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How can the health of people with disabilities in humanitarian camps be supported during the COVID-19 pandemic? - Evidence brief

HUNT, Xanthe
2020

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More than 10% of the world’s 35 million displaced people are people with disabilities. People with disabilities and their families are at significant risk of discrimination, stigma, violence, and marginalisation, and get little access to adequate services in humanitarian camps. Disabled people are frequently sidelined during health sector planning in humanitarian camps, and healthcare access is a particular challenge. The COVID-19 pandemic, and measures necessary for its containment, pose a particular threat and challenge in humanitarian settings. Containment measures such as mass ‘stay-at-home' orders, social distancing, self-isolation and quarantine are often unsuitable for, or difficult to implement in, camp settings. People in humanitarian camps, then, need special consideration within the COVID-19 response. However, among people in humanitarian camps, people with disabilities are particularly vulnerable to being left behind or overlooked in COVID-19 planning and programming. Their double vulnerability as refugees and disabled people warrants special consideration.

 

Evidence in considered and recommendations provided.

Disability-inclusive healthcare in humanitarian camps: Pushing the boundaries of disability studies and global health

MIRZA, Mansha
2015

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A significant proportion of forced migrants live in humanitarian camps located in remote regions of the global South. Disabled persons have been historically neglected within camp programs across all service sectors, especially healthcare. This paper describes an exploratory research study on healthcare access for forced migrants with disabilities in the context of humanitarian camps. Based on the methodological framework of rapid ethnography, the research involved guided tours, community mapping exercises, ethnographic observations, and semi-structured interviews in a refugee camp in southern Africa. Additional key informants from other sites were interviewed remotely using a convenience sampling strategy. Several important insights emerged from the research including: misperceptions about the health-related needs of disabled persons, their specialized health needs falling outside the ‘social minimum’ of humanitarian healthcare, and concerns about distributional ethics in relation to disability-inclusive healthcare. The research also highlighted barriers and strategies for addressing disability-specific health needs given significant resource constraints in humanitarian camps. These findings are discussed in light of practical and theoretical challenges in the fields of disability studies and global health.

 

Disability and the Global South (DGS), 2015, Vol. 2 No. 1

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