Disaster and Disability
摘要
Disasters, either natural or human-made, cause a significant threat to persons with disabilities (PwDs), particularly in disaster-prone regions like South Asia. This chapter explores the intersection between disaster and disability, emphasizing how disasters can cause new impairments and exacerbate existing ones, both physical and psychosocial. It highlights the specific vulnerabilities of PwDs during emergencies, such as disrupted healthcare, loss of assistive devices, inaccessibility of shelters, and difficulty in accessing early warning systems and evacuation plans. Special populations like females, children, and older adults with disabilities face compounded challenges due to gender, age, and social factors, causing further challenges apart from those posed by the disability itself. Despite international frameworks like the UNCRPD and the Sendai Framework advocating for disability-inclusive disaster risk reduction (DiDRR), implementation across South Asia remains limited and inconsistent. The chapter draws comparisons with best practices from developed nations and showcases emerging inclusive models from several South Asian countries. It concludes by recommending systemic changes in data collection, infrastructure, training, and governance to advance a rights-based and resilient disaster management approach that fully includes persons with disabilities as active participants in preparedness, response, and recovery.