An app to improve supporting care of young people with disabilities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

To improve people with disabilities' access to rehabilitation services, the World Health Organization introduced a Community Based Rehabilitation approach (CBR) in 1978, to foster access to rehabilitation services in low- and middle- income countries.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 10 million people have disabilities, 15% of the population (Handicap International, 2021). This high level of disability may be due to low socio-economic development, as well as decades of conflict which have led to a significant delay in providing health infrastructures across the country. However, the current government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has undertaken to support inclusion of people with disabilities, notably through creating the ministry of persons with disabilities and other vulnerable people in 2019, as well as implementing a national Community Based Rehabilitation program (NCBRP). Nevertheless, various challenges affect actually implementing the NCBRP, including the limited ability of Community Based Rehabilitation officers to meet the needs of all families affected, plus access to the various care services.

More specifically, two programs the Liliane Foundation and ADED – members of this project's consortium – had set up earlier led to the teams observing the difficulties Community Based Rehabilitation officers encountered in bringing in quality treatment for people with disabilities. A study of the context in the Uvira region showed that 76% of people with disabilities had no rehabilitation service, and 47% of them had never seen a medical professional. In this context, it was vital to expand and improve Community Based Rehabilitation in regions to the east of the country, in association with the Democratic Republic of Congo government.

To improve quality of life for children and young people living with disabilities, the consortium project - Liliane Fonds, Enablement, ADED, wants to use the RehApp app to hone the skills of Community Based Rehabilitation officers based in the Uvira region. The app was originally developed in 2015 and was designed to improve what they know about the various disabilities and monitor clients.

The aim of the pilot intervention financed by the FID is to train 37 Community Based Rehabilitation officers to use version 2.0 of the app, launched in 2022. It includes an interactive interface, available in 7 languages and accessible offline, which provides:

1. An "information" section about 22 impairments experts have curated
2. A "client" section for Community Based Rehabilitation officers to monitor their clients

Using the RehApp app will enable conclusive data about using an innovative tool to be collected to meet needs related to rehabilitation.

It aims to improve the care arranged by Community Based Rehabilitation officers for children and young people with disabilities. In addition, the app should enable Community Based Rehabilitation workers' skills to be improved, and as such enable quality rehabilitation services to be provided for children and young people with disabilities.