U.S. Agency for International Development’s Leahy War Victims Fund

Helping Individuals Optimize their Level of Functioning

Established in 1989, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Leahy War Victims Fund (LWVF) is an important source of U.S. assistance to civilian survivors of conflict in developing countries. The LWVF is a dedicated provider of financial and technical support for people with disabilities, particularly those who sustain mobility-related injuries from landmines, UXO, and other maladies resulting from conflict.

In 2020, the LWVF, in partnership with USAID’s Victims of Torture Program, and PM/WRA, supported a program called Okard (meaning “Opportunity”) in Laos. Implemented by World Education Inc., Okard provides financial and technical assistance to the Ministry of Health to operationalize its rehabilitation strategy and increase access to and availability of physical rehabilitation, including assistive technology services at the primary health care level. Okard also supports the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare to implement the country’s disability inclusion law and policy. The project supports government and non-government partners’ efforts to remove Mr. Thongin is fitted for his prosthetic leg. barriers to inclusion. Photo courtesy of World Education/OKARD.

Two beneficiaries of the program were Mrs. Soum, who is hard of hearing, and her husband Mr. Thongin, who lost his leg in a landmine accident. Neither were able to work due to their disabilities. With help from the Okard project, a disability inclusion awareness campaign was held in their village in Xieng Khouang Province. During the campaign, Community Based Inclusive Development (CBID) facilitators identified them as high priority for assistance based on their socioeconomic status and difficulties in functioning. The facilitator referred Mrs. Soum to an audiology clinic, and contacted the provincial rehabilitation center for Mr. Thongin to receive an appropriate prosthetic device. Mrs. Soum said, “We are very happy that the project supported us to be able to go to hospital, which is something that we couldn’t do by ourselves before.”

As of December 2020, CBID facilitators reached more than 3,800 people through community awareness raising events on disability inclusion; conducted initial screenings for more than 1,200 people who would benefit from rehabilitation services; and enrolled 244 people in a case management program to facilitate access to services based on their level of functioning and socioeconomic status.

In 2020, the LWVF provided more than $13 million to support the rehabilitation of survivors of conflict in 19 countries. To date, the LWVF has provided approximately $312 million in assistance to more than 50 countries, including Burma, Colombia, Georgia, Laos, Tajikistan, and Ukraine.

Website: https://laos.worlded.org/projects/usaid-okard/ | Factsheet: https://www.usaid.gov/laos/factsheets/usaid-okard | Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WfOKGyAvGk&feature=youtu.be