UNICEF (2022)
Engaging with organisations of persons with disabilities in humanitarian action
This tipsheet highlights the importance of involving organisations and informal groups of individuals with disabilities in humanitarian efforts, as outlined in the IASC Guidelines on 'Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action'. It offers essential steps for recognizing and initiating collaboration with these Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs). It also offers guidance to particularly those new to disability inclusion, including those engaged in the implementation of humanitarian responses.
UNICEF (2022)
Cluster coordination - essential actions on disability inclusion
This document highlights the crucial role of cluster coordinators and information managers in coordinating and assisting partners to address the needs of people with disabilities. It emphasises the importance of making humanitarian responses inclusive, safe, and accessible for everyone throughout the Humanitarian Programme Cycle, and provides essential guidelines for integrating disability inclusion into cluster coordination systems and processes.
UNICEF (2022)
Disability inclusion in Accountability to Affected Populations
This guide aims to assist humanitarian staff and collaborators in ensuring the inclusivity of Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP) mechanisms for people with disabilities. It is intended to be used alongside the UNICEF AAP Handbook and Toolkit, serving as a reference during key stages such as recruiting AAP specialists, conducting situational analyses, devising program strategies, creating community engagement and communication strategies, designing complaints and feedback systems, informing individuals about their rights, and monitoring AAP efforts.
UNICEF & CBM Global (2022)
How to get started on disability inclusion in humanitarian action
This short guide outlines basic steps on how to get started on disability inclusion in a humanitarian context for disability focal points, emergency focal points, and staff engaged in humanitarian coordination.
UNICEF & CBM Global (2022)
Cluster coordination - essential actions on disability inclusion
Cluster coordinators and information managers play a pivotal role in coordinating and supporting partners to identify and address the needs, priorities, risks, and capacities of children and adults with disabilities, to make humanitarian responses person-centered, safe, and accessible for all throughout the Humanitarian Programme Cycle.
This document outlines essential actions to ensure that disability inclusion is embedded across cluster coordination systems and processes.
UNICEF & CBM Global (2022)
udgeting and mobilizing resources for disability inclusion in humanitarian actions
This short guide addresses those aspects. It introduces considerations in inclusive budgeting, how to estimate the costs relating to disability inclusion, and provides tips on disability inclusion within the resource mobilization strategy.
UNICEF & CBM Global (2022)
Interagency coordination on disability inclusion at country level
This interagency/ intersectional approach to disability inclusion in humanitarian actions at the country level. It provides tips for more systematic efforts to improve cross-sectoral coordination on disability inclusion and coherence with other cross-cutting issues such as gender equality and accountability to affected populations (AAP). This guide describes disability working groups and disability focal points as two mechanisms to strengthen coordination on disability inclusion.
UNICEF & CBM Global (2022)
Essential actions on disability-inclusive humanitarian action checklist
This checklist provides a package of essential actions required to ensure disability-inclusive humanitarian action in line with the IASC guideline, CCCs, UNICEF Emergency Procedures, and guidance. It is a companion to UNICEF’s Guidance on including children with disabilities in humanitarian action.
Phillip Sheppard and Sarah Polack, International Centre for Evidence in Disability at London School
Missing Million: How older people with disabilities are excluded from humanitarian response
Up to 14 million older people with disabilities may be affected by humanitarian disasters. These people are among those most at risk, yet little is known about their particular experiences. Their rights and needs are widely overlooked in humanitarian response.
The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of older people with disabilities across a range of humanitarian settings.
Amnesty International (2019)
Myanmar: “Fleeing my whole life”: older people’s experience of conflict and displacement in Myanmar.
This report examines older people’s experience of conflict and oppression in Myanmar. The report also analyses how and why humanitarian assistance has failed to meet many older people’s rights and needs, including related to health, sanitation, food, water, and participation. Accountability for the Myanmar military’s atrocities should include a focus on the specific crimes committed against older women and men, and draw on older people’s unique communal knowledge and memory. For their part, donor governments, UN agencies, and humanitarian organisations must better ensure that assistance is inclusive, non-discriminatory, and respects older people’s rights, including to dignity.
International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC), CBM and Handicap International (2015)
All under one roof: Disability-inclusive shelter and settlements in emergencies
'All Under One Roof' is a practical toolkit to assist donors, governments and humanitarian agencies to make shelters and temporary settlements fully accessible for people with disabilities affected by humanitarian emergencies. It contains practical checklists; universal design guidance; suggestions on how to improve the participation of people with disabilities within the design and planning of shelter options; case studies and lots of further resources. As well as being useful for the shelter sector, this toolkit has a lot of general advice on disability inclusion within humanitarian programs.
UNICEF (2017)
Including children with disabilities in humanitarian action: General guidance
UNICEF, together with Handicap International, developed new guidance consisting of this General guidance document plus sector specific booklets. The booklets give practical examples (based on literature as well as UNICEF field staff experiences) and checklists of how to include children and adolescents with dis¬abilities across various humanitarian contexts (rapid-onset disasters, slow-onset disasters, health emergencies, forced displacement, and armed conflict).
