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The impacts of COVID-19 on people with disabilities: a rapid review. Disability Inclusion Helpdesk Query No: 35

MEANIE-DAVIS, Jessie
LEE, Harri
CORBY, Nick
April 2020

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There is currently very limited data and evidence on the impacts of COVID-19 on people with disabilities and pre-existing health conditions, with no disability-disaggregated data on mortality rates available in the public sphere. However, reports from the media, disability advocates and disabled peoples’ organisations (DPOs) point to several emerging impacts, including primary and secondary impacts including on health, education, food security and livelihoods.  Most of the available data is from high income countries (HICs) though reports from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are likely to emerge. Evidence was gathered by a rapid desk based review. Gaps are identified. 

 

The section concerned with lessons drawn from similar epidemics draws heavily on lessons learned from the Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014-2016, and touches on lessons from the Zika outbreak in 2015-2016 and the SARS pandemic in the early 2000s.10 It also touches briefly on SARS, MERS and H1N1 (swine flu). 

 

Primary and secondary impacts of COVID-19 on people with disabilities are reviewed.


People with disabilities are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 not only because it can exacerbate underlying medical conditions, but because of attitudinal, environmental and institutional barriers to their participation in and benefit from the pandemic response. For example, inaccessible public health messaging and healthcare facilities, and stigma and discrimination.

LEARNING MUST GO ON: Recommendations for keeping children safe and learning, during and after the COVID-19 crisis

April 2020

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This brief highlights some of the potential impacts of school closures (associated with the impact on the COVID-19 on children) with a focus on the most marginalised, including those already living in crisis and conflict contexts. It provides recommendations for governments and donors, together with partners, to ensure that safe, quality and inclusive learning reaches all children and that education systems are strengthened ready for the return to school

Somalia Disability Inclusive CCCM tip sheet

Humanity & Inclusion
April 2020

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This tip sheet provides an overview of the factors that may put persons with disabilities at heightened risk in the COVID-19 pandemic and response in humanitarian settings; and proposes actions to address these risks within the COVID Camp Coordination & Management response. 

Somalia Disability Inclusive COVID-19 WASH tip sheet

Humanity & Inclusion
April 2020

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This tip sheet provides an overview of the factors that may put persons with disabilities at heightened risk in the COVID-19 pandemic and response in humanitarian settings; and proposes actions to address these risks within the COVID WASH response.

Inclusive Governance sector guiding note on COVID-19

April 2020

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Humanity & Inclusion inclusive governance approach fits in with the governments (national, regional and local) context, governments are in charge of the response to the crisis. In these types of contexts, humanitarian actors do not have the leadership and mandate to make decisions. Governments are creating policies in response to Covid-19 and must include persons with disabilities as equal citizens within their response frameworks. 

Key messages :

  • DO NO HARM: Protect yourself and your family, staff, partners and of course the beneficiaries.
  • Work closely with other stakeholders and ensure coordination in the response is happening at all levels
  • Follow HI’s guidelines and the guidance from the national and local authorities regarding COVID 19 at all times. 

English pages 1-7 and français ci-dessous pages 7-13.

Syria Protection Cluster (Turkey): Brief guidance note - A disability-inclusive COVID-19 response

United Nations Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNHCR)
April 2020

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Recent evidence suggests that the individual prevalence rate of persons with disabilities living in Syria, aged 12 years and above is 27%. This brief guidance note covers: Risks faced by persons with disabilities in the COVID-19 outbreak; Protection risks for specific groups of persons with disabilities during the COVID-19 outbreak; Upholding the rights of persons with disabilities in relation to the COVID-19 response; and Recommendations: Inclusion in the COVID-19 response 

People with disabilities in the face of COVID-19 in the Americas and the Caribbean

UNITED NATIONS OFFICE FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION (UNDRR)
April 2020

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The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), Regional Office for the Americas and the Caribbean, ONG Inclusiva and the Latin America and the Caribbean Network for Disability Inclusive Disaster Risk Management (LAC DiDRR Network) organized a webinar on Thursday, 23 April that focused on people with disabilities in the face of COVID-19. Reflections surrounding the inclusion and active participation of people with disabilities within all disaster risk management and disaster risk reduction processes were among the issues analysed through this seminar. The results of a survey aimed at gaining a greater understanding of the experience of people with disabilities in the face of COVID-19 that was carried out by ONG Inclusiva were also presented.

Making cash inclusive in humanitarian responses

David Brown
Manuel Rothe
April 2020

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The use of cash and vouchers as part of humanitarian responses has increased significantly over the past decade. It is a commitment in the Grand Bargain between some of the world’s largest donors and humanitarian organisations, which aims to get more means into the hands of people in need. Disability inclusion has also become a key part of international humanitarian frameworks, such as the Charter on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action. While provision of cash is a way to allow aid to take a form which responds to the real needs of people affected by disasters, barriers remain to the participation of persons with disabilities in such schemes

COVID-19 RESPONSE A unique expertise to fight the virus

HUMANITY & INCLUSION (HI)
March 2020

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Humanity & Inclusion’s teams are assessing its scope for action and plans to use its expertise in emergency situations, working with and for people with disabilities and older people, and its experience of past epidemic situations to protect the most vulnerable. HI has experience in major epidemics of ebola and cholera.

