Publication Date
Despite increased focus on the need for assistive technology (AT), along with estimates of need and gaps in provision in humanitarian contexts, very little is actually known about how people who need AT are managing in these contexts. To address this need, this study explored four main questions:
What do we currently know about the need for AT in humanitarian contexts?
How is this need currently met?
What gaps are there in the evidence about these needs?
What mechanisms are needed to ensure provision of AT in humanitarian contexts?
It explored these questions through individual interviews with AT users and their families, as well as people working in the sector, in two humanitarian response contexts: Bangladesh and Jordan. In Bangladesh, we partnered with CBM Global and their local partner, the Centre for Disability in Development, and in Jordan, all those interviewed were beneficiaries of HelpAge International.
The questions focused on the areas identified as gaps in the initial literature review, and used qualitative methodologies to probe and gain further insight into gaps across the entire AT ecosystem.
