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‘Because of COVID, Everything is a Mess’ How Have People with Disabilities Experienced the Pandemic in Nepal and Bangladesh?

ROHWERDER, Brigitte
THOMPSON, Stephen
SHAW, Jackie
WICKENDEN, Mary
KAYASTHA, Shubha
SIGDEL, Anita
AKTER, Fatema
BOSRI, Rabia
March 2021

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COVID-19 is deepening pre-existing inequalities. Emerging research suggests that people with disabilities across the world have experienced various rights violations and been disproportionality affected by the health, economic and social impacts of the pandemic and responses to it. The aim of this research was to better understand how people with disabilities who are often excluded from research have experienced the evolving COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh and Nepal. In order to better understand how it has affected some of the most marginalised groups of people with disabilities, this study used in-depth qualitative research to focus on people with intellectual, psychosocial, deafblindness and other multiple impairments.

 

আমরা বাংলাদেশে (20 জন লোক) এবং নেপালে (15 জন লোক) বসবাসরত 35টি ডিজেবলড লোকদেরকে কোভিড-19 প্রাদুর্ভাব চলাকালীন সময়ে তাদের জীবন সম্পর্কে জিজ্ঞাসা করেছি। তাদের মধ্যে বধিরতা, নেত্রহীনতা, বৌদ্ধিক ডিজেবিলিটি এবং মানসিক ডিজেবিলিটি’র মতন বিভিন্ন ধরণের ডিজেবিলিটি রয়েছে। তাদেরকে জিজ্ঞাসা করার প্রধান কারণ হল যে প্রায়শই তাদেরকে তাদের জীবন সম্পর্কে কিছুই জিজ্ঞাসা করা হয় না। আমরা ডিজেবলড বাচ্চাদের বাবা-মাদেরকেও তাদের অভিজ্ঞতা সম্পর্কে জিজ্ঞাসা করেছি।

 

हामीले बङ्गलादेश (20 जना मानिस) र नेपाल (15 जना मानिस) मा अपाङ्गता भएका 35 जना व्यक्तिलाई कोभिड-19 को प्रकोपको समयमा आफ्नो जीवन बारे हामीलाई बताउन अनुरोध गर्‍यौं। उहाँहरूलाई वणदृष्टिविहीन, बौद्धिक अपाङ्गता र मनोसामाजिक अपाङ्गता जस्ता विभिन्न अपाङ्गता थिए। उहाँहरूलाई प्रायः आफ्नो जीवन बारे नसोधिने भएकोले हामी उहाँहरूलाई सोध्न चाहन्थ्यौं। हामीले अपाङ्गता भएका बालबालिकाका आमाबुवाहरूलाई पनि सोध्यौं।

How targeting mechanisms can identify people with disabilities for inclusion in social protection programmes

SAMMON, Elayn
CARRARO, Ludovico
COTE, Alexandre
ZEVENBERGEN, Stacey
HOLMES, Rebecca
March 2021

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Developed by Social Protection Approaches to COVID-19: Expert Advice (SPACE) in collaboration with the UNPRPD joint program on inclusive Social Protection, the UNPRPD global initiative on COVID 19 inclusive response and recovery, and Humanity & Inclusion.

The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that countries which have disability identification mechanisms and registries already in place have been in a better position to provide fast relief and expand shock responsive support to persons with disabilities and their families. 

This guidance note includes:

  • Brief introduction to the definitions and terminology surrounding disability and the concept of inclusive social protection
  • Summary of the rationale for the inclusion of persons with disability in social protection programming
  • Examples for overcoming the challenges for outreach, identification, and registration, and needs assessment
  • Some country examples
  • Overall implications for future programming.

