Cyclone Enawo has passed through Madagascar and will end its course in the Anosy region (south-east). The authorities have reported severe damage caused not only by the cyclone itself but by the subsequent flooding it has caused. The national office of risk and disaster management is reporting 10,000 displaced persons and 52,000 people affected. Handicap International's teams have started to assess the population's needs.

Famine was declared in several regions of South Sudan last week: 4.5 million people, half of the country’s population, are surviving on what they ca--n find or facing starvation. Xavier Duvauchelle, head of the Eastern and Southern Africa Desk at Handicap International, explains more.
 

On the 8^th March each year, Handicap International celebrates International Women’s Day. Today is an opportunity for us to recognise the exceptional achievements of ordinary women around the world.

Four months after Hurricane Matthew made landfall in Haiti, many people still need humanitarian aid. Handicap International has distributed emergency kits and household items to a thousand homes, benefiting more than 4,700 disaster-affected people. The organisation has also transported more than 270 tonnes of humanitarian equipment to people living in remote areas.

March 15^th will mark the sixth anniversary of the Syrian crisis. Since 2011, more than 300,000 Syrians have died and one million have been injured. Close to 5 million people have fled the country and 6.5 million have been internally displaced. 13.5 million people currently need humanitarian assistance in Syria. Handicap International has been providing assistance to the Syrian people since the start of the crisis and has been carrying out its activities in Syria itself for the past four years.
 

After two years of war, violence is part of daily life in Yemen. Handicap International is therefore providing support to rehabilitation departments in three health centres in Sana’a, where it has already assisted more than 4,500 people since August 2015.
 

A Handicap International-supported hospital in the governorate of Dar’a (South Syria) was indirectly hit by an airstrike on the evening of the 13^th of February. Several staff members are injured and the building is partially damaged.

This week, Handicap International staff members from Bangladesh, Thailand and Pakistan are gathered for a training on early child development, and how to foster the well-being of children in the early years. The training is an important part of the Growing Together project that supports vulnerable children in displacements settings through play.

Jean-Baptiste Richardier, co-founder of Handicap International, was present at the 20th International Meeting of Mine Action National Programme Directors and United Nations Advisors, which ended on 10 February. Here, he explains why Handicap International is committed to humanitarian mine action.

The international annual meeting of mine action professionals will take place in Geneva from 7 to 10 February. An opportunity for some 400 organisations and institutions to exchange experiences, it is a key event for Handicap International.

More than 1,500,000 people were affected when typhoon Nock-Ten made landfall in the Philippines on 25 December.  
Handicap International is now helping victims of the disaster to access accommodation and drinking water.  

Handicap International, active in Colombia since 1998 [1], is preparing to launch a five-year mine clearance operation in three of the country’s departments (Cauca, Meta and Caquetá). The organisation is also continuing to deliver awareness-raising on the risks associated with landmines and explosive remnants of war, as well as victim assistance.

Handicap International attended the Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in Chile from 28 November to 1 December. It used this opportunity to present its “integrated approach” to victim assistance. Elke Hottentot, Handicap International’s victim assistance expert, explains the challenges involved.

Handicap International is continuing its work to help the victims of Hurricane Matthew, three months after the hurricane swept through Haiti. Over 700 emergency kits have just been distributed to victims of the disaster, in particular enabling them to rebuild their homes.

On 12 January 2010, Haiti was devastated by an earthquake which killed 230,000 people and injured over 300,000. Handicap International took action immediately after the disaster to provide assistance to the victims. Seven years later, the organisation is still working the country to ensure Haitians have access to rehabilitation services.