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Southern Africa

: © CBM
Ruth (right) happy at home with her mother after her successful cataract operation at CBM partner programme 'Lusaka Eye Hospital', Zambia

The aim of CBM's Southern African Regional Office is that health care, education, rehabilitation, and livelihood opportunities become a reality for the millions of persons experiencing poverty and disability throughout the region. Our mission is to foster development with persons with disabilities within a framework of inclusion.

Southern African Regional Office

©CBM: Martin Hahn

Location: Cape Town, South Africa

Regional Director: Mr. Martin Hahn

Email:

Made up of the countries of Angola, Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, Mozambique, Lesotho, Swaziland, Madagascar, Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa, CBM’s Southern Africa Region is a key region in CBM’s Global Programme Strategy.

147,000,000 million people live in CBM’s Southern Africa Region. By WHO estimates nearly 15,000,000 of these people are living with a serious, life-altering disability.

The poverty, social isolation, lack of rights, and precarious future of these girls and boys, men and women gives them little hope. For people living with a serious disability the reality of poverty, social isolation, discrimination, and even abuse seems never ending.

Our vision for Southern Africa is that health care, education, rehabilitation, and livelihood opportunities become a reality for the millions of persons trapped in poverty by disability throughout the Region. Our mission is to bring development to persons with disabilities within a framework of inclusion.

In the context of the Millennium Development Goals, the Southern Africa Region has focused primarily on the treatment of preventable disabilities. In addition, we have taken “Education for All” seriously, and have placed a strong emphasis on providing education for children with disabilities. Development of specialised human resource capacity has also been a key part of our development activities.

While our programmes continue to expand, we have focused geographically on Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Swaziland, Madagascar, Angola, and South Africa.

Countries - Population and Current Activities

Angola
12 799 293
Prevention of Blindness

Lesotho
2 130 819
Prevention of Blindness, Vocational training for persons with disabilities

Madagascar
20 653 556
Prevention of Blindness, Prevention of Deafness, Education for children with disabilities

Malawi
14 268 711
Community Based Rehabilitation, Prevention of Blindness, Children’s orthopaedic services, Training of Special Needs teachers, Training of Ophthalmologists

South Africa
49 052 489
Prevention of Blindness, Regional training centre for community eye-care managers

Swaziland
1 123 912
Prevention of Blindness, Care for visually impaired persons

Zambia
11 862 740
Community Based Rehabilitation, Prevention of Blindness, Orthopaedic services for Children, Prevent of Deafness

Zimbabwe
11 392 629
Community Based Rehabilitation, Prevention of Blindness, Education for Children with Special Needs

Total population
150 337 230