Disability-inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction: Moving forward in DiDRR across Europe and Central Asia (Policy Brief)



Disability-inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction: Moving forward in DiDRR across Europe and Central Asia (Policy Brief)

Persons with disabilities make up at least 15% of the global population [1], yet continue to be among those most impacted by disasters [2] and more likely to be excluded from emergency preparedness, disaster risk reduction (DRR) and related decision-makingprocesses.[3] Europe and Central Asia are no exception, with COVID-19 being one of the most recent examples of this. For instance, UK statistics from early 2021 already show that persons with disabilities accounted for six in 10 COVID-19 related deaths [4], the fact strongly corroborated by evidence of discrimination from across the continent. Similar trends are observed in other crisis situations, including flooding, extreme weather related incidents and wildfires.

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Contact:

Gordon Rattray – International Cooperation Officer
gordon.rattray@edf-feph.org
Twitter: @GordonRattray

[1] World Report on Disability. WHO and World Bank (2011)
[2] IASC Guidelines on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action (2019)
[3] Twigg, J. Kett, M. Lovell, E. Disability inclusion and disaster risk reduction: Overcoming barriers to progress (2018)
[4] European Human Rights Report. Impact of COVID-19 on persons with disabilities. European Disability Forum (2021)