Building Back Better Disability Inclusive Post Covid19 World

The COVID-19 pandemic has deeply affected communities around the world, especially vulnerable ones like persons with disabilities. One billion people, or 15% of the world’s population, experience some form of disability. Disability prevalence is higher for developing countries, where persons with disabilities are more likely to experience less education, poorer health outcomes, lower levels of employment, and higher poverty rates.

As COVID-19 continues to have wide-reaching impacts, one question looms large: how we can address the long-standing systemic inequalities that it has laid bare?

People with disabilities are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19: not only is there an increased direct risk for people with existing health conditions, but they have also been marginalized and discriminated against when it comes to accessing information and healthcare.

We need to work with people with disabilities to advocate for their rights and ensure they receive the treatment they need during this difficult time, as we commit to “build back better” following the pandemic.

We hope to move to the recovery phase of COVID-19, as vaccines are coming in slowly in the market and seem effective. However, health, education, and other systems will have to be adapted to accommodate the new risks that have been raised, especially with people with disabilities. Why not take the opportunity to build the world back in an inclusive way?

So how can we help in building back better the world post-COVID-19?

Disability inclusion

Disability inclusion means understanding the relationship between the way people function and how they participate in society and making sure everybody has the same opportunities to participate in every aspect of life to the best of their abilities and desires.

Disability discrimination is still a big problem affecting people with disabilities seeking employment. We need to ensure that people with disabilities are included in back to work plans of governments and private sector employers and have equal access to quality education, health, and work opportunities. Disabled person organizations (DPOs) have been and should continue to be at the center of these initiatives.?

DPOs are representative organizations or groups of persons with disabilities, where persons with disabilities constitute a majority of the overall staff, board, and volunteers in all levels of the organization. It includes organizations of relatives of PWDs (only those representing children with disabilities, people with intellectual disabilities, and/or the Deafblind) where a primary aim of these organizations is empowerment and the growth of self-advocacy of persons with disabilities.

We must enable ourselves as a large and cohesive society to support jobseekers and entrepreneurs through COVID-19. We have to do this by piloting inclusive business models, supporting micro-enterprises, running disability awareness training with employers, and helping job seekers develop their soft skills for the workplace.

We must make sure the response to the COVID-19 pandemic is inclusive of people with disabilities. Also, we need to understand that this work is not easy and will continue beyond the pandemic to champion the need for accessible employment for all and to leave no one behind.

Health

People with disabilities need health care and health programs for the same reasons anyone else does—to stay well, active, and a part of the community.

Having a disability does not mean a person is not healthy or that he or she cannot be healthy. Being healthy means the same thing for all of us—getting and staying well so we can lead full, active lives. That means having the tools and information to make healthy choices and knowing how to prevent illness.

There has been real concern that people with disabilities are being left out of health services. We need to work hard to advocate for the rights of people with disabilities throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. We have to incorporate inclusive health into the COVID-19 rapid response to ensure that patients with disabilities have access to treatment. We should support conducting accessibility audits of health facilities and working with local staff on disability inclusion.

Progressiveness has to be made in inclusive health and needs to ensure that it is accessible to everyone. To be able to achieve this we need to collect more evidence about health inequalities and make sure this is presented and added into governments and included in national health plans. In the long-term, we should focus on providing access to quality health services for all by advocating for universal health coverage, providing appropriate levels of care closer to communities, and challenging stigma and discrimination against patients with disabilities by training health workers on disability inclusion.

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs)?

NTDs are a diverse group of?tropical infections?that are common in low-income populations in?developing regions?of?Africa,?Asia, and the?Americas. They are caused by a variety of pathogens such as?viruses,?bacteria,?protozoa, and parasitic worms (helminths).

As we continue?to work through the COVID crisis, there are opportunities to restart work on?NTDs?in a new, safe way and to make more strides in including people with disabilities in elimination and patient care. NTDs not only cause debilitation and disability, but people with disabilities are at higher risk of being left behind.

Education

Education is a vital tool for investing in a child’s future, and children with disabilities need to be provided with equal opportunities to learn alongside their peers. As the pandemic resulted in global school closures, countries started providing distance learning – but often this was not accessible to students with disabilities. And as schools start to reopen, many of these children are at risk of not returning.

Kids with disabilities need to be included in the strategies of inclusive education

We need to work with partners and ministries of education across the world especially in Africa and Asia, to develop strategies to minimize the impact of children with disabilities missing out on learning opportunities, both in and out of school. This has included strengthening the inclusion of these children in home-based education solutions, providing training on inclusive education, and ensuring educational resources are accessible for people with disabilities.

Again DPOs, caregivers, and the community together as groups need to ensure that the interventions are sustainable and appropriate to local contexts. DPOs have a great understanding of disability following the social model, which notes that barriers are caused by society, rather than by a person’s disability.

These adoptions will not only support recovery around COVID-19 but also strengthen the work we do. This is a global pandemic that needs a global response and we are all stronger working together.

Bottom Line: Disability must be understood as a human rights issue. People are disabled by society, not just by their bodies. These barriers can be overcome, if governments, non-governmental organizations, professionals, and people with disabilities, and their families work together.

Let's join hands together, and Build Back Better a More Disability-Inclusive, Accessible, and Sustainable Post-COVID World.?

Together We Can!?