Guidance note on the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the COVID-19 CCCM response

UNHCR INCLUSION TECHNICAL WORKING GROUP, SYRIA PROTECTION CLUSTER (TURKEY)
February 2021

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This guidance note provides an overview of the risks that persons with disabilities face in the COVID-19 response regarding accessing humanitarian services and proposes actions to address these risks within the CCCM response specifically. This note draws on the IASC Guidelines on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action, 1 CCCM chapter, applying these to the northwest Syria COVID-19 response

Disability considerations in GBV programming during the COVID-19 pandemic

PEARCE, Emma
September 2020

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Information and practical guidance to support gender-based violence (GBV) practitioners to integrate attention to disability into GBV prevention, risk mitigation and response efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic are given. Initial guidance published in April 2020 updated in Sep 2020

 

GBV AoR HELPDESK Research Query 

“Aid out of reach”: untold stories from people with disabilities

Light for the world
July 2020

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Humanitarian organisations can learn a lot from what happened during the Cyclone Idai aid response. The cyclone and its impact made global headlines. The NGO community reacted fast. More than 400 organisations and 1,000 aid workers were rapidly deployed to the affected areas of Mozambique. But what happened next remains untold.

Their stories, which form the basis of our recommendations, can help key actors improve their responses to other crises, including COVID-19.

Disability Inclusive Development - Kenya Situational Analysis

ROHWERDER, Brigitte
June 2020

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This situational analysis (SITAN) addresses the question: “what is the current situation for persons with disabilities in Kenya?”. It has been prepared for the Disability Inclusive Development programme (which works on access to education, jobs, healthcare, and reduced stigma and discrimination for persons with disabilities in Bangladesh, Jordan, Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, and Tanzania), to better understand the current context, including COVID-19, and available evidence in Kenya. It will be helpful for anyone interested in disability inclusion in Kenya, especially in relation to stigma, employment, education, health, and humanitarian issues. This SITAN has been briefly updated from the April 2019 SITAN.

Disability Inclusive Development - Nepal Situational Analysis

ROHWERDER, Brigitte
June 2020

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This situational analysis (SITAN) addresses the question: “what is the current situation for persons with disabilities in Nepal?”. It has been prepared for the Disability Inclusive Development programme (which works on access to education, jobs, healthcare, and reduced stigma and discrimination for persons with disabilities in Bangladesh, Jordan, Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, and Tanzania), to better understand the current context, including COVID-19, and available evidence in Nepal. It will be helpful for anyone interested in disability inclusion in Nepal, especially in relation to stigma, employment, education, health, and humanitarian issues. This SITAN has been briefly updated from the April 2019 SITAN.

Disability Inclusive Development - Tanzania Situational Analysis

ROHWERDER, Brigitte
June 2020

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This situational analysis (SITAN) addresses the question: “what is the current situation for persons with disabilities in Tanzania?”. It has been prepared for the Disability Inclusive Development programme (which works on access to education, jobs, healthcare, and reduced stigma and discrimination for persons with disabilities in Bangladesh, Jordan, Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, and Tanzania), to better understand the current context, including COVID-19, and available evidence in Tanzania. It will be helpful for anyone interested in disability inclusion in Tanzania, especially in relation to stigma, employment, education, health, and humanitarian issues. This SITAN has been briefly updated from the April 2019 SITAN.

Disability Inclusive Development - Bangladesh Situational Analysis

THOMPSON, Stephen
June 2020

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This situational analysis (SITAN) addresses the question: “what is the current situation for persons with disabilities in Bangladesh?”. It has been prepared for the Disability Inclusive Development programme (which works on access to education, jobs, healthcare, and reduced stigma and discrimination for persons with disabilities in Bangladesh, Jordan, Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, and Tanzania), to better understand the current context, including COVID-19, and available evidence in Bangladesh. It will be helpful for anyone interested in disability inclusion in Bangladesh, especially in relation to stigma, employment, education, health, and humanitarian issues.

Disability Inclusive Development - Nigeria Situational Analysis

THOMPSON, Stephen
June 2020

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This situational analysis (SITAN) addresses the question: “what is the current situation for persons with disabilities in Nigeria?”. It has been prepared for the Disability Inclusive Development programme (which works on access to education, jobs, healthcare, and reduced stigma and discrimination for persons with disabilities in Bangladesh, Jordan, Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, and Tanzania), to better understand the current context, including COVID-19, and available evidence in Nigeria. It will be helpful for anyone interested in disability inclusion in Nigeria, especially in relation to stigma, employment, education, health, and humanitarian issues.

Disability Inclusion Helpdesk Report No: 38 : Disability and Child Marriage

MEANEY-DAVIS, Jessie
LEE, Harri
ANDRAE, Karen
May 2020

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Summaries on the findings from the following queries:

Is there evidence that suggests children with disabilities are more/less vulnerable to child marriage than children without disabilities? If yes, what are the driving factors for this?

