By Priva and Sisay
The Covid-19 pandemic has brought about numerous adjustments to social interactions the world over. Since February 2020, communities around the globe have withdrawn into social isolation and remote work, while scientists scramble for short-term and long-term interventions. Public health experts have advised simple measures that individuals can take, including the frequent washing and sanitizing of hands, the use of gloves, and the use of tissues when coughing or sneezing, in the absence of which people should cough or sneeze into their elbow. For these interventions to be effective, the necessary information on how best to implement them must be communicated quickly and clearly to the public. For the most part, this communication has been through the written media, either in print or online. However, as with other key development issues, many sectors of the global community have been left at the periphery. This blog post shares some concerns as to how communications relating to COVID-19 interventions have not adequately addressed the needs of persons with Disabilities.
Exclusion in the age of written media
According to the World Health Organization, 15% of the world’s population lives with some form of Disability. This means that more than one billion people in the world live with some form of disability. Among them, nearly 280 million people are visually impaired with an estimated 39 million being totally blind, depending entirely on audio and tactile communication as well as human assistance to meet their daily needs. With such a significant portion of society needing various specialised help to absorb information, it is crucial that COVID-19 measures address their needs. A pandemic that has, as of November 5, 2020, infected 48.3 million and killed 1.2 million across the world entails urgency in protecting all members of society equally.
1) Covid-19 Messaging for the Blind and Deaf
Many of the hygiene messages do not take into account accessibility for blind persons. For deaf-blind persons who depend on tactile communication, the bulk of the current messaging does not address their needs at all! This information flow that excludes people with various disabilities is in direct contravention of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Article 9(1) of the CRPD asserts that:
To enable persons with disabilities to live independently and participate fully in all aspects of life, State Parties shall take appropriate measures to ensure to persons with disabilities access, on an equal basis with others, to the physical environment, transportation, to information and communications, including information and communication technologies and systems…
It is, therefore, imperative that COVID-19 interventions are communicated in a manner that is universally accessible to all members of society, not only for the purposes of minimising infection rates, but to ensure all members of society are treated as equals.
2) Physical Distancing and persons with disabilities
In terms of physical distancing, experts have not adequately addressed the needs of people with physical disabilities, particularly those with mobility challenges and those in need of close human assistance. It has become commonplace in public spaces to see instructions to physically distance by two metres (six feet) with no provision made for persons with disabilities, especially wheelchair users who might need accompanying. While many people who use wheelchairs, especially in economically advanced countries, have access to electronic wheelchairs and can control their movements, the majority of wheelchair users around the world depend on close human assistance for mobility. Similarly, people with intellectual disabilities need a simple language and a visual code to reach them. For those who are hard of hearing, an appropriately developed sign language message is required to keep them informed.
Leave no one behind
How could the public health authorities have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic without excluding some sectors of society? The answer is in the best kept secret of international development, the CRPD. The guiding principle of the CRPD is meaningful inclusion and participation of persons with disability at all levels of development. Similarly, the United Nations Strategic Development Goals stress the need for disability inclusion at every level of development. It goes without saying that if representative organisations of people with disabilities are involved at every level from inception onwards in the conceptualisation of public health interventions, such interventions would more likely than not address the needs of people with disabilities as they would non-disabled members of society. The central promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its SDGs is “leave no one behind.” As long as disability inclusion remains an afterthought at the margins of the global development agenda, people with disabilities will remain at the periphery in the planning and execution of human development projects, including COVID-19 planning and intervention.
Way forward
Given that the technological means exist to modify communications to assist people with disabilities, the sight of global messages sent in a form that only addresses sighted, hearing, and mobile people reminds us that the real problem of inclusion lies behind attitudes and decisions, and not lack of resources or technology. Unless special instructions are designed to reach out to and provide assistance for such groups of people, we may find ourselves shifting the deadly effects of the virus from those who have the power to those who are powerless. To implement disability-inclusive COVID-19 measures, we need an innovative approach that does not focus solely on solutions to stop the spread of the coronavirus but also promotes the inclusion of all during this crisis.
At Includovate we believe that accessibility and meaningful inclusion is possible with a can-do attitude and an innovative spirit. We recognize that in addition to rights, people with disabilities bring an immense value to society. We have been conducting research throughout the pandemic that has involved children with disabilities, adults with varying impairments and online workshops with people all over the world. Not only that, we employ people with disabilities as researchers and embrace the moto ‘nothing about us without us’ to ensure we practice what we preach at each and every step!
About the authors
Dr. Priva Hang’andu is Includovate’s Governance Principal Researcher. He has taught Political Science in Canada and in Zambia. His research interest is in the role of transnational policy actors in driving disability and gender policy change in Africa. He also researches democratisation and its pathways. Priva has published on disability, institutions, democratization in Africa, and on social policy in internationally reputed academic journals. He has also worked in non-governmental organizations and consulted with international organizations such as the African Development Bank. Priva served for several years as the governance and political advisor at the United States Department of State.
Sisay doubles as Includovate’s disability portfolio lead and Tearfund Ethiopia’s disability focal person. Born blind in Eastern part of Ethiopia, he is passionate about disability inclusive development. Sisay holds bachelor’s degree in history, and master’s degree in leadership and management from the Ethiopian Graduate School of Theology. Previously, Sisay worked as a teacher for fifteen years. Later he worked as a disability inclusion adviser in a consortium project that has come to be known as Civic Engagement Alliance in organization called Ethiopian Center for Disability and Development. He has been engaged in leading the inclusive education department within the Ethiopian National Association of the Blind.
Includovate is a feminist research incubator that “walks the talk”. Includovate is an Australian social enterprise consisting of a consulting firm and research incubator that designs solutions for gender equality and social inclusion. Its mission is to incubate transformative and inclusive solutions for measuring, studying, and changing discriminatory norms that lead to poverty, inequality, and injustice. To know more about us at Includovate, follow our social media: @includovate, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram.
The post How to Design More Disability Inclusive Covid-19 Global Interventions? Leaving No One Behind in the Covid-19 Fight appeared first on Includovate.
This post first appeared on Changing And Measuring Social Norms, please read the originial post: here
