebral palsy, which affects her speech and mobility, she arrived in Lebanon with her family in March 2012. Today, one of Handicap International’s teams has brought her a wheelchair so she can move around more easily. With help from Handicap International* and her family, Dalal was able to leave her family’s apartment for the first time in eighteen months.

From 25th to 27th September 2015, States are meeting at the United Nations in New York to adopt the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) for the period 2015-2030. This marks a decisive turning point in the lives of people with disabilities worldwide, who will now be taken into account in development policies from which they have long been excluded. Handicap International’s awareness raising and advocacy actions have helped bring about this considerable advance.

A drop in new cases, the start of the rainy season, and prospects for a possible vaccine have changed the way the campaign against the Ebola virus is being fought. Recently back from Sierra Leone, Jérôme Besnier, the director of our Ebola programme, tells us more about this changing context.

Handicap International’s teams face two major challenges in Nepal: providing support to the injured after they leave hospital and transporting aid to people living in isolated areas.

Following the devastating earthquake on 25th April, a second major earthquake struck Nepal on the afternoon of 12th May. The epicentre of the latest quake was 42 miles west of the town of Namche Bazaar, close to Mount Everest. Nearly 2,000 people were injured as a result, and the numbers are rising. In total, over 20,000 people have been injured in the two earthquakes.