Disaster Management

Basic Guide to Disability and Disaster Risk Reduction

Did you know that in the Philippines:

• • • 25% of the population has a disability.
  • • 70% of people with disabilities live in rural areas with limited access to services.
  • • Women, older people, and households living in poverty are more likely to have disabilities.
  • • Only 2% of Filipino children with disabilities attend school.
  • • Only 10% of people with disabilities in the Philippines have access to programs and services.

Understanding Disability

Disability is a complex concept that arises from the interaction between a person’s impairments and the barriers in their environment that prevent them from participating fully in society.

• • • They are often overlooked in relief efforts
  • • They face additional barriers in accessing emergency support.
  • • Their level of vulnerability increases during disasters

Legal Framework for Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction

Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction

To make disaster risk reduction efforts more inclusive, practitioners and disability-focused organizations should:

• • • Commit to being disability-inclusive by ensuring that all DRR actions consider disability issues.
  • • Collect baseline information on disability in the community.
  • • Involve Disabled People’s Organizations (DPOs) in DRR activities
  • • Provide training on disability rights and inclusion.
  • • Reduce barriers to inclusion in DRR activities.
    • – Ensure that venues are accessible to people of all ages, situations, and abilities.
    • – Communicate with people with disabilities in ways that are appropriate for their impairments, such as using simple, short, and clear messages for individuals with intellectual disabilities and visual aids for individuals with hearing impairments.
  • • Promote positive attitudes about disability and create a barrier-free society

Inclusive Vulnerability Capacity Assessment (VCA)

• • • Ensure persons with disabilities are represented and supported to participate.
  • • Adapt data collection techniques to the impairment of the participants.
  • • Include information such as number of persons with disabilities.

Inclusive Early Warning System (EWS)

• • • Find ways to accommodate different disabilities, such as using bells for people with visual impairments and flags for people with hearing impairments.
  • • When developing an EWS, consider the abilities of people with disabilities and involve them in the Early Warning Committee.

Inclusive Search, Rescue & Evacuation (SR&E)

• • • Involve people with disabilities in SR&E training and mock drills.
  • • Ensure that equipment stocks include assistive devices like stretchers, wheelchairs, and crutches.
  • • Train SR&E teams on how to deal with different impairments.

Inclusive Evacuation Center Management

• • • Collect information on people with disabilities in data collection systems.
  • • Make evacuation centers accessible with ramps, handrails, and accessible toilets.
  • • Ensure safety, protection from abuse, and dignity for all shelter users.
  • • Meet basic needs like water, sanitation, and food security for all shelter users.