Key elements – must do
‘Must do’ actions must be undertaken in all phases of humanitarian action when implementing WASH programming for persons withdisabilities.
Participation
- Ensure that persons with disabilities, their families, and organizations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) are actively involved in identifying barriers that impede their access, and planning, designing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating WASH and related policies and programmes. Involve them in decision-making.
- Ensure that persons with disabilities are fairly represented, taking into account the various forms of disability as well as age, gender and diversity. Make concerted efforts to promote underrepresented groups, including persons with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities, indigenous persons, women and girls in formal and informal mechanisms and processes.
- Develop partnerships with OPDs and other organizations working in WASH. Work with them to support persons with disabilities and advocate for and promote inclusive WASH services.
Addressing barriers
- Identify and monitor barriers that limit the accessibility of WASH facilities, as well as enablers that make them more accessible. At minimum, strive to ensure that at least 15 per cent of facilities are fully accessible. Include water sources, toilets and distribution points. Provide reasonable accommodations, for example by provision of assistive devices, and organize outreach to facilitate full inclusion of persons with disabilities in all WASH services and facilities.
- Encourage or require all WASH service providers to implement universal design principles when they plan or build WASH facilities.
- Provide all assessment and reporting tools, and all information and communications on WASH programming and monitoring (hygiene promotion, place and times of distribution, management of water sources) in multiple accessible formats, taking into account the needs of persons with hearing, visual, intellectual and psychosocial disabilities.
- Implement strategies to reduce disability- related stigma. Take steps to make the community aware of the rights of persons with disabilities. Establish peer-support groups that include self-advocates with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities.
- Review sectoral policies, guidelines and tools to ensure that they clearly affirm the right of persons with disabilities to access and inclusion.
Empowerment and capacity development
- Mainstream protection and safeguarding measures across all WASH interventions. Inform persons with disabilities about these measures and the procedures for accessing them. Recognize the gendered dimension of some protection and safeguarding risks.
- Build the capacity of WASH workers. Provide training on the rights of persons with disabilities, including the interactions between disability and age, gender, migration status, religion and sexuality.
- Make WASH actors more aware of the risks and obstacles that persons with disabilities face and how to remove them in compliance with humanitarian principles.
- Build the capacity of OPDs to work on WASH programming. Facilitate their meaningful participation in designing, implementing and monitoring services.
- Engage persons with disabilities and OPDs in all community mobilization and outreach activities.
Data collection and monitoring
- Review WASH standards and tools to ensure they require collection of data on persons with disabilities, including qualitative information and information on barriers and enablers.
The recommended actions that follow apply a twin-track approach. They ensure persons with disabilities have equal rights andopportunities to access WASH programmes and services, remove barriers, and promote comprehensive inclusion and effective participation.