From Amazon: 'Countries party to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities must take all necessary measures to ensure the protection and safety of people with disabilities during situations of armed conflict, humanitarian emergencies, and natural disasters. Such aid should be designed to support preparedness, response, recovery and rebuilding. This book includes perspectives from around the globe and explores the implications at the policy, programme, and personal level, discussing issues such as:

• How can national laws, policies, and regulations provide guidance, methods and strategies to integrate and coordinate inclusive emergency management?
• What should people with disabilities know in order to be prepared for emergency situations? What lessons have we learned from past experiences?
• What are the current shortfalls (physical and cultural) that put people with disabilities at risk during emergencies and what can be done to improve these situations (e.g. through new technologies and disaster planning)?
• How does disability affect people's experiences as refugees and other displaced situations; what programmes and best practices are in place to protect and promote their rights during their period of displacement?
• How must disabled people with disabilities be factored in to the resettlement and rebuilding process; does an opportunity for ensuring universal access exist in the rebuilding process?
• What is the impact of disasters and conflicts on such special populations as disabled women, disabled children, and those with intellectual disabilities?

'Spotlighting a pressing issue that has long been neglected in emergency planning fields, this innovative book discusses how to meet the needs of people with disabilities in crises and conflict situations. It is an important reference for all those working in or researching disability and inclusion, and emergency and disaster management, both in developed and developing countries.'

David Mitchell and Valerie Karr (Editors)

Published by Routledge in 2014.

Extract from the Preface:

We can feel a powerful momentum to reduce risks and reinforce resilience in our communities. It is crucial to maintain a sustainable impetus among all the actors: from the civil societies to the governments, from the local grassroots organisations to the international organisations, with the academics and the private sectors and with the disability movement, we need to include everyone. Together we can achieve so much more.

This is exactly what this publication is about: working together to build the maximum resilience for all communities, including everyone. Specifically, together with our partners from the field, we have collected a number of good practices of inclusion of persons with disabilities in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and recovery practices.

Our job is to improve the quality of life of persons with disabilities in the poorest communities of the world. We ensure everyone is included before, during and after times of disaster. It is fundamental to include persons with disabilities at every stage of the disaster risk management: it is essential, it can be easy and cost effective, and most importantly, it builds stronger resilience.

The majority of the good practices come from the unique experience of the Disability-inclusive DRR Network for Asia and the Pacific (DiDRRN). The DiDRRN is a consortium of like-minded disabled people's organisations (DPOs) and 'mainstream' and disability-focused organisations. It was launched at the 5th Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Indonesia in October 2012. Our collective aim is to secure the active participation, and meaningful contribution, of persons with disabilities in DRR policy and practice up to 2015 and beyond.

This publication will support you to reach everyone including persons with disabilities in the upcoming Hyogo Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction II. It will help you focus on participation and effectiveness. Because you want to listen to everyone, this publication will show you how to bring persons with disabilities together with mainstream organisations, increasing your efficiency. 

A report from CBM

Read the full Report here: http://www.cbm.org/article/downloads/54741/Disability_Inclusive_Disaster_Risk_Management.pdf

An estimated 22 percent of Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon have impairments, and six percent have severe impairments. Older persons constitute five percent of the Syrian community in host countries, and 58 percent of older refugees were found to have at least one impairment. 

In May 2014, UNHCR, Handicap International, HelpAge International and the Women's Refugee Commission convened and facilitated a one-day meeting in Amman, Jordan to:

• Share examples of disability and aging inclusion from different countries involved in the Syrian crisis response;
• Discuss ongoing barriers and challenges; and
• Explore strategies to optimize capacity development, sharing and learning across the sector as the crisis continues to evolve.

This document summarizes the findings from this meeting with stakeholders, as well as the recommendations for future capacity development.

Go to: http://www.womensrefugeecommission.org/component/zdocs/document/1042?Itemid=101