Information and Resources for Disability Inclusive Response to COVID-19 Pandemic

This blog aims to consolidate important information and resources from our partners to help address the needs of persons with disabilities in the light of the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Statements and Declarations

• Read the letter by H.E. Mr.Luis Gallegos, President of the Conference of States Parties To the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Permanent Representative of Ecuador to the United Nations.
• Read the joint statement by WHO-ITU on the BeHe@lthy BeMobile initiative to disseminate key information on COVID-19.
• Read the appeal by Catalina Devandas, Special Rapporteur on COVID-19: Who is protecting the people with disabilities?
• Read Houlin Zhao, ITU Secretary-General’s statement on the launch of a global platform to help protect telecommunication networks during the COVID-19 crisis.

Key Resources on COVID-19

• The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has launched a Global Network Resiliency Platform (#REG4COVID) to help national policy-makers, regulators and industry stakeholders cope with the increasing stress on global networks during the Coronavirus crisis.
• The International Disability Alliance (IDA) has launched a COVID-19 webpage that entails key recommendations toward a Disability-Inclusive COVID-19 Response.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) has the latest resources on COVID-19 Pandemic on its portal and has released guidelines for disability considerations during the COVID-19 outbreak.
• Visit the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) page on COVID-19 Outbreak and Persons with Disabilities.
• Implications of COVID-19 for Older Persons: Responding to the Pandemic is a technical brief developed by The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Global Ageing Network to complement the UN DESA Issue Brief: Older Persons and COVID-19.
• The United Nations website provides a comprehensive overview of COVID-19.
• The U.N. Human Rights Office has issued a guidance document on COVID-19 and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
• The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has published guidance on COVID-19: Considerations for Children and Adults with Disabilities and Risk Communication and Community Engagement for COVID-19- Engaging with Children and Adults with Disabilities. Both can are also available in Russian, Spanish, E-Pub, accessible HTML, Braille-ready format.
• The World Economic Forum has launched a global COVID Action Platform to convene the business community for collective action, protect people’s livelihoods and facilitate business continuity, and mobilize support for the COVID-19 response.
• An accessible COVID-19 Statistics Tracker is helping track the progress of the COVID-19 virus in a digitally accessible format.
• In light of the national emergency declared on March 13, 2020 concerning the coronavirus outbreak, read the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules requiring televised emergency information to be accessible. For specific questions, please contact Debra Patkin, Attorney Advisor, Disability Rights Office (DRO), Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, at (202) 870-5226 or [email protected].
• The FCC's has launched the COVID-19 Telehealth Program to support eligible healthcare providers responding to the pandemic.
• The Smart Cities Council has released COVID-19 mitigation tool help city leaders or task forces visualize their response plan and collaborate remotely.
• ABILITY Job Fair has launched a new accessible online platform to accommodate distance recruitment for all.
• Inclusion Europe's Easy-to-Read documents on COVID-19 are available for download in multiple languages.
• ADA 25 Advancing Leadership has compiled useful resources to enable an accessible web experience for online conferencing and digital instruction.
• Access Living's list of resources for persons with disabilities covers a variety of topics including accessible tech resources and communications access.
• The Accessibility Switchboard has published a guide on Accessibility and keeping employees and students connected from home.
• The New York City Mayors Office for People with Disabilities (MOPD) has compiled digital accessibility resources to assist City agencies in creating accessible content.

Publications

• António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations has launched a New Global Humanitarian Response Plan for COVID-19 that aims to address the needs of vulnerable people including persons with disabilities.

Podcasts and Videos

• The World Health Organization’s Flagship programme – Global Cooperation on Assistive Health Technology (GATE) Community has released a series of introductory videos with English subtitles, Spanish subtitles or Portuguese (audio description included) about COVID-19 with recommendations for persons with disabilities.
• A podcast highlights how ITU works to close the digital divide.

Webinars

• The International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Global Business and Disability Network have organized a webinar for those responsible in multinational organisations for ensuring remote working liberates every employee’s productivity, while enhancing their well-being and engagement.
• United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) webinar series shares expertise on COVID-19 impacts and the way forward.
• The Partnership on Employment & Accessible Technology (PEAT), the Global initiative for Inclusive ICTs (G3ict) and the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP), a division of G3ict, are offering a series of free webinars as resources to support remote working accessible environments. Register for the Accessible Remote Working Environments - Free Webinar Series.
• The DIAUD Network, World Enabled, and Cities for All partners have announced an action-oriented webinar series titled “Equity and Access in times of Pandemic”. Learn more and register for the Cities for All webinar.
• The Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) has listed the free COVID-19 Live Course Series in the ATIA Learning Center.

Surveys

• The Learners with Disabilities and COVID-19 School Closures Survey is being conducted by the Inclusive Education Initiative's Disability-Inclusive Education Community of Practice and Knowledge Hub to understand if learners with disabilities and their families have access to the supports they need to continue learning while schools are closed due to COVID-19.If you have any questions, please reach out to the Inclusive Education Initiative at [email protected].