Welcome to the DRG Monthly Newsletter!

©Alexandre Saraiva Carniato

Dear DRG Members,

As Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Weeks (HNPW) is now behind us and we start to prepare for the upcoming Conference of States Parties to the CRPD (CoSP), inclusion of persons with disabilities in humanitarian action remains an important issue to keep on the agenda. We continue to see progress, with improvements in collection and analysis of data on persons with disabilities, recognition of the needs and requirements of persons with disabilities and monitoring of inclusion. But, challenges remain, including in the leadership and participation of OPDs, capacity of humanitarian actors to deliver an inclusive response from the start of an emergency, and reflection of disability inclusion in humanitarian budgets. We value the broad and diverse membership of the DRG, as an important space for us to come together in addressing these challenges.

In this month’s newsletter we share updates on HNPW and CoSP and some exciting new resources. As always, we continue to encourage our members to share any updates or resources you would like to have included in upcoming newsletters.

Kindest Regards,

Elham Youssefian (International Disability Alliance)
Christian Modino Hok (CBM Global)
Kirstin Lange (UNICEF)

During the HNPW the DRG organized 2 sessions. A summary is provided below alongside the access to the recordings:

Disability inclusion: translating guidance into action Latest resources and developments

This session presented new tools and resources on disability inclusion, developed by the Disability Reference Group (DRG) and it's members, for humanitarian actors. The session also included an interactive discussion on how to strengthen availability of technical support on disability inclusion in emergencies.

Participants were introduced to tools and resources to guide their work, including:

• DRG training package on introduction to disability inclusive humanitarian action (Training Package: Introduction to Disability-Inclusive Humanitarian Action | International Disability Alliance )
• Elhra Innovation Catalogue (Launching Our Disability and Older Age Inclusion Innovation Catalogue - Elrha )
• UNICEF toolkit on disability inclusive humanitarian action (Disability-Inclusive Humanitarian Action Toolkit | UNICEF )
• Decision tree on disability data in humanitarian contexts (PowerPoint Presentation (iom.int)

Looking ahead, the DRG is in the process of documenting good practices in disability inclusive humanitarian action and will continue to work with other partners to strengthen availability of technical support to emergency response on the ground

Recording of session - 20 Apr 23 (07:00-08:30) ^UTC: Disability inclusion: translating guidance into action - Latest resources and developments - YouTube

Partnership with Organizations of Persons with Disabilities: How to Bridge Disability Inclusion and Localization

The session was an opportunity to bring OPDs and mainstream humanitarian actors to strengthen the dialogue and exchange on good practices and challenges in engaging, supporting and giving agency to the disability movement in humanitarian decision making and crisis response as a fundamental stakeholder in the localization agenda.

Moving forward, the DRG will engage in a dialogue with relevant bodies such as the Grand Bargain Localisation Working Group to keep reflecting on the importance of ensuring the voices of at risk groups and their representative organisations such as OPDs are included in the localization discussions.

Recording of session - 17 Apr 23 (12:00-13:30) ^UTC: DRG at HNPW: Partnership with Organizations of Persons with Disabilities - YouTube

by HI, CBM, and IFHV 

Introduction to Disability-Inclusive Humanitarian Action

The Phase3- Leave No One Behind! project is pleased to announce the launch of an e-learning course on Introduction to Disability-Inclusive Humanitarian Action, consisting of six distinct modules! They were developed in collaboration with the Reference Group on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action,  (Disability Reference Group (DRG)) engaging the humanitarian expertise of UN, NGOs and Organizations of Persons with Disabilities. Its structure and content is complementing the DRG learning modules for face-to-face and guided online learning, which offer a further expansion of your knowledge and practice.

The course was designed to support you and your organizations to start operationalizing the IASC Guidelines on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action. In particular, it offers you an opportunity to deepen learnings about the rights-based approach to disability and how to apply that practically in humanitarian programming. 

The course is relevant for anyone involved in humanitarian project or programme planning, design, management, monitoring & evaluation!

Link to the Course

You can access the self-paced e-learning modules through this link at Disaster Ready. Before starting, you will need to create a free account first. The course is available in English.

by DRG

by USAID and UNICEF

USAID Advancing Nutrition and UNICEF co-organized a global Virtual Convening on Improving Nutrition among Children with Feeding Difficulties and Children with Disabilities, on April 26-27th. Their goal was to engage stakeholders in important discussions around opportunities to improve nutritional care for children with feeding difficulties and children with disabilities.

A review conducted by USAID Advancing Nutrition found that policies, programs, and evidence to support children with feeding difficulties and disabilities, and their families were insufficient.

“Children with disabilities are up to 3 times more likely to be malnourished and 2 times as likely as non-disabled children to die from malnutrition”. These figures increase when children have more than one impairment.

One important outcome of this event is the generalized opinion considering the stigma that children with disabilities suffer as a fundamental challenge, that puts them in risk, even if resources are available in their environment. Adequate actions to eradicate stigma must be strengthened globally.

USAID and UNICEF’s Feeding and Disability Resource Bank, a collection of resources to address feeding difficulties and disability inclusion in nutrition programs offers practical tools to providers of services and support for persons with disabilities.

by UNOCHA

Ahead of the UN Security Council’s annual Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians on 23 May 2023, the signing international NGOs urge UN Member States to address three critical issues:

1) Recognize the wide-ranging and long-lasting impact of conflict and hunger on civilians, including the disproportionate impact on marginalized groups;

2) Take measures to prevent civilian harm during conflict, implement UNSCR 2417, and ensure accountability for violations of international humanitarian law; and

3) Address the climate-conflict-peace nexus.

The statement sets out recommendations that Member States can action immediately to save lives and invest in solutions that build food security, stability and peace. The statement does include some references to persons with disabilities for example recognizing that persons with disabilities, in particular women and children, face additional barriers accessing food during armed conflict.

Click here to learn more about Protection of Civilians Week 2023 including a side-event addressing protection of children with disabilities.

by UN Women

by The New Humanitarian

Don't miss any opportunities!

by IDA

International Disability Alliance (IDA) is hiring a consultant to draft a report elaborating States obligations under Article 11 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities during Disaster preparation, response, and recovery. For more information please download ToR here in Word or PDF. The application deadline is 18 June 2023.

by IOM

Disability Inclusion Intern Recruitment

by CBM

CBM Global Disability Inclusion lookout for talented individuals who are passionate about bringing their skills

Please share any feedback you may have on the content and format of this Newsletter with us. You can send any material you want to be included in the next issues of the Newsletter by the last Monday of the month via email [email protected]

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