disasters and people with disabilities
TRANSCRIPT
Disasters and Peoplewith Disabilities
David AlexanderUniversity College London
• lack of data on needs
• lack of integration and co-operationamong organisations for people withdisabilities & civil protection authorities
• no general standard for emergencyplanning and management for people withdisabilities, only pockets of innovation.
There is a knowledge, planning and implementation shortfall in civil protection
• mobility impairment:a barrier to evacuation
• hearing, sight and cognition impairment:barriers to receipt of warnings
• obstacles to communication
• loss of electricity for support equipment
• shortage of assistance.
Emergencies and disasters create barriers
"A gender, age, disability and culturalperspective should be integrated in
all policies and practices." para. 19(d)
"Empowering women and persons withdisabilities to publicly lead and promote
gender equitable and universally accessibleresponse, recovery, rehabilitation and
reconstruction approaches is key." Para. 32
Creating aculture of civil
protection
Creating aculture of
inclusion and acceptance
Culturalchange
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Are measures comprehensive enoughto include all kinds of disability?
Is providing assistance to people withdisabilities a medical, social, public
health or public order problem? Why should it be considered a problem at all?
Providing emergency assistance to peoplewith disabilities, and helping them to beresilient, is a multi-dimensional challenge.
Is 'positive discrimination'advisable during emergencies?
Pertinent questions & issues - and some possible answers
Is enough attention given to emergencyplanning for institutions, such as care
homes and psychiatric hospitals?
Person with disability• family members• carers and personal assistants• neighbours
Services• civil protection• emergency responders• health services• social services• voluntary agencies - civil protection• voluntary agencies - people with disabilities
Institutions(e.g. care homes)• carers and managers
• evacuation and temporary shelter
• specialised evacuation of fragile people
• continuity of medication and treatment
• monitoring people's condition
• "No one should be left behind".
Emergency planning arrangementsfor care homes
Should registering people with disabilitieswith the civil protection authoritiesbe obligatory or a matter of choice?
Does legislation on assisting people withdisabilities [in emergencies and disasters]
need to invite or require compliance?Should there be sanctions for not doing to?
The UN Convention on the Rights ofPersons with Disabilities requirescountries to involve people in the
making of decisions that concern them.Does anyone take the troubleto see civil protection and
emergency management fromthe point of view of
people with disabilities?
Emergency planning is usually orientatedto catering for large groups of people:
citizens with disabilitiesneed individual attention.
It is not a good strategy to mergeassistance to people with disabilities
with that given to other groups(ethnic minorities, single mothers, etc.).
Some basic principles:
• preparation, training, exercising
• associations for people withdisabilities involved in civil protection and emergency planning
• emergency communicationsto be accessible and reliable
• procedures and services accessiblein normal times and emergencies
• involve the mass media in thetransmission of warnings topeople with disabilities.
Anti-discrimination monitoring (andeventual correction) to be applied to:• planning• alert• warning• emergency response• evacuation• respite• transitional shelter• recovery.
dDisabilitiesvolunteer
organisations
Civil protectionvolunteer
organisations
Social servicesof local
authorities
Social servicesof local
health districts
Emergency
Planning
Most of the innovations and advancesin assisting people with disabilities in
disasters and crises come from the local(or possibly regional), not national level.
• review• guidelines• recommendations
Providing safeconditions forpeople with
disabilities duringand after disasteris not a problem:it is a challenge
at which to excel.
[email protected]/dealexander