Including People with Disabilities in Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic

"During the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, it is important to ensure the voices of people with disabilities are heard."

Sightsavers' work in more than 30 countries worldwide, particularly in Africa and Asia, has revealed that people with disabilities may be highly vulnerable to shocks and crises. Concerned about the existing inequalities exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Sightsavers has collated this resource to provide practical guidance for development partners to develop disability-inclusive responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Among the many ways in which people with disabilities may be disproportionately impacted by COVID-19: Many of the public health messages and preventative measures to keep the virus at bay are inaccessible to them, and social distancing and self-isolation can disrupt essential daily care, assistance, and rehabilitation services. Cases of discrimination against people with disabilities have been reported during the pandemic.

To support work in this context, the document features numbered headings, each of which represents a separate theme. Each theme has a list of suggested interventions; in turn, each intervention includes a list of recommended activities, organised into separate bullet points. In brief:

1. Intersectionality - Sightsavers stresses that, as part of the COVID-19 response, it is important to consider the interplay of different factors, including age, disability, gender, ethnicity, religion, language, migratory or nomadic status, homelessness, location, and other contextual factors. For example, partners working on these issues should consider the fact that, with stringent social distancing and lockdown measures in place, there is an increased risk of intimate partner or other forms of domestic violence, and women and girls with disabilities are more likely to experience abuse.
2. Assessing gaps and needs - Various stakeholders at national and international levels are putting measures in place to promote disability inclusion and gender responsiveness as part of the COVID-19 response. Sightsavers urges coordinating with other stakeholders to avoid duplication by, for example, coordinating with disabled persons' organisations (DPOs) to seek feedback from people with disabilities through a rapid gap analysis designed to understand barriers, concerns, and recommended actions. If this is difficult due to social distancing, phone/video calls or SMS (text messaging) polls could be used to gather feedback.
3. Engaging people with disabilities and DPOs - key actions:
   • Support advocacy interventions led by DPOs.
   • Include DPOs in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of COVID-19 responses.
   • Amplify the voice of people with disabilities (e.g., consider engaging with community and national radio, TV, newspapers, and other media outlets to promote the rights and perspectives of people with disabilities through accessible communications.).
   • Contribute to the COVID-19 Disability Rights Monitor, which is an international monitoring initiative launched by a coalition of 6 disability rights organisations to conduct rapid independent monitoring of state measures concerning people with disabilities.
4. Accessible and inclusive communications - Sightsavers points readers to the resources on the International Disability Alliance (IDA)'s website, which were created as part of a campaign launched in partnership with the International Disability and Development Consortium (IDDC). The campaign is a call for public health communication around COVID-19 to be fully accessible. The Sightsavers document provides concrete tips for supporting the production and distribution of COVID-19 information that is accessible to and trusted by people with different impairments and that considers how actionable messages around COVID-19 prevention are for women and men with disabilities in their context. Sightsavers suggests collaborating with local and national mental health authorities, service providers, DPOs, and other organisations that focus on mental health to produce information and communication materials on mental health and well-being during the COVID-19 outbreak; links to related online repositories are provided. Partnership is also recommended when promoting positive representation of people with disabilities; if misinformation or discriminatory language about people with disabilities and COVID-19 starts to emerge in the media, Sightsavers proposes assisting media outlets and local stakeholders to challenge these messages in all their forms.
5. Healthcare and essential services - key actions include:
   • Ensure COVID-19 treatment protocols (e.g., triage processes to decide who should be prioritised to access intensive care units (ICUs) and ventilators) do not discriminate against people with disabilities.
   • Build the capacity of healthcare workers to include people with disabilities in their work.
   • Improve the accessibility of COVID-19 treatment facilities (e.g., advocate for printing/writing directional signs and other information using large, high-contrast text).
   • Ensure public health and support services are disability-inclusive.
   • Promote safety and continuity of essential services for people with disabilities.
   • Support the use of telehealth services.
   • Support the use of home-based services.
   • Make water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) programmes inclusive.
6. Livelihoods and social protection - promote: non-discrimination in employment, continuity of disability benefit programmes, access to social protection and safety nets, and access to food and essential items.
7. Education - promote (in close partnership with DPOs): access to appropriate educational resources and platforms, inclusive teaching and learning approaches, and home-based care and educational support, and ensure children with disabilities are included when schools reopen.
8. Independent living and housing - Even though people with disabilities have the right to an adequate standard of living, they may face discrimination and abuse from landlords or housing providers during the COVID-19. Suggestions are included for promoting secure housing and preventing institutionalisation.
9. Evidence generation - Sightsavers stresses that collecting evidence on the impact of COVID-19 on people with disabilities and their inclusion in the COVID-19 pandemic response is crucial to ensure they are not left behind; tips are provided.
10. Resources - Links are provided.