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This advocacy briefing paper presents key information about the inclusion of persons with disabilities and most vulnerable people in humanitarian response. It highlights key facts and issues during humanitarian emergencies such as lack of access, gaps and legal policy and frameworks. It outlines practical steps can be taken by humanitarian actors at different levels and suggests ways to measure progress

Advocacy briefing paper

This pilot version of the Minimum Standards for Age and Disability Inclusion in Humanitarian Action has “been developed for use by all practitioners involved in humanitarian response, including staff and volunteers of local, national, and international humanitarian agencies, with the expectation that the inclusion of people with disabilities and older people is feasible at every stage of the response and in every sector and context. The Standards are intended to inform the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of humanitarian programmes; to strengthen accountability to people with disabilities and older people; and to support advocacy, capacity-building and preparedness measures on age and disability across the humanitarian system

The Standards are drawn from a wide-ranging review of existing guidance and standards developed by humanitarian actors over recent years. This includes material from organisations with a special focus on disability and/or older age, together with key documents, including the Sphere Handbook, the Sphere Companion Standards and the Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability (CHS). The Minimum Standards for Age and Disability Inclusion do not create entirely new demands on humanitarian actors; rather, they clarify and reinforce what is already required if broader standards of impartial humanitarian programming and the principles of the Humanitarian Charter are to be upheld”

This webpage contains the contents of the workshop on needs of persons with disabilities throughout disaster management cycle organised by the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The main page contains an overview of the workshops and provides links to a number of detailed presentations and related workshop information 

"Workshop on needs of persons with disabilities throughout disaster management cycle"
12-13 Jan 2015
Riga, Latvia

This video is an interview of Andrew Mohanraj, Regional Mental Health Development Advisor from the Christian Blind Mission (CBM) International. He explains why mental well-being and disability are important issues to consider in disaster preparedness and recovery, how efforts to reduce disaster risks can better address the needs of persons with mental and physical disabilities, and lessons learned from his own experience

This article explores the relationship between disability, poverty and participation in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Haiyan, which struck the Philippines on 8th November 2013, based on field research conducted at the time of Haiyan’s first anniversary. Fieldwork included interviews exploring disabled people’s experiences, their priorities and the challenges facing them in the year since Haiyan. The analysis, which draws on a three-level typology of participation and Sen’s (1999) capability perspective, concludes that disabled people have the potential to participate as active agents in disaster planning and recovery processes, both individually and collectively, at various levels. Furthermore, supporting disabled people to participate effectively, through flexible approaches, capacity building and the forging of pro-poor alliances, can reduce poverty in capability terms, as well as raising awareness of the largely untapped potential of disabled people to contribute to the shaping of more inclusive societies.

Disability and the Global South (DGS), 2015, Vol. 2 No. 3

Malezi AIDS Care Awareness Organization (MACAO) is a non-profit organization reaching out to neglected Indigenous people in Ngorongoro District, Arusha Region of Northern Tanzania.  Macao founded in 2003, Macao is a humanitarian organization that provides assistance to approximately 200,000 Indigenous Maasai community in Ngorongoro district for addressing needs of water and sanitation, food security, health Care Research, Education, Research environment, Maasai Traditional Research, Human Rights and sustainable economic development by strengthening their livelihoods.  In addition to responding to major relief situations, MACAO focuses on long-term community development through over 4 Area Development Project. We welcome the donors and volunteers to join us in this programs, we are wolking in ruro villages.

This Expert Group Meeting was organised by United Nations University International Institute of Global Health (UNU-IIGH) and Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability, and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, in close collaboration with the World Bank Tokyo Development Center (TDLC) and the National Institute of Mental Health, Japan.  This video provides an overview of issues, trends and international norms and standards, as well as good practices and lessons learned from different countries related to mental well-being, disability and disaster risk reduction that were discussed

Expert Group Meeting on Mental Well-being, Disability and Disaster Reduction

Tokyo, Japan

November 2014

This briefing paper further develops the vulnerability and inclusion dimensions that were included in “The future framework for disaster risk reduction: a guide for decision-makers (Module 4).” It particularly addresses the following topics: marginalised groups are more likely to suffer from disasters; disasters exacerbate vulnerabilities and social inequalities; vulnerable groups should be included in DRR as active agents of change for resilience to be effective and equitable; vulnerable groups tend to be excluded from DRR decision-making, thus making them even more vulnerable to the impacts of disaster. Through promoting the socio-economic and cultural inclusion, as well as the political recognition of marginalised people, this paper provides examples of where their participation as active agents of change has proven beneficial for achieving effective and equitable resilience. This evidence supports recommendations for the inclusion and empowerment of vulnerable groups within the post-2015 framework for DRR

This blog follows the UN Climate Summit on Tuesday, 23 September 2014 in New York City. Due to this high-level event, climate change has been a pervasive topic at the UN and in NYC and this theme will continue to be important as the post-2015 development agenda progresses. With this increased emphasis on climate change – and related disaster risk reduction (DRR) – in the post-2015 process, this blog outlines why it is crucial that persons with disabilities are included in these conversations, debates and initiatives, and presents a number of recommendations