 

HI published a repository of resources on disability inclusion and COVID-19 as a member of the International Disability and Development Consortium (IDDC) and the CORE Group Disability Inclusive Health Technical Advisory Group

Mental health and psychosocial considerations during the COVID-19 outbreak

WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION (WHO)
March 2020

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The considerations presented in this document have been developed by the WHO Department of Mental Health and Substance Use as a series of messages that can be used in communications to support mental and psychosocial well-being in different target groups during the outbreak. Target groups are: general popluation; healthcare workers; team leaders or managers of health facilities; carers of children;  older adults; people with underlying health conditions and their carers; people in isolation 

Coronavirus (COVID-19) translated resources

WOMEN WITH DISABILITIES AUSTRALIA (WDDA)
March 2020

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WWDA has produced an Easy English ‘What is Coronavirus‘ document for women or girls with a disabiliity to explain some key facts about COVID-19 in a simple way.

The document is available in 11 different languages (each as a PDF or Accessible Word DOC)

Participation in Practice: Examples of inclusive action for a “Participation Revolution”

March 2020

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Humanitarian organizations and donors have committed to change the way humanitarian action is carried out and create a “Participation Revolution.” In this webinar issues addressed included:

  • inclusion of the people and communities affected by humanitarian crises in practice;
  • how organizations are ensuring that the voices of the most vulnerable groups considering gender, age, ethnicity, language, and special needs are heard and acted upon;
  • how program activities and budgets are designed to support the changes that affected people demand


In this webinar, organized on 26 March 2020 by PHAP and the Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response, we took stock of the progress to date on workstream six of the Grand Bargain and heard success stories from the field that can help agencies achieve a sustained change in how they design and deliver their programs.

 

A full transcript is available. Webinar registrants were asked to provide what they thought, in their context, was the most important factor enabling participation in practice and what they thought was the most important factor preventing participation in practice. Answers are provided in an Annex.

Persons with disabilities in humanitarian response: New guidelines for more inclusive humanitarian action

March 2020

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The IASC recently endorsed guidelines for the inclusion of persons with disabilities in humanitarian action. How can these guidelines help make humanitarian action more inclusive? On 26 February 2020, ICVA and PHAP organized a webinar together with the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) secretariat and the Reference Group on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action, which introduced the guidelines and discuss how they can be implemented in practice

Humanitarian Resilience Journal — Preparedness for disability inclusive disaster risk reduction (Issue 4)

NAEEM, Sajid
ZULFIQAR, Sana
HAMAYUN, Muhammad
Eds
2020

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The fourth issue of this journal focuses on “Preparedness for Disability Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction” and encourages writers to share initiatives undertaken by the humanitarian community in the Pakistan or suggest future interventions.
 

Articles included are:

  • Towards disability inclusive DRR programming in Pakistan
  • Age and disability inclusive DRR
  • Enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response and to “Build Back Better” 
  • Preparedness for disability inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction policies focusing women with disabilities in crisis situation
  • Disability inclusion without proper knowledge can cause further disability- A personal experience 

 

Protection and COVID-19

GLOBAL PROTECTION CLUSTER
2020

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The Global Protection Cluster (GPC) and its field operations are working closely with partners and governments to ensure the inclusion of those in need of protection as a result of conflict, disasters and climate change in national and local COVID-19 preparedness, prevention and response activities. This page shares protection-related information and resources on COVID-19, including examples of operational tools produced by field clusters.

Disability-inclusive disaster recovery (Disaster Recovery Guidance Series)

ROBINSON, Alex
2020

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This guidance note provides action-oriented direction for government officials and decision-makers with responsibility for post-disaster recovery and reconstruction. The guidance will enable the development of disability-inclusive planning and programming across sectors and government. The note is expected to be of interest to wider government and non-government actors, including disabled persons’ organizations (DPOs), concerned with inclusive recovery.

Stronger together in crises: Education Cannot Wait (ECW) 2019 Annual results report

EDUCATION CANNOT WAIT
2020

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Education Cannot Wait reaffirmed itself as the global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crisis in 2019, building a global movement with strategic partners to provide children and youth caught in armed conflicts, forced displacement, climate change-induced disasters and protracted crises with the safety, hope and opportunity of an education.

Working with our broad range of partners, ECW had active grants in 29 crisis-affected countries in 2019. This report captures the results delivered through these investments to support inclusive and equitable quality education for the millions of girls and boys caught in humanitarian crises.

In 2019, ECW reached 10,473 children with disabilities, bringing the number of children with disabilities reached since the Fund’s inception to about 23,600. A short case study is provided about inclusive education for children with disabilities in Uganda

Impact of Covid-19 on the lives of people with disabilities. Insight and stories from Bangladesh and Kenya

i2i INNOVATION TO INCLUSION
January 2020

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In April and May 2020 the Innovation to Inclusion (i2i) programme, supported disabled persons organisations (DPOs) to complete a qualitative survey of 312 people with disabilities (including 147 women) in Bangladesh and Kenya to understand the impact of COVID-19 and measures to prevent its spread. The survey - a descriptive survey with a representative sample of people with physical, intellectual and multiple disabilities, visual and hearing impairments and mental health issues in the Nairobi, Mombasa and Kasumu areas of Kenya and in the Dhaka, Sylet and Chattogram districts of Bangladesh - has been part of wider efforts by DPOs in the two countries to test and embed data driven advocacy processes towards realising CRPD.   

 

Topics covered included: employment and job insecurity; access to general pulic information; PPE; access to support; assistive tecnology and discrimination

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