What are some of the evidence-based interventions we could think about to ensure that children with disabilities affected by child marriage are not left behind? How can we better mainstream disability inclusion in the programme? 

COVID-19 blog series

SDDirect
April 2020

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The principal aim of this COVID-19 Blog series is to inspire and support the international community to identify, prioritise and respond to the needs of the most vulnerable individuals and nations as part of both the immediate humanitarian response and long-term recovery planning

Blogs include:

  • Recommendations for a disability-inclusive response to COVID-19 (Print and Audio)
  • Why people with disabilities are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 (Print and Audio)

COVID-19 and Humanitarian Crisis

2020

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A COVID-19 Humanitarian platform to gather, curate, analyze, interpret and disseminate COVID-19-specific and -sensitive interventions that are being implemented in a variety of humanitarian settings.

The goal is to facilitate the sharing of context-specific field experiences about how humanitarian programs are responding to and being adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic. This website will host both technical guidelines as well as operational field experiences from humanitarian actors in different settings.

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Evidence Collection

EVIDENCE AID
2020

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The COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic is leading to a rapidly expanding and evolving literature. Evidence Aid is preparing summaries of relevant research, which are available below in English with links to translations in other languages. 

 

  • Clinical characterization and management
  • Epidemiology
  • Ethical considerations
  • Health systems and services
  • Infection prevention and control, including health care workers’ protection
  • Public health interventions
  • Research & Development: Therapeutics and Vaccines
  • Social science in the response

COVID-19 Disability Rights Monitor

2020

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Evidence is emerging that persons with disabilities are being disproportionately affected by the Coronavirus pandemic and emergency measures being taken by governments worldwide. As governments rush to respond to the virus, it is more critical than ever to guarantee that measures taken are fully inclusive of persons with disabilities and prevent human rights violations from taking place.

 

With the endorsements of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, Mr Dainius Pūras, and the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Ms Catalina Devandas Aguilar, a coalition of six disability rights organisations is today launching a major international monitoring initiative entitled “COVID-19 Disability Rights Monitor” to conduct rapid independent monitoring of state measures concerning persons with disabilities. The first element of this global initiative is the launch of two surveys requesting official information from governments and requesting the testimonies of persons with disabilities and their representative organisations. The surveys aim to collect information about what states are doing to protect core rights of persons with disabilities including the rights to life, access to health and essential services.

Impact of COVID‐19 on people with disabilities and their families in Jordan, April 2020

HUMANITY & INCLUSION (HI)
April 2020

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The objective of the assessment is to understand the needs of people with disabilities and their families during the implementation of restrictions by the Government of Jordan in response to COVID‐19. The findings will provide insights for intervention planning at Humanity & Inclusion (HI) and evidence for advocacy effort with the local authority regarding support policies for vulnerable groups and movement permission for humanitarian aids.

HI conducted the assessment in April 2020 via phone survey with 942 households including 524 households having adults with disabilities and 418 households having children with disabilities. HI used purposive sampling to select the respondents from the currently active beneficiary dataset. Due to the large size of rehabilitation project, 93% of respondents were people with physical impairment. The results should be used as reference rather than representation for the needs of people with disabilities in Jordan.

 

The assessment findings are presented in two parts: Data at individual level and Data at household level.

What are the key considerations for including people with disabilities in COVID-19 hygiene promotion programmes?

WILBUR, Jane
HUNT, Xanthe
August 2019

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Question & problem

People with disabilities may be more likely to acquire COVID-19, and if infected may be more likely to experience serious symptoms, or die. Aside from those consequences of the pandemic related to morbidity and mortality, people with disabilities are often reliant on carers to aid with common daily tasks, and so social distancing measures may be unfeasible. Furthermore, safe water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services and facilities may be inaccessible to people with disabilities, and, in many settings, efforts to deliver services in a socially-distanced world have resulted in the roll out of digital or remote healthcare approaches which are sometimes not accessible or inclusive. One of the key interventions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been international attention, and improved funding, programming and media messaging in support of WASH. People with disabilities – who are most at risk of negative consequences of COVID-19 – most need access to such interventions. Yet, WASH access is considered to be one of the biggest challenges of daily life for many people with disabilities.

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