USAID Leahy War Victim's Fund

The Leahy War Victims Fund, managed by USAID, serves as the primary source of U.S. assistance to civilian victims of conflict in developing countries. Established in 1989, the Leahy War Victims Fund is a dedicated source of financial and technical support for people with disabilities, particularly those who sustain mobility-related injuries from anti-personnel mines, UXO, and other injuries resulting from armed conflict and civil strife. To date, the fund has provided over $263 million in assistance to more than 50 countries.

The Leahy War Victims Fund was originally tasked with the delivery of immediate care to civilians impacted by landmines and other unexploded ordnance, including the provision of prosthetics and orthotics and rehabilitation services. Its scope has subsequently widened to include initiatives that accommodate the changing needs of the populations it serves and to promote sustainable rehabilitation services in conflict-affected countries. The Fund also supports the development

of international standards as well as training on those standards to ensure that rehabilitation practitioners and institutions have sufficient capacity.

A good example of programming supported by the Leahy War Victims Fund in 2016 is the $2 million TEAM project implemented by UCP Wheels for Humanity in Ukraine. Launched in September 2015, TEAM Ukraine focuses on: Training for rehabilitation service personnel; Economic empowerment; Assistive technology delivery; and Medical and physical rehabilitation for people with disabilities. In 2016, UCP Wheels for Humanity partnered with the Ukrainian Association of Physical Therapy and the National Assembly of People with Disabilities to reach over 1,000 people with medical and physical rehabilitation services, assistive products, and greater economic opportunities. Priority was given to civilians affected by conflict. In addition, over 500 professionals were trained on subjects ranging from neurological rehabilitation to the provision of assistive products.

The Leahy War Victims Fund also launched two new regional activities in 2016, one in Francophone West Africa covering Mali, Niger, and Senegal and another in the Middle East, covering Jordan, Lebanon, and the West Bank and Gaza. Both activities seek to strengthen incountry provision of rehabilitation services and expand access to assistive products. This includes direct support to beneficiaries and the strengthening of service providers through physical therapy associations, academic programs, and training for wheelchair service provision. Spending approximately $12 million in 2016, the Leahy War Victims Fund continued to support activities in Burma, Cambodia, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Laos, Nepal, and Tajikistan. The Fund also continues to support several global initiatives spanning multiple countries. This includes support to the International Committee of the Red Cross MoveAbility Foundation with a geographic emphasis on Africa.

Through Handicap International, USAID’s Leahy War Victims Fund is improving access to physical rehabilitation services in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Photo courtesy of USAID.