COVID-19

In response to the COVID-19 Pandemic and with an objective to supporting and advocating for a disability-inclusive response to the pandemic.United Disabled Persons of Kenya(UDPK) has set-up and deployed this page to share information ,updates and resources in relation to the pandemic.
DISABILITY AND COVID-19 RESOURCES
Watch a short video on the COVID-19 Pandemic and pregnancy
Watch a short video on the COVID-19 Pandemic and working from home
Watch a short video on the COVID-19 Pandemic and washing hands
Watch a short video on the COVID-19 Pandemic and Travel
Watch a short video on the COVID-19 Pandemic and Education
UNITED DISABLED PERSONS OF KENYA:
- UDPK-CRPD :Advisory on Disability inclusive Covid-19 Response
- UDPK-CDRA Memoranda to Senate on Pandemic response and management bill
- UDPK statement on police brutality toward Persons with Disabilities in covid-19 responses Response 4th April,2020
- UDPK Communication to the Staff,Partners and programs/projects shareholders 24th March,2020
- Accessibility Tips Making Your Power Point Presentation Accessible. 20th April,2020.
- Setting up and using twitter: How to set up twitter account and Some useful twitter tips 8th April,2020
- National Council for Persons with Disabilities Response Commitee on Covid-19
- Poster : for Disability Inclusive Recruitment practices
- Poster : for covid-19 and disability employment
APPEAL FOR THE PRIORITIZATION OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES IN VACCINATION AGAINST COVID-19
PROTECTING PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES DURING COVID-19. 7th April 2020 (Summary of key recommendations) PDF And WORD
This Covid-19 Advisory has been jointly prepared by the United Disabled Persons of Kenya (UDPK) and the Caucus on Disability Rights Advocacy (CDRA).
INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION
- To ensure that people with disabilities are not deprived of lifesaving information, communication strategies should include qualified sign language interpretation for televised announcements, websites that are accessible to people with different disabilities and telephone-based services that have text capabilities for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Communications should use plain language to maximize understanding.
LIVING CONDITION
- As we have rightly been informed, COVID-19 spreads rapidly and is especially dangerous to people living in close proximity to others in closed settings. Many adults and children with disabilities live in often overcrowded residential informal urban settings where they face neglect, abuse, and inadequate health care. Governments should take urgent steps to identify and attend to people with disabilities in such informal settings.
VULNERABILITY
- A lot of people with disabilities have other secondary conditions which make them more vulnerable to attack by diseases. Without swift action by the government to include persons with disabilities in their response to COVID-19, they will remain at serious risk of infection and death as the pandemic spreads. People who are older, people with chronic health conditions in addition to disabilities.
PROTECTION STRATEGIES
- Governments should also consider the specific needs of people with disabilities when developing prevention strategies. For example, additional guidelines on hand washing should be developed for people with disabilities who are not able to wash their hands frequently or on their own or lack access to sufficient water for hygiene.
SUPPORT SERVICES
- People with disabilities who live at home often rely on community-based social support to meet their basic daily needs, including for meals and hygiene. They will also need support from professionals who will understand Covid19 and how to ensure personal hygiene and protection. Protective gears and services will also be needed.
PEOPLE WITH PSYCHOSOCIAL DISABILITIES
- With policies requiring social isolating to stem the spread of coronavirus, people with psychosocial disabilities, such as anxiety or depression, may be in particular distress and may benefit from additional mental health support services. Government policies should ensure community-based services continue and crisis counseling programs are accessible to all.
HEALTH CARE
- The Government should take all appropriate measures to ensure access for persons with disabilities to health services and provide persons with disabilities with the same range, quality and standard of health care as provided to other persons, including mental health services. The Government should also continue providing to persons with disabilities the health services required by persons with disabilities specifically because of their disabilities
BASIC NEEDS
The Government should ensure that economic hardship during the crisis is addressed particularly with respect to persons with disabilities who may face the loss of means of livelihood and additional barriers to meet basic essential needs. The Government may need to consider food subsidies or other means of social protection.
EDUCATION AND WORKPLACE
Children with disabilities face barriers to accessing a quality, inclusive education. As governments close schools, many schools are implementing online instruction. The Government should ensure accessible material and lesson plans are equally available to students who do not have access to the internet and those who can only benefit from the non-standard ways of learning.
CONSULTATION WITH PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES THROUGH THEIR REPRESENTATIVE ORGANISATIONS
- The governments in its endeavor to protect PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES during the coronavirus pandemic will need to consult with DPOs regularly to make sure policies and practice in regard to the pandemic meet their needs.
REFUGEE CAMPS SITUATION
- COVID-19 could be catastrophic in settings such as refugee camps or other temporary camps, where people live in close proximity and often lack access to basic services. People with disabilities in places like these face severe obstacles to basic services. Special attention will need to be given to persons with disabilities in such settings.
