Unmet needs and diminished opportunities: disability, displacement and humanitarian healthcare

Seven to ten percent of the world’s 43.3 million forcibly displaced persons (UNHCR, 2010) are believed to be people with disabilities1 (Women’s Refugee Commission, 2008). The actual numbers might well be higher considering that situations which trigger population displacement not only place disabled persons at greater risk, but also create conditions that make more people disabled (Rockhold & McDonald, 2009). People with disabilities have been historically neglected within humanitarian programs targeted at displaced populations, resulting in serious unmet needs and diminished opportunities for participation in various life domains (Kett & van Ommeren, 2009).

To counter this oversight, scholarly publications and practice bulletins in the humanitarian field have only just released special theme issues on disability, indicating a growing disability consciousness among academics, practioners, and advocates. Even the recently adopted United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities specifically highlights the situation of disabled persons affected by humanitarian emergencies and calls for more inclusive and responsive humanitarian interventions (United Nations Commission on Human Rights 2007).