+ Total 18.0 37.2 8.0 7.2 8.8 13.1 7.8 100.0 Source: Situation of disabled people in Congo - RGPH, CNSEE, Ministry of Planning, sd 5.2.2 Care of people with disabilities It is at the beginning of the 1990s that Law No. 009/92 of 22 April 1992 on the status, protection and promotion of the disabled person was promulgated. The care of the disabled is entrusted to the Ministry of Social Affairs, Humanitarian Action and Solidarity, through its Directorate General for Disabled. During that same year, the National Union of Associations of Disabled Persons (UNHACO.) was born, Governed by declaration of association No. 120/92 02 September 1992, it has set the following objectives: (i) defend the rights and interests of disabled people of Congo; (ii) contribute to the creation and development of specialised structures for people with disabilities; (iii) encourage public authorities to create and implement legislation on the protection, training and employment of disabled people. Institutional responses for the care of people with disabilities reflect the efforts of all social actors (government, religious groups, local and international NGOs, bilateral and multilateral cooperation, associations for the disabled and families). After a long period of state management and nationalisation, the decision to reassign old private structures and the promotion of freedom of association and company have allowed the private sector to recover its specialised institutions for the disabled (Institute of the Blind, institute of deaf children, rehabilitation centre) such as orphanages (30 institutions in a few years), kindergartens and childcare (25 in total) and social welfare centres. The private sector expanded its operations to new situations such as: street children (10 structures), children out of school (3 schools for nearly 8,300 children enrolled in 1999), teenage mothers (4 initiatives) and Pygmy children in religious care centres in Impfondo. However, the provision of public and private support structures remains weak and spatially unbalanced. This can be seen through the over-representation in urban areas, especially Brazzaville: the capital is indeed the only place that provides a technical platform covering most types of disabilities (motor, auditory, visual, mental) as it is home to the only orthopaedic centre of the country. Orthopaedic centres are the only types of decentralised structures. Unfortunately, most (public centres) are no longer functional due to the armed conflicts of the 1990s. Table 8: Key public and private care structures for disabled people No. 1 Structures National Institute for the Blind 2 Institute for Young Deaf 56 Numbers Location Brazzaville Status Mixed Brazzaville Mixed Services Social promotion, education, school and professional integration Rehabilitation, school and professional insertion