Victim assistance action points

• Develop a multi-year rehabilitation strategy to ensure the long-term sustainability of services.
• Establish a national supply chain for importing and distributing materials and equipment in order to sustain physical rehabilitation services.
• Involve Federal and Regional States’ National Implementation and Monitoring Coordinating Committees (NIMCCs) for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in monitoring and disaggregation of statistics on assistance to mine/ERW survivors.
• Increase the quality and quantity of services provided at the recently established rehabilitation centers in Assosa and Gambella.
• Build on lessons learned from Ethiopian Centre for Disability and Development (ECDD) pilot projects to increase the socio-economic inclusion of persons with disabilities.

Victim assistance planning and coordination[1]

International commitments and obligations

Laws and policies

There are three national strategic plans relevant to victim assistance in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia: the second Growth and Transformation Plan, 2015/16–2019/20; the National Plan of Action on Disability, 2012–2021; and a five-year National Physical Rehabilitation Strategy. Under the second Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP II), availability of physical rehabilitation services was expected to increase such that the number of people receiving services will triple by the conclusion of the plan.[4]

Other relevant legislation includes the law on the right to employment of persons with disabilities (2008); and following the ratification of the CRPD in 2010, the social protection Policy (2014), the inclusive Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Guide (2014), and the law providing for the inclusion of disability in the duties and responsibilities of government ministries (2015).[5]

Major developments in 2017–2018

Several national guidelines were released in 2017 including the National Disability mainstreaming guideline 2017, the National Disability mainstreaming guideline for the health sector, national guideline for physical rehabilitation in referral hospitals, and the disability mainstreaming guideline for training and vocational education. A draft of the national standard operating procedures for physical rehabilitation is anticipated in 2018.[6]

Needs assessment

The anticipated 2018 National Population and Housing census was planned to collect and disaggregate data to identify survivors among persons injured by other explosive remnants of war (ERW). The results of the census would describe the population, distribution, and needs of mine/ERW survivors.[7]

Medical care and rehabilitation

A general increase in medical care and rehabilitation services was reported.[8] Access to healthcare increased after two health centers were made physically accessible, which allowed many survivors and persons with disabilities to access reproductive health services.[9] In 2016–2017 mine/ERW victims made up 178 of 778 persons with disabilities receiving free health treatment through the Ministry of Health.[10]

CBM provides community-based rehabilitation in three regional states.[11]

The ICRC continued to support a countrywide network of nine physical rehabilitation centers and one orthopedic workshop where persons with physical disabilities, including mine survivors, received free physical rehabilitation services. The ICRC provided raw materials, equipment, and technical assistance. Seven of the nine rehabilitation centers were fully functional—Arba Minch, Assela, Bahir Dar, Dessie, Dire Dawa, Menegesha, and Nekemte. The ICRC covered transportation, food, and administrative costs for the most vulnerable patients. In 2017, 300 mine/ERW survivors received services at ICRC-supported centers, including 203 men, 68 women, and 29 children.[12] Rehabilitation centers with ICRC assistance were managed by regional governments through regional Bureau of Labor and Social Affairs (BOLSA), or by local NGOs.[13]

The same level of resources, in terms of materials and technical support, were provided for mine/ERW survivors receiving physical rehabilitation services from ICRC-supported centers. Overall, the ICRC’s direct support for rehabilitation transitionally reduced compared to previous years, due to the increased participation of regional authorities in the functions of physical rehabilitation centers. This has included increased financing and resources where required. ICRC partners conducted outreach services to address the needs of all persons with disabilities, including mine/ERW survivors.It was thought that most survivors have been benefactors of rehabilitation services for many years and are therefore familiar with their rights and available services.[14]

The prosthetic and orthotic program at the Black Lion Hospital in Addis Ababa, which the ICRC ran in coordination with the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MoLSA), the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education, and the medical faculty of Addis Ababa University, was concluded successfully in 2016.[15] The ICRC discontinued its support for efforts to establish a local bachelor’s degree course in prosthetics and orthotics because of persistent administrative delays. Little progress was made in setting up a national supply chain for importing and distributing materials and equipment crucial for sustaining physical rehabilitation services. This was primarily due to complex bureaucracy.[16] Interrupted provision of services remained a problem at two of the most recently established centers, in Assosa and Gambella. In 2016, the ICRC suspended support for the Mekele Othro-Physotherpy center due to “irreconcilable differences.”[17] The Mekele center continued to operate under Tigray Disabled Veterans Association (TDVA) management.[18]

Socio-economic and psychosocial inclusion

The ICRC and the Ethiopia Basketball Federation (EBF) hosted a 10-day training camp in wheelchair basketball for landmine survivors and other persons with disabilities from six regions. The goal of the training was to create a national wheelchair basketball association that will be able to compete internationally.[19] The ICRC and the EBF also support the 3^rdNational Wheelchair Basketball Tournament, held to coincide with the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, on 3 December. The ICRC provided dozens of sport wheelchairs and spare parts to enable more persons to participate.[20]

MoLSA launched urban and rural safety net programs that are intended to benefit persons with disabilities, including landmine survivors.[21] In addition, Cheshire Services Ethiopia (CSE), the Ethiopian Center for Disability and Development (ECDD), and Survivors Recovery and Rehabilitation Organization (SRaRO) offer support for economic integration activities—vocational training, small business support, internship programs—to persons with disabilities and landmine survivors.[22]

The ECDD continues to support inclusive education efforts by making primary schools and technical and vocational training centers physically accessible. The ECDD’s university outreach provides assistive devices to universities as well as targeted training to include leadership, job hunting, and braille for university students.[23]

Cross-cutting

In general, ICRC services have focused more on women and children.[24] Rehabilitation and Development Organization (RaDO) offered services for persons with disabilities in Sherkole[25] and Bokolmanyo[26] refugee camps.[27] Humanity & Inclusion (HI, formerly Handicap International) provided physical rehabilitation services and assistive devices to persons with disabilities in two of the refugee camps in Ethiopia’s Somali region, for refugees from Somalia.[28]

Victim assistance providers and activities