IMPACT Foundation UK

Who we are

IMPACT is a UK registered charity dedicated to preventing and treating needless disability worldwide. Our vision is of a world in which no one becomes or remains needlessly disabled through disease, lack of knowledge or shortage of medical services.  We were established in 1985 by the disability campaigner Sir John Wilson (himself blind) and were one of the first charities to focus on the prevention, as well as the treatment, of needlessly disabling conditions. Over 40 years, more  than 52 million people have benefited from our international programme across 11 countries of Africa and Asia.  

Why IMPACT’s work is needed - 1.3 billion people globally live with a disabling condition. 80% live in lower income countries. Most were not born disabled and live with a condition which could have been prevented or could be reversed. This is both a cause and consequence of poverty.

We ‘take the hospital to the people’ through innovative means, such as the Lifeline Express hospital train in India and the Jibon Tari (Boat of Life) floating hospital in Bangladesh. Mobile clinics in Cambodia, India, Kenya, Tanzania and Zanzibar take medical care to people who would otherwise have no place to turn in the event of ill health.

We also tackle the root causes of disability through straightforward and cost-effective measures, such as home gardens to ward off malnutrition; immunisation to protect against disease; medical and antenatal care to safeguard health; health education to empower communities; and safe water and sanitation projects to avert the spread of illnesses which can cause disability and threaten lives.