PROMOTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER HUMANITARIAN EMERGENCIES.

Based on research conducted by MADI, persons with disabilities undergo more discrimination and exclusion following an outbreak of an emergency than their peers without disabilities.

What makes the situation even more challenging is that persons with disabilities themselves might not be aware of their own rights and so they cannot defend these rights.

Advocating, promoting, respecting and advancing the human rights of persons with disabilities is at the center of MADI's activities.

At MADI, we work to increase and raise human rights awareness of persons with disabilities trapped into humanitarian emergencies through trainings, educational work, and information campaign, and also support the implementation of United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with disabilities(UNCRPD).

In order to effectively identify and respond to the needs and rights of persons with disabilities who are most at risk of being excluded and left behind during humanitarian emergencies, MADI places persons with disabilities at the centre of humanitarian action, both as actors and as members of affected populations.

At MADI, our humanitarian relief efforts are being made to ensure that food, water, hygiene, sanitation, health care, rehabilitation and shelter are available and accessible to persons with disabilities. Once a disaster strikes, the response follows immediately.

However, to better respond to, and properly serve persons with disabilities before, during and after humanitarian emergencies, MADI works in full partnership with Organizations of Persons with disabilities.

ADVOCACY AND PARTNERSHIP WITH ORGANIZATIONS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES(OPDs):

Organizations of Persons with disabilities(OPDs) are organizations mostly led, governed and represented by persons with disabilities themselves and these organizations need active members to also support their work.

To respect the disability community's motto ('Nothing about us, without us'), MADI therefore works in full partnership and collaboration with the OPDs to undertake advocacy, guidance, training, empowerment and technical assistance and to raise awareness in the affected communities.

MADI's experienced Inclusive Humanitarian Response Team(IHRT) ensures the timely supply of basic needs like assistive devices, food, clothing, medication, education in emergency services, etc

Project 1:

Emergency Food & Nutrition Program:

MADI's food and nutrition assistance program involves the distribution of free food and grocery allowance to low income persons with disabilities and their families during emergency outbreak. The objective is to increase their ability to have a healthy and balanced diet under disaster circumstances.

Since disability is linked to food security and nutrition, it can adversely affect household food security and nutrition because persons with disabilities possess fewer economic resources and fewer work opportunities. Food access is usually very difficult for pwds during crisis, so MADI provides in-kind and in-cash assistance by providing goods(food) or services to beneficiaries through OPDs.

Project 2:

Livelihood Program for women and girls with disabilities:

It should be noted from the outset that the situation of women and girls with disabilities in low income communities is particularly vulnerable and very disturbing.

The majority of women with disabilities in poor communities live in poverty without professional training or income generating activities.

They are often economically dependent on their families or sometimes resort to begging in the streets. They face serious discrimination because of their gender and their impairment.

They do not have the privilege to work, gain employment through income generating activities, to go to school so they can learn how to read and wright or even make choices or decisions on their own.

Women and girls with disabilities often face violence, emotional and sexual abuse in their communities.

At MADI, we support projects that improve the lives and change the status of women and girls with disabilities, households and families of children with disabilities represented or headed by women. We support professional training and and small businesses of persons(women and girls) with disabilities.

MADI also supports the fulfilment of rights related to sexual and reproductive health of women and girls with disabilities by funding projects whereby women and girls with disabilities learn about their rights and access to health care services.

Project 3:

Education in Emergency Program:

MADI's Education in emergencies programs provide learning opportunities in situations of crisis to people of all ages. The programs offered include early childhood development, primary, secondary, non-formal, technical, vocational, higher and adult education. Education in emergencies provides lifesaving and life-sustaining psychosocial, physical and cognitive support to persons with disabilities affected by crisis.

Through education in emergencies programs, persons with disabilities living in crisis learn key survival techniques and skills and risk reduction strategies, including how to protect themselves from sexual abuse, infections and explosive devices, and acquire essential information about their rights, and about health care and nutrition.

Inclusive, equitable education in emergencies can enhance learning opportunities for all, improve outcomes, generate innovation, and assist governments to ' build-back better', and normalize situations.

MADI's education in emergencies program provides educational and didactic materials to children with disabilities who have stopped going to school as a result of the crisis.

Project 4:

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene(WASH) program:

During emergencies, persons with disabilities lack adequate drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). MADI assists in ensuring that persons with disabilities live in a clean environment so as to reduce diseases through sensitization and training.

Project 5:

Livelihoods and Vocational Training Programs:

Loss of livelihood has always been one of the biggest impacts that a household can experience during disaster or crisis as it affects people's ability to survive.

MADI provides livelihood services to assist persons with disabilities to meet their basic needs and achieve self-reliance by helping them to recover and acquire access to resources and assets that will enable them to safely and sustainably secure a living. Livelihoods are the means by which human beings make a living and satisfy their daily needs.

MADI provides Sustainable livelihood where persons with disabilities have the capacity to generate and maintain a living and enhance their own well-being and that of future generations. We help persons with disabilities financially to set up small businesses, and train them on income generating activities.

We provide them with cash-based transfers, that is, providing cash or vouchers to beneficiaries to enable them to purchase goods or services directly.

We also provide in-kind assistance by providing food directly to victims of disaster.

Project 6:

Clothing Program:

MADI's Clothing Program is aimed at supplying free clothing to women, children, girls, youths with disabilities who cannot afford to purchase clothing especially during emergencies. This is to enable families of persons with disabilities maintain proper hygiene and sanitation.

MADI assists in providing Short -Term and Long-Term recovery efforts to persons with disabilities in communities that have been trapped into conflict and natural disasters. We stand with the families of affected persons with disabilities as they struggle to rebuild their lives after disaster outbreak. We do this by:

SUMMARY OF MADI'S HUMANITARIAN ACTIVITIES.

working and partnering with Organizations of Persons with Disabilities(OPDs) and other Community Based Organizations ( CBOs) to identify what is needed so as to increase resilience and reduce risks. This will ensure the implementation of disability inclusive emergency response and to ensure that No one is left behind when aid is provided.
Our volunteers work collaboratively with partners who are specialists in providing education in emergency services, health care, nutrition, shelter etc for persons with disabilities during emergencies. We work with local partners to ensure that persons with disabilities are included in all the phases of disaster preparedness , response and recovery;
ensuring that persons with disabilities are located and reunited with their family members near accessible facilities;
ensuring that camps, shelters and other facilities meet Universal Standards;
ensuring the accessibility of food distribution points and the registration of persons with disabilities, types of disabilities;
ensuring that the needs and requirements of children and adults with disabilities are prioritized and addressed urgently;
ensuring the inclusion of gender-based violence protection activities for women with disabilities;
ensuring that information on aid distribution and relief activities is produced in a variety of format. For example, pictures, posters, audio, radio, plain language etc.
ensuring that community consultation is occurring at a time and place accessible to people with disabilities;
addressing the negative attitudes of program staff relating to persons with disabilities;