Intending to promote disability-inclusive humanitarian response, the International Disability Alliance (IDA), UNICEF and CBM Global, through the Disability Reference Group on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action (DRG), organised a series of webinars titled, “DRG organization of persons with disabilities (OPD) Awareness Sessions”. These awareness sessions brought together 249 OPD members, representing diverse constituencies of disabilities, from regions across Asia, Pacific, MENA, Latin America, Africa Francophone, and Anglophone regions.
DRG is a platform fostering cooperation between the UN, International Agencies, NGOs, and organizations of persons with disabilities in promoting disability-inclusive humanitarian response, including, but not limited to, supporting the development, dissemination, and implementation of key guidance materials, including the Inter-Agency Steering Committee (IASC) Guidelines. DRG received a grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to implement the project ‘Capacity building of OPDs - strengthening disability-inclusive humanitarian action’, which aims at contributing to ensuring the active participation, coordination, and meaningful consultation of OPDs in humanitarian action. The project operates through four major interventions – i) fellows, ii) orientations or awareness sessions, iii) in-person training, and iv) developing learning materials.
The DRG OPD awareness session webinars comprise two sessions per region with overall six regions and aim at introducing humanitarian frameworks and understanding OPDs entry points to humanitarian action. Owing to its diverse membership, the most important feature of these awareness sessions is the multilingual nature of sessions and content materials.as the session is presented in the languages of each region namely Arabic, English, French and Spanish. These sessions are intended to initiate a two-way discourse, where OPDs not only gain insights about the humanitarian sector but also share their perspectives, experiences, and insights, enriching the overall dialogue. The major components of these sessions included introducing the OPD participants to the Inter-agency standing committee (IASC) guidelines structure and content on the humanitarian sector, introduction to the Humanitarian cluster system and Humanitarian Programme Cycle (HPC). Apart from knowledge sharing, these sessions allowed participants to work in groups and to leverage on their own experience and the information shared during the session. The DGR OPD Fellows play an important role in coordinating sessions. They further act as the key focal points to support the development of regional OPD DRG Communities of Practice (COPs) which is established after each awareness session and comprised of the participants of the session. Such community of practice allow participants to exchange and continue to share learning, experience and opportunities post the session.
The sessions were conducted via zoom and were designed to ensure knowledge dissemination on humanitarian programs for participants and interactive sessions to learn about their priorities and local concerns in communities. The facilitation team used several tools and methodologies to ensure inclusive facilitation and active participation.
DRG Fellows shared insights specific to each region from the awareness sessions. In the MENA region, the spotlight was on the significant role of OPDs in community development. Members of OPDs in this region displayed a strong eagerness to contribute to the disability cause, advocating for the rights of individuals with disabilities. Simultaneously, they also expressed a belief in their responsibility to contribute to the overall development of their nations. These OPD members showed self-confidence and a determined spirit to overcome isolation, striving to change the discriminatory attitudes towards persons with disabilities.
In the Asia-Pacific region, the sessions placed a major emphasis on safeguarding the interests of persons with disabilities during natural disasters. Participants from Asia engaged in thoughtful discussions about effectively delivering information to individuals with varying needs, including those with psychosocial, intellectual, and high support requirements.
“It is important to localize humanitarian actions based on the different needs and capacity of people with disabilities in different areas” - A participant from Indonesia
In Africa, the awareness sessions drew attention to the issue of inaccessibility. Some countries had participants sharing a single computer to engage in the sessions, though it was ensured that everyone can speak when needed. The discussions also reflected the impact of ongoing crises or the hosting of refugees from crisis-affected nations in the participating countries.
In Latin America, crisis due to economic disasters was a focal point during the sessions. The need to provide education, health, and nutrition to individuals with disabilities, particularly during emergencies, was a pressing topic. The participants also stressed the importance of quality data for effective responses. They appreciated the sessions' multilingual nature, as it celebrated diverse expressions for different communities.
In the French-speaking East African region, climate change-related challenges, such as drought, community conflicts, and terrorism, took center stage in the discussions. These sessions provided an insightful exploration of the distinct concerns facing this specific region.
While mostly the feedback from OPD participants was positive to these awareness sessions with participants appreciating the expert knowledge on humanitarian assistance for people with disabilities, some participants shared that they believe that more work needs to be done to ensure the inclusion of people with disabilities in humanitarian action. DRG Fellows played a key role in the successful execution of awareness sessions. They contributed towards the preparation of training materials, assisted in the execution activities of sessions, prepared a simplified version of the terminology, and participated in the sessions as co-facilitators.
All the participants and fellows found these sessions very informative and useful in improving the understanding of humanitarian actions for people with disabilities. The opportunity to share experiences and learn from a network of professional and community members was appreciated by everyone. The need for more such sessions and training was to strengthen the capacity of participation of OPDs in Humanitarian Action and sharing of experiences and relevant materials was echoed by all participants.