Human Rights Watch; 2017
Greece: Refugees with Disabilities Overlooked, Underserved
An article on the existing situation of refugees, migrants and asylum seekers in Greece camps, which contains snippets from interviews conducted through four months of winter. Interviews were conducted with refugees, UNCHR officials, camp managers and representatives from aid organisations. This article covers the lack of identification of people with disabilities and the lack of services. Services such as psychosocial, mobility and other medical were non-existent or inaccessible despite the amount of money being provided by the European Commission and the EU. There is also a distinct lack of accessibility around the camp including in the Water Sanitation and Hygiene areas. Extreme temperatures and inappropriate housing are increasing the rates of mental distress and psychosocial disabilities. This article can further develop our understanding of the challenges that exist in a refugee camp and recognising the need to ensure that camps are safe and accessible.
World Humanitarian Summit (2016)
Charter on inclusion of persons with disabilities in humanitarian action
This charter sets out five core principles required in order to make humanitarian actions more inclusive of persons with disabilities. These include:
1. Ensuring non-discrimination
2. Fostering participation of persons with disabilities
3. Developing inclusive policies and guidelines
4. Fostering an inclusive response and services
5. Improving cooperation and coordination among humanitarian actors
The charter serves as a guide to the design and appraisal of disability inclusive policies and actions relating to all phases of humanitarian action.
The charter was developed by over 70 humanitarian stakeholders including states, UN agencies, NGOs and organisations of persons with disabilities, and was launched at the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul in 2016. It has since been endorsed by over 100 states and other stakeholders, including Australia.
UN Human Rights Council (2016)
Human Rights Council Resolution: The rights of persons with disabilities in situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies
This Resolution calls on governments and other humanitarian actors to take effective measures to ensure protection and participation of persons with disabilities at all stages of situations of armed conflict, humanitarian emergencies and natural disaster. In particular, it serves as a useful reference point on the high-level principles that should be followed when implementing Article 11 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Inter-Agency Steering Committee (2007)
IASC guidelines on mental health and psychosocial support in emergency settings
These guidelines outline the mental health and psychosocial impacts of emergencies and provide recommendations for entry points for addressing the needs and promoting the rights of persons with disabilities. This information will be beneficial for both donors, policy and program staff as a guide for recommendations across all of the key sectors in emergency settings, including education, community mobilisation and support, health services and emergency shelters.
Humanity & Inclusion
Source: Key list resources on Disability and Humanitarian
This key list presents information about the inclusion of people with disabilities in humanitarian response, disaster risk management and post-conflict settings. The resources featured include general information, regional and national case studies, program guidance and training manuals covering emergencies, displacement, protection, victim assistance and climate change and disability. This is a very broad topic area and also includes resources addressing a range of topic areas in emergencies (including health, mental health and psychosocial support, functional rehabilitation, education, livelihoods, social inclusion).
WHO (2013)
Disability and emergency risk management for health
This guidance note is intended primarily for health actors working in emergency and disaster risk management at local, national or international level, and in governmental or non-governmental agencies. It is a short, practical guide that suggests actions across emergency risk management including risk assessment, prevention, preparedness, response, recovery and reconstruction. The document outlines the minimum steps health actors should take to ensure that specific support is available for people with disabilities when needed and to ensure that disability is included in the development and implementation of general health actions in all emergency contexts.
Handicap International and Atlas Logistique (2009)
Accessibility for all in an emergency context
This very practical resource covers all forms of accessibility- including communications, temporary infrastructure, WASH and distribution. A good primer to highlight and raise awareness about accessibility issues that arise in emergency situations, which must be addressed in policy and operationalised in programming to ensure that persons with disabilities are not excluded or left behind.
Light for the World (2013)
All Inclusive! How to include people with disabilities in humanitarian action
This operational guide is designed for development programs in the DRR sector. Aimed at programming staff, it provides strategies for the inclusion of persons with disabilities and outlines minimum standards specific to prevention and preparedness, rescue and response, recovery and reconstruction. The case studies and practical checklists are valuable for both policy makers and program staff.
Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies, (2009)
Education in emergencies: Including everyone. INEE pocket guide to inclusive education
This guide focuses on rapid onset emergency response, but is also relevant to all emergency settings and phases. It is a practical resource for governments, donors and implementing partners to inform policy development to ensure inclusion of persons with disabilities in education in emergencies. It also provides a framework to support indicator development and monitoring and evaluation.
Humanity & Inclusion (2005)
Disability checklist for emergency response
This checklist provides practical and simple guidelines about general protection and inclusion principles for persons with disabilities or people with injuries in emergency situations. It gives recommendations to be utilised by program managers and implementers in relation to: health, food and nutrition; water, sanitation and hygiene; protection; psychosocial support; reconstruction and shelter; livelihoods; and education. The succinct nature of these checklists is beneficial for donors in building their own knowledge and as a tool for recommendations and monitoring with partner organisations.
UNHCR (2011)
Working with persons with disabilities in forced displacement
This guidance note can be utilised by program implementers to ensure that the rights of persons with disabilities are met without discrimination. This note provides both donors and program staff with guidance on a range of issues to consider in meeting these responsibilities. The resource includes key considerations and for each, a list of succinct recommended practical actions. This guidance note will need to be further supplemented with practical resources to guide program implementers with strategies to make the recommendations a reality.