COVID 19 and the disability movement

Screen-grab from the social protection video on COVID19

What can social protection do for persons with disabilities in the current COVID19 crisis? Why is it important to protect the rights of persons with disabilities and ensure equal access to services? Our colleagues at the Center for Inclusive Policy have put together this informative video. Watch the video through Youtube.

Disclaimer: The following documents, resources and links included below are not from the International Disability Alliance and are provided for informational and advocacy purposes only. They do not constitute endorsement of or an approval by the International Disability Alliance of any of the products, services, or opinions of the corporation, organization, or individual. The International Disability Alliance bears no responsibility for the accuracy, legality or content of the documents.

We are constantly updating this webpage, so please feel free to send in your resources for inclusion on the web page. Please send your resources directly to eyoussefian [at] ida-secretariat.org. 

Online Launch of the COVID-19 Disability Rights Monitor report

October 22nd, 15:00 – 17:00 | Invitations with link to registration form will follow

Validity Foundation, the European Network on Independent Living, Disability Rights International, the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria, the International Disability Alliance, the International Disability and Development Consortium, and the Disability Rights Fund/Disability Rights Advocacy Fund are pleased to invite you to the launch of the COVID-19 Disability Rights Monitor report. The COVID-19 Disability Rights Monitor is a major global initiative aimed at conducting rapid independent monitoring of state measures concerning the impact of COVID-19 on persons with disabilities. Launched in April 2020 and translated into 25 languages, the survey gathered in a three-month period over 2,100 responses from 135 countries spanning from Argentina to Zimbabwe and covering every continent. The vast majority of responses came from persons with disabilities themselves, as well as their representative organisations.

The report will shed light on how persons with disabilities worldwide were and still are disproportionately affected by COVID-19 and the consequential States’ responses. The report will focus in particular on the lives, health and safety of persons with disabilities living in institutions, the measures targeting persons with disabilities living in the community as well as underrepresented groups of persons with disabilities (children, homeless persons and persons living in remote and rural locations) and access to healthcare. The event will gather survey respondents, organisations representative of persons with disabilities, representatives from the United Nations and civil society organisations to advance discussions on COVID-19 disability-inclusive responses and recovery plans.

For more information about the COVID-19 Disability Rights Monitor, visit our website: www.covid-drm.org

Disability Rights During the Coronavirus Pandemic: COVID-19 Disability Rights Monitor

The International Disability Alliance, along with a number of partners,  launched a COVID-19 Disability Rights Monitor. Governments, organisations of persons with disabilities and all relevant stakeholders were invited to complete a survey to highlight issues faced by persons with disabilities in the midst of the COVID19 Pandemic.

Image reads: COVID19: Leaving No-One behind in the Disability-Inclusive Response

In the light of the COVID19 pandemic and with the aim to support a disability-inclusive response to the crisis, International Disability Alliance (IDA) has launched this hub-page to share the most recent updates and resources as they become available. 

If you have any updates on how COVID 19 is affecting persons with disabilities in your area of work, or want to share any good practices or lessons learnt, contact IDA's inclusive humanitarian adviser, Elham Youssefian via eyoussefian [at] ida-secretariat.org.

International Disability Alliance Key Recommendations toward a Disability-Inclusive COVID19 Response

Read and download our key recommendations:

Translations (the following translations of the IDA key recommendations around Covid19 have been provided by external organisations and third parties. IDA bears no responsibility for the accuracy of the documents).

Our key recommendations include: 

  1. Persons with disabilities must receive information about infection mitigating tips, public restriction plans, and the services offered, in a diversity of accessible formats with use of accessible technologies
  2. Additional protective measures must be taken for people with certain types of impairment
  3. Rapid awareness raising and training of personnel involved in the response are essential
  4. All preparedness and response plans must be inclusive of and accessible to women with disabilities
  5. No disability-based institutionalization and abandonment is acceptable
  6. During quarantine, support services, personal assistance, physical and communication accessibility must be ensured
  7. Measures of public restrictions must consider persons with disabilities on an equal basis with others
  8. Persons with disabilities in need of health services due to COVID19 cannot be deprioritized on the ground of their disability
  9. OPDs can and should play a key role in raising awareness of persons with disabilities and their families.
  10. OPDs can and should play a key role in advocating for disability-inclusive response to the COVID19 crisis.

In this section