Why it is needed
Serving more than 1,000 km2 of rural western Uganda, KCDC promotes functional independence, family strengthening, primary school enrollment, and improvement in quality of life.
Community-based rehabilitation (CBR) is an empowering community development strategy launched by the World Health Organization (WHO) to uplift the lives of individuals with disabilities (PWDs) within their communities. Over the past ten years, KCDC has been dedicated to implementing CBR across seven districts, forming impactful partnerships with 25 local health centres. Through monthly clinics, KCDC has significantly improved accessibility and community engagement, reaching more than 7,000 children with a wide range of physical, intellectual and communication disabilities, yet this is estimated to be less than 1% of children with disabilities in the region.
Over the years, KCDC has established a strong and effective CBR program to provide services at the community level, making interventions more accessible to CWDs and their families through 4 delivery models: community outreach, outpatient clinics, home visits and school visits. This success is complemented by community awareness campaigns, reducing stigma and discrimination and resulting in a 25% improvement in the quality of life for CWDs and their families.
KCDC’s multidisciplinary team consists of qualified Ugandan therapists, including physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, orthopaedic officers, social workers, nutritionists and special needs teachers. We also partner with a variety of Ugandan universities to offer internship placements to students enrolled in a number of disability-related courses, which helps raise awareness of disability and build a more inclusive society within Uganda.
‘KCDC's resiliency and continuity of service in the region has uplifted the plight of families of children with disabilities as well as children themselves’ (Community Health Worker)0)