About us

This new world organization or confederation consists of the following regional federations:

Federación Latino Americana de familiares de personas con Sordoceguera o Discapacidades Múltiples (15 countries that are members of the Latin American Federation of Families of the Deafblind and the Multi-disabled), 27 countries representing the DbI European Deafblind Network (EDbN), Canadian Deafblind Association (and its 6 Chapters) and the 3 countries that form the African Federation of Parents of the Deafblind.

WCPDB is a worldwide non-governmental, charitable and non-profit organization. It is composed of several Federations, Associations and Organizations that provide assistance to deafblind people and their relatives (from now on the “association”).
It aims for a worldwide representation of the whole “association” from the point of view of the relatives.

WCPDB has its own legal form independent from its members and any other organization to which it may belong. Therefore, it has full ability to have rights and obligations in accordance with these Articles and Laws and Enacted Regulations.

WCPDB

On October 1 of 2011, the formation of a new organization representing all parents who defend the rights of their deafblind, multi-disabled sons and daughters was revealed. Grateful for the presence and support of the Presidents of Deafblind International and World Federation of Deafblind, Ricard López, the representative of the DbI, European Deafblind Network (EDbN), announced the news at the closing ceremony of the XV Deafblind International World Conference in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

This new world organization or confederation consists of the following regional federations: Federación Latino Americana de familiares de personas con Sordoceguera o Discapacidades Múltiples (15 countries that are members of the Latin American Federation of Families of the Deafblind and the Multi-disabled), 27 countries representing the DbI European Deafblind Network (EDbN), Canadian Deafblind Association (and its 6 Chapters) and the 3 countries that form the African Federation of Parents of the Deafblind.

The purpose of this new assembly is to serve as a voice for all parents whose children have this disability. Through this organizational network, parents will get help from other parents to learn best practices for working with their governments to ensure that their children live independent lives and receive appropriate public health, education and financial support. The headquarters of this new Confederation has been established in Barcelona, Spain.

The World Federation of Parents of Deafblind and Multi-Disabled Persons (WFPDB) has taken its first steps and invites all organizations in this field to join in.

Deafblindness is a conditon that combines hearing and visual impairment to varying degrees. Two sensory impairments multiply and intensify the impact of each other creating a severe disability that is different and unique. Numerous studies indicate that the prevalence of deafblindness is around 40 per 100,000 people.