| Preparedness | Response | Recovery |
1. Assessment, analysis and planning |
Document pre-disaster prevention and health needs. Consider sexual and reproductive health, mental health, psychosocial support, communicable and non-communicable diseases and injury care. Focus on providing access to excellent, affordable primary health services, universal health care, essential medicines, and assistive devices for persons with disabilities, regardless of age and gender. | X | | |
Map mainstream health and disability-targeted services. Consider primary health care centres, acute and rehabilitation hospitals, early intervention services, community-based rehabilitation programmes, mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) services at community and hospital level, and suppliers and manufacturers of assistive devices. | X | X | |
Map local OPDs, health-related peer-support groups, mental health service users, self-advocates with disabilities, caregivers and parents, and organizations that work on disability. Involve them in all preparedness activities. | X | | |
Develop the capacity of humanitarian health actors to include persons with disabilities in programming. | X | X | |
Conduct accessibility audits of organizations, health facilities and services, and health products. Prepare action plans to inform monitoring and evaluation. | X | X | X |
With OPDs, review national emergency health policies and ensure they allocate funds to meet the health and well-being needs of persons with disabilities. | X | | X |
Assign a disability-inclusive health focal point or expert to the health sector to provide technical guidance on programming disability-inclusive health services and supporting cross-sectoral referrals. | X | X | X |
2. Resource mobilization |
Allocate money and raise funds to ensure the continuity of health services used by persons with disabilities, including specific services that are critical. | X | X | X |
Mobilize professionals who understand and can address the health needs of persons with disabilities. Recruit experts in mainstreaming disabilities in health services. | | X | |
Establish a database of disability-specific and mainstream health actors and service providers who are in a position to facilitate an effective referral system. | X | X | |
3. Implementation |
Raise awareness among health staff and communities to reduce stigma with respect to disability. Implement strategies to meet this objective, for example through communications and outreach. | X | X | X |
Make sure that persons with disabilities can access all health facilities, including temporary ones. When health facilities are rebuilt or rehabilitated, make sure that engineers and architects adopt universal design principles. | | X | X |
Make health facilities fully accessible to persons with disabilities. Consider entrances, restrooms, ease of movement within buildings, signage. | X | X | X |
Ensure that all information on health services, and information issued by user-satisfaction and feedback mechanisms, is available in multiple accessible formats. | | X | X |
Ensure, after the emergency starts, that patient information remains available and accessible for purposes of referral, movement and transfer, and follow-up. | | | X |
4. Coordination |
Include information on disability in health management information systems. Consider health facility registers, the accessibility status of the facility, health-related surveillance. | X | X | |
Establish coordination groups. Involve health stakeholders and representatives of OPDs, including persons with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities. | X | X | X |
Ensure that referral systems connect health care providers and health actors with expertise in disability. | | X | |
5. Monitoring and evaluation |
Ensure that feedback and complaints mechanisms are accessible and include persons with disabilities. | | X | |
Collect data on health; ensure data are disaggregated by sex, age and disability. | | X | X |
Monitor and evaluate the accessibility and inclusiveness of health facilities, programmes and services, to ensure that they address the needs and concerns of women, men, girls and boys with disabilities, at all ages. | | X | X |
When measuring the quality of health service delivery, include criteria that measure inclusion and accessibility and compliance with health standards. (See Resources below.) | | X | X |