New funding will help promote the rights of people with disabilities in Mali

September 2011

International Service's team in Mali has secured nearly $300,000 of funding from US Aid.

This funding enables us to launch a two-year project that will strengthen disability organisations so that their work can have a greater impact on the lives of disabled people in the Bamako region.

This project sees International Service working in collaboration with Handicap International, Sightsavers International, and the Malian Federation of Disabled People's Assocations.

Six local disability organisations will be supported to build their skills in management, finance, and advocacy and communications:

• Malian Association for Physically Impaired People (AMPHP)
• Malian Association for Children with Learning Disabilities  (AMALDEME)
• Malian Association of Deaf and Dumb People (AMASOURD)
• The Malian Union of Blind People (UMAV)
  
• Employment and Integration of People with Disabilities (EIHD)
  
• The Malian Union of Disabled Women's Associations (UMAFH)
  

In 2008, the government of Mali ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities. The challenge is now to enforce and implement the legislation that will enable disabled people to understand and exercise their rights.