List of resources to include persons with disabilities in COVID-19 response

In these tough times we are facing, it is even more necessary to continue joining efforts to leave no behind in COVID-19 response. Bridging the Gap keeps working both at the global and country levels to ensure the inclusion of persons with disabilities in public policies to prevent and contain this pandemic.

At the country level, different actions are being coordinated in the partner countries through the implementation agencies, organisations of persons with disabilities and national public institutions. At a global level, and as part of the project’s knowledge management strategy, we are monitoring and disseminating through the different communication channels of the project the main resources of interest related to COVID-19 and disability.

Please find our updated* list of resources in relation to COVID-19 below:

• IDDC and IDA – Reach the furthest behind first: Persons with disabilities must be prioritized in accessing COVID-19 vaccination (Advocacy campaign to call on all governments, UN agencies and the private sector to take all necessary measures to prioritise persons with disabilities in COVID-19 vaccination)
• UNFPA – Key Messages on Women and Girls with Disabilities Facing COVID-19 (Infographic)
• Members of the Group of Friends of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Geneva – Joint Statement regarding COVID-19 Pandemic and the Rights of Persons with disabilities
• Alliance Magazine – How philanthropy can better integrate disability rights in its COVID-19 response (article)
• ONCE Foundation – Series of webinars on COVID-19, one of which was about International Cooperation.
• 145 United Nations Member States and Observers – Disability-inclusive response to COVID-19 – Towards a better future for all (A response to the Secretary-General’s Policy Brief)
• UN Secretary-General – A Disability-Inclusive Response to COVID-19 (Policy brief)
• EDF –  Joint letter to Commissioners Urpilainen and Lenarcic (April 2020)
• EU High Representative Borrell, Vice-President Jourová and Commissioner Dalli – Joint Statement on the rights of persons with disabilities
• CEPAL – Personas con discapacidad ante la enfermedad por coronavirus (COVID-19) en América Latina y el Caribe: situación y orientaciones (Recommendations to address the impact of COVID-19 on persons with disabilities in Latin America and the Caribbean)
• IDDC and IDA – COVID-19 & Disability campaigns (Campaign addressed to WHO and the United Nations to call for public health information and communications around COVID-19 to be fully accessible)
• GLAD Network – General Statement of the GLAD inclusive education working group in response to the COVID-19 crisis
• Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health – An Unequal Response: COVID-19 and Disability (Article)
• Birth Injury Justice Center – Coronavirus and Babies: What New Parents Should Know (Article)
• European Commission – COVID-19: 5 ways to help prevent the spread (video with international sign language)
• IDA – Toward a Disability-Inclusive COVID19 Response: 10 recommendations (List of the main barriers that persons with disabilities face in this emergency situation along with some practical solutions and recommendations) Easy-to-read version, Spanish version, Arabic version, French version, Infographic.
• IDA – Other resources from IDA network: Resources from IDA partners, Resources available by disability constituency, Resources by Region/Country
• The Alliance – Technical Note: Protection of Children during the Coronavirus Pandemic (The aim of this brief is to support child protection practitioners to better respond to the child protection risks during a COVID-19 pandemic) French version, Spanish version, Arabic version, Farsi version, Italian version
• UN Women – COVID-19: How to include marginalized and vulnerable people in risk communication and community engagement (Key Protection, Gender, and Inclusion Actions for Risk Communications and Community Engagement)
• SARTAC – Health Matters. Booklet on coronavirus (Written by and for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It focuses on “need to know” information) Easy-to-read Spanish version
• Illinois Autism Partnership – My Social Distancing Story (Easy read visual resource about the Coronavirus)
• Federal Public Service for Health – Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) (sign language video on COVID 19)
• Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies – COVID-19 collection of resources available in multiple languages (COVID-19 pandemic on schools and education to support the provision of education in places affected by COVID-19) Resources in Arabic, Resources in French, Resources in Spanish
• Inclusion Europe – Easy-to-read information about Coronavirus (COVID-19) (Easy-to-read information about Coronavirus (COVID-19) multiple languages) Information in French, Information in Italian
• United Nation General Assembly – Report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
• United Nations – COVID-19 response: Preventing discrimination against people with disabilities in COVID-19 response;  Launch of Humanitarian Appeal; Coronavirus global health emergency platform
• WHO – Disability considerations during the COVID-19 outbreak (WHO and public health authorities around the world are taking action to contain the COVID-19 outbreak. This impact can be mitigated if simple actions and protective measures are taken by key stakeholders) Report in French; Report in Spanish
• IDDC – Repository of resources on disability inclusion and COVID-19 (This document is a repository of resources focusing on COVID-19, disability, mental health, chronic health conditions and related topics curated by the International Disability and Development Consortium Inclusive Health Task Group (IDDC IHTG) and the CORE Group Disability Inclusive Health Technical Advisory Group co-chaired by Alessandra Aresu (Humanity & Inclusion), Leia Isanhart (Catholic Relief Services), Nick Corby (Equal International), Andrea Pregel (Sightsavers))
• NPR Podcast – Disability Groups File Federal Complaint About COVID-19 Care Rationing Plans Podcast with recommendations for persons with disabilities
• Association of Medical Professionals with Hearing Losses (AMPHL) – COVID-19 Resource List (List of resources related to COVID-19 available for and accessible to deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals. This list is by no means exhaustive)
• Shepherd Center – Q&A: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) (Shepherd Center offers information on how COVID-19 could affect people with spinal cord injuries, brain injuries or MS, as well as gives tips on how to prevent illness)
• Peter Torres Fremlin – Overview and update on coronavirus and disability (Consultancy on disability and development related to COVID-19 and the response)
• Nuffield Council on Bioethics – Ethical considerations in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic (Rapid policy briefing)
• Introductory video – Persons with disability and COVID-19 (Sign Language included) (Recommendations for persons with disabilities) Watch the video in Spanish
• Canadian Association for Community Living – COVID disability: Disability-Related Resources for Families (CACL will be sharing disability-related resources related to the COVID-19 pandemic on this page, pulled together in one spot for families)
• Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund – Preventing Discrimination in the Treatment of COVID-19 Patients: The Illegality of Medical Rationing on the Basis of Disability (As the COVID-19 crisis amplifies in the United States, the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (“DREDF”) reminds lawmakers and providers of health care, education, transportation, housing, and other critical services of their duty to uphold the civil and human rights of people with disabilities)
• Gender-Based Violence Area of Responsibility – Disability Considerations in GBV Programming during the COVID-19 Pandemic (This note provides information and practical guidance to support gender-based violence (GBV) practitioners to integrate attention to disability into GBV prevention, risk mitigation and response efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• CBM – COVID-19 Resource (Key advocacy messages, questions to ask on inclusion and signpost to resources to learn more)
• Ana Peláez Narváez – Message from Ana Peláez Narváez (Women with disabilities and COVID-19)
• Inclusion International – COVID 19: Members Resources and Processes (List of resources by country)
• World Network of Users and Survivors of Psychiatry, together with ENUSP, PANPD, TCI AP, CHRUSP & RLDP – COVID-19 and persons with psychosocial disabilities (Statement by regional and international organizations of people with psychosocial disabilities with recommendations in the context of COVID-19 pandemic) Spanish version
• UNICEF – COVID-19 response: Considerations for Children and Adults with Disabilities; COVID19 platform
• ILO – COVID-19 response: COVID-19 and the world of work

You can also download an Excel table with all these resources here.

For more resources, visit EDF website (updated daily).

*Last updated on 22 April 2021.