A wake-up call ignored – health inequities for persons with disabilities reflect structural failures that have deadly consequences
The International Disability Alliance deeply regrets that the political declaration on ‘Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response’ does not adequately reflect the disproportionate risks faced by persons with disabilities during pandemics and the need to respond to that risk. The declaration is a fundamentally inadequate response to the barriers faced by persons with disabilities and ignores the deep-seated structural, social, and health system factors that drive health inequities for persons with disabilities.
This is a matter of life and death - persons with disabilities were 2.8 times more likely than others to die from COVID during the COVID-19 pandemic. The World Health Organization has said that “The COVID-19 pandemic has served as a wake-up call for the health sector and highlighted the health inequities faced by persons with disabilities”. The World Health Organization has written extensively on this issue, providing analytical reporting and guidance, and it is concerning that the PPPR declaration did not respond to the wake-up call.
IDA statement in Word available here.
IDA statement in PDF available here.
