July 2020
Reporting:
Malcolm Lucard
Videography:
Thibault Lauritzen
Health emergencies don’t hit everyone the same way. The COVID-19 pandemic, for example, is forcing people to distance themselves physically and to stay at home as much as possible. But those with physical disabilities can become particularly isolated and vulnerable. Helpers or support systems might no longer be available.
Protecting oneself from infection is more difficult and many people with disabilities face a higher risk due to pre-existing conditons. To make matters worse, critical health and prevention messages are not always shared in a way that people with visual, hearing or physical disabilities can receive them. “During emergencies, people with disabilities often get forgotten,” says Dalal al Taji, a professor and advocate for people with disabilities who lives and teaches in the Gaza Strip. In this episode of Expert Sources, al Taji explains the challenges faced by people who have disabilities and who live in conflict zones or other places impacted by crisis.
The Covid-19 pandemic is forcing a critical examination of how communities and countries prepare for multiple, overlapping crises. Here are a few lessons the Japanese Red Cross Society learned after the triple disaster of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear plant meltdown ten years ago this month.
In places where conflict or crisis means basic services are scarce, the use of data is saving lives. But protecting people’s physical well-being, experts say, is also about protecting their digital profile in cyberspace.
As a biologist who responds to emergencies for the Spanish Red Cross, Eva Turró has found her place in the humanitarian world, raising awareness about the life-saving link between health and hygiene in the wake of calamity.
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