Image description A man on crutches navigates Cox’s Bazar refugee camp. Refugees who were affected by a fire on March 22nd have received assistive devices. End of image description |
Persons with disabilities constitute approximately 15 per cent of any population (World Health Organization [WHO] and World Bank, 2011, p. 27). As stated, they are among the most marginalized in crisis-affected communities (United Nations General Assembly [UNGA], 2016) and face attitudinal, environmental and institutional barriers that put them more at risk of exclusion than others. These barriers prevent them from safely and equally participating in humanitarian programmes and accessing crucial services. This is no different in Cox’s Bazar, where persons with disabilities face serious challenges in participating in programmes and accessing distribution points, safe spaces and service and sanitation facilities (see Aktion Deutschland Hilft, Centre for Disability in Development [CDD] and Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund [ASB], 2017; HelpAge International, 2019; HI, 2019). The education sector, for example, estimates that due to the lack of ramps, the steep, rough terrain and the unavailability of inclusive learning materials, "children with disabilities [in the camps] are 10 to 40 percent less likely to attend learning facilities than children without" (ISCG, 2020, p. 70).
This chapter provides an overview of the barriers persons with disabilities face, focusing on the situations in the camps and host communities.11 To understand what factors enable or impede the inclusion of persons with disabilities and how humanitarian actors can enhance their disability-mainstreaming capacities, it is vital to have a general understanding of the context in which they operate.