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Handwashing advice for blind people.

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.

Contents of this short brief include:

• Sphere Standards
• The Core Humanitarian Standard
• The Humanitarian Standards Partnership
• Cash Assistance
• Inclusion of older people and people with disabilities
• Education in Emergencies
• Child Protection
• Markets and Economic Recovery 

Issues of gender inequality and of vulnerability of marginalised people (those with chronic health issues and those living with disabilities) in the context of WASH and emergencies are highlighted.

Ways in which responses to the COVID-19 emergency can mitigate both existing and new vulnerabilities are proposed. A list of "dos and don'ts" is provided.

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.

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 

This page has a collection of guidelines, tools, statements, papers and useful links which are relevant to the current COVID-19 pandemic.

• General Information
• Humanitarian Coordination
• Forced Migration
• Civil Society space
• Communications and Community Engagement
• Inclusion and Diversity
• Funding
• Statements and commentary
• Learning resources

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.

A brief overview of considerations to bare in mind for a disability inclusive COVID-19 response in Somalia.