- Washington group on disability statistics:Tools to assess the impact of covid-19 on persons with disabilities
- Disability Implementing Partners Tanzania:Disability Preventive measures against covid-19
- World Federation of the Deaflind, European Deafblind Union (EDbU), the African Federation of the Deafblind (AFDB), the Latin American Federation of the Deafblind (FLASC): Recommendations on inclusive policies from the global deafblind community
- Africa Federation of Deafblind:Covid-19 Containment measures not inclusive
- European Disability Forum:(EDF):Covid -19 medical guidelines should not discriminate against persons with disabilities
- International federation of Hard of hearing people:Accessibility during the coronavirus
- World federation of deaf:informational newsletter on the coronavirus
- World federation of deafblind:Letter and tips
- World blind Union:call to naction:19 actions for an inclusive covid-19 response
- CBM:Covid-19 Resource-Key advocacy messages and inclusion questions to ask
- International disability and development consortium:Repository of resources of disability inclusion and Covid-19.
- Inclusion International:Resources from members to help reach persons with intellectual disabilities
- Action on disability and development(ADD):Update from ADD International Work
- Common wealth Disabled people principles and statements to government on disabled people and impact of pandemic of covid19
- Pan African Network of Persons with Psychosocial Disabilities,Human Rights of Users and Survivors of Psychiatry (CHRUSP), World Network of Users and Survivors of Psychiatry (WNUSP) Covid -19 and persons with psychosocial disabilities 26 March 2020
- International Disability Alliance Key Recommendation toward a Disability-Inclusive Covid-19 response
UNICEF
- UNICEF: COVID-19 response: Considerations for Children and Adults with Disabilities
- UNICEF: COVID19 Portal
INTERNATIONAL LABOR ORGANIZATION:
- Covid-19 and world of work vesion one and Version two
- Disability Inclusive Social protection response
- 5 Key issues regarding persons with disabilities in covid-19 response.
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
- WHO: Disability Consideration on COVID-19 (SWAHILI)
- World Health Organization:Disability considerations during the covid-19 outbreak
- World Health Organization:Resources on covid-19 pandemic
UNITED NATIONS
- United Nations:Preventing discrimination against people with disabilities in Covid-19 Response
- United Nations:Platform on Covid-19
- United Nations World Autism Awareness Day 2nd April 2020:Focuses on the rights of autistic persons during the current pandemic
- UN : Policy Brief on Covid-19 and Mental Health
- UN: Framework for the immediate socio-economic response to covid-19
HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICES:
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities:opinion paper
- Office of the High Commissioner on the Human Rights:Everyone has the right to life-saving intervations
- CRPD Committee and Special envoy of the united Nations secretary General on disability and accessibility:Joint statement on covid-19
- Committee on the rights of a child:Covid-19 and children
MINISTRY OF HEALTH(KENYA)
- MOH:Covid-19 and Persons living with HIV:Literacy material 23rd march
- Direcorate of Occupation and health services:COVID-19-Occupational-Safety-and-Health-for-Employees-with-Disabilities-on-COVID–20_04_2020
- MOH:Paediatric Covid-19 Guidelines
- MOH:Public Mental Health:AWCovid-19
- MOH:Final Comprehensive Guide on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support For COVID-19 Pandemic
- MOH:Community Response to Covid-19
- General information on Covid-19:How it spreads/Protective Mechanisms and other Covid-19 related information
NATIONAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE COMMITEE
Updates on covid 19:
- Presidential address on covid -19 pandemic on 25th March,2020
- Presidential address on covid -19 pandemic on 16th April,2020
- NERC:Press statement on covid-19 update on 23rd March 2020
- NERC:Covid-19 Update 3rd April
- NERC:Covid-19 Update 7th April
- NERC:Covid-19 Update 8th April
- NERC:Covid-19 Update 12th April
- NERC:Covid-19 Update 13th April
- NERC:Covid-19 Update 14th April
- NERC:Covid-19 Update 18th April
- NERC:Covid-19 Update 21st April
Short Video on Covid-19 and information accessibility
We are constantly updating this page,so kindly if you have any information on how Covid-19 pandemic is affecting persons with disabilities or you want to share any good practices or lessons learnt.Or you have any resources in relation to covid-19 and disability,feel free to share with us through : udpk@udpkenya.or.ke or 0722126197
Short Video on Covid-19 and accessibility of hand washing stands
Recent tweets from our twitter page
DISCLAIMER:The above Resources,Links,Opinions,Documents and such are not all from UDPK and they are Provided for Information and Advocacy purposes only.They do not consistute endorsment by UDPK of any product,opinion and such of any organization or individual.UDPK bears no responsibility for the accuracy,legality or content of the documents