ICRC’s physical rehabilitation and social inclusion initiatives

In countries or territories covered by 35 of the ICRC’s delegations, we work to help people with physical disabilities regain their mobility, enjoy their rights and participate fully and effectively in society, on an equal basis with others. To achieve this, we help them to access high-quality physical rehabilitation services: we manage our own physical rehabilitation centers and support many others by providing them with mobility aids and other equipment, financial assistance and guidance to help their staff build their technical skills and management capabilities. Many of our former patients with physical disabilities now work at our centers. In Afghanistan, for example, nearly all of the staff at our centers have disabilities.

We help ensure that these services are not only available, but easily obtainable for those
in need by broadening awareness of them, strengthening systems that identify and refer
patients, and subsidizing treatment, transportation and other costs for destitute patients.

We also support initiatives that help people with disabilities to participate fully in their communities, fight stigmatization and build or rebuild their lives with dignity, autonomy and purpose. Often, experiencing violence and losing a limb or the ability to do things one
used to be able to do can be an incredibly demotivating and traumatizing experience, so we help people to process their experiences and give them the care they need so that they can heal inside and out.

Iraq: a new glimpse of hope at the country’s largest physical rehabilitation center

On 15 March 2022, we opened our new physical rehabilitation center in Erbil, Iraq – the largest one in the country.
The center is equipped to serve up to 6,000 people with disabilities per year – people who reside in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region and in neighboring governorates such as Nainawa, Kirkuk and Diyala. It also serves internally displaced people and refugees, mainly from Syria.
In addition to providing physical rehabilitation services and assistive devices such as wheelchairs and walking aids, the center also provides patients with mental health and psycho-social support, and grants for vocational training or starting small businesses.
The ICRC has had a physical rehabilitation center in Erbil since 1996, and transferred its operations to this new center with a higher capacity to address demand that had been consistently high for years.

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