Including persons with disabilities in emergency plans will be one of the topics addressed at the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction held from 14 to 18 March 2015 in Sendai, Japan.
One billion people currently live with disabilities worldwide, representing 15 per cent of the global population. Compared to the general population, persons with disabilities face higher risks and are disproportionately affected in emergency situations due to inaccessible evacuation, response – including shelters, camps, and food distribution – and recovery efforts.
Available data indicates that the mortality rate of the disabled population is two to four times higher than that of the non-disabled population in disaster settings. Furthermore disruption to physical, social, economic, and environmental networks and support systems that follow disasters affect persons with disabilities much more than the general population and can further threaten their lives.
Persons with disabilities also suffer discrimination in emergency and recovery situations due to negative stigma that may become more acute when resources are scarce.
These realities directly contradict the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities adopted in December 2006, which stresses the responsibility of the State Parties to undertake “all necessary measures to ensure the protection and safety of persons with disabilities in situations of risk, including situations of armed conflict, humanitarian emergencies and the occurrence of natural disasters.”
Shifting the paradigm
Beyond the goal to “leave no one behind”, the Disaster Risk Reduction Conference will look at integrating the unique experience and expertise that only persons living with disabilities can contribute to the process.
Persons with disabilities can be an important resource for disaster risk reduction, resilience and reconstruction. During the Great Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan in 2011, persons and children with disabilities who had been trained in disaster risk reduction programmes led the evacuation process and saved lives of other members of their community.
The UN Department of Social and Economic Affairs will take part in a public forum as part of the conference to examine ways to adopt and implement a disaster risk reduction framework that fully integrates the expertise of persons with disabilities.
More information about the Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities