West Africa Region

Just released: Groundbreaking study of disability in and around urban areas of Sierra Leone

The West Africa Region currently works with eight Cheshire services in Sierra Leone, Ghana, Liberia and Nigeria. Working with its local partners in all four countries, Leonard Cheshire Disability helps strengthen the national councils to act as national co-ordinating bodies.

West Africa faces many challenges. Sierra Leone and Liberia have both suffered from brutal civil conflicts that devastated much of the infrastructure and have impoverished the people. Both countries rank amongst the lowest income earning countries in the region and disabled people constitute a significant percentage of the number of people living in abject poverty. Sierra Leone was ranked bottom by the UN Human Development Index in 2005. Ghana and Nigeria also suffer from poverty and offer limited services and opportunities to people with disabilities.

Disabled people in the region have been denied access to basic social services and the protection of their human rights. There are little or no opportunities available for disabled people to express themselves and to contribute to their development or that of their family, community or nation.

In all countries in the region, the percentage of disabled children going to school is tiny as is the percentage of disabled adults in mainstream jobs. A lack of education and employment has resulted in the impoverishment of many people with disabilities. Legislations to protect and promote the dignity of persons with disabilities is either absent or lacking force.

The focus of the Leonard Cheshire Disability work in this region is to promote inclusive models in education, economic empowerment and community based services. Education projects promote mainstreaming and enable children with disabilities to access primary school education. Economic empowerment involves the provision of vocational skills training programmes for disabled youths and micro credit revolving loan schemes for parents of children with disabilities. Community based services has enabled children and young people with diusabilities in accessing quality health and rehabilitation services. Leonard Cheshire Disability works in partnership with other specialist NGOs for the provision of orthopaedic and prosthetic appliances.