The COVID19 crisis is new. It is requiring us all to act, interact and communicate so that we get social justice and equality of opportunities. It is time that we include persons with disabilities as co-creators of COVID19 responses, as champions and users, not as victims. Without swift action by governments to include people with disabilities in their response to COVID-19, they will remain at serious risk of infection and death as the pandemic spreads.

Samarthyam team is working with proactive approach to reach out to grassroots DPOs and state governments with the help of central government and UN agencies in the country.

Your support is essential to fight together against COVID19 crisis and ensure that no one is left behind, not now, not ever!!

If you have any updates on how COVID 19 is affecting persons with disabilities in your area of work, or want to share any good practices or lessons learnt, contact us: samarthyamindia@gmail.com

Advisory for PwDs during COVID-19

Fight COVID easy to read handbook

Orders/Letters by Government of India

Central Government

• Indian Ministry Accessibility features maintaining directive to all Chief Secretaries of States and Union Territories
• Issuance of Curfew Passes to the Caregiver of Person with Disability during lockdown
• Letter from CCPD- Chief Commissioners from Persons with Disabilities
• Letter to Ministry of Home Affairs from Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of India
• Email to Chief Secretaries
• List of States officers- Grievances of Persons with Disabilities during COVID19
• Covid page Orders---Ministry of Home Affairs order- Lockdown 4 in India

Delhi Government

• Delhi State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities- Order-Movement Pass for NGOs/CSOs filed work to assist persons with disabilities
• Delhi Government- Helpline numbers
• Lt. Governor Delhi, India- IAS order
• Order by Delhi Police, New Delhi
• Order for SOPs during Lock Down, New Delhi

Kerala

• Order from Government of Kerala on Covid19 for persons with disabilities

Rajasthan

• Bikaner :Order from Bikaner, Rajasthan on Covid19 for persons with disabilities
• Udaipur: Order from District Collector, Udaipur, Rajasthan on Covid19 for persons with disabilities

Telangana

• Order from Government of Telangana on Covid19 for persons with disabilities

Uttar Pradesh

• UP State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities- Care Giver Curfew Pass order

News on People with Disabilities

• Boy with intellectual disability reunites with family in Delhi
• Centre to states: Ensure access to caregivers and provide medical aid at doorstep of disabled persons
• COVID-19: Govt issues comprehensive disability guidelines
• Helplines for people with disabilities abuzz with calls for food supplies, e-passes for caregivers, medicines
• How Covid-19 lockdown has hit disabled people hard
• Lockdown Leaves Persons With Disabilities Stranded Without Caregivers
• Lockdown-Woes-Senior-Citizens-Persons-Disabilities
• Missing 21-Year-Old With Mental Disability Reunited With Family Amidst Lockdown
• People with disabilities have special issues during virus outbreak, says Indian Indian Institute of Public Health Chief G.V.S. Murthy
• To mask or not to mask? — Dr Amar-Singh HSS
• Toll free number proves a boon for the disabled
• 'COVID-19 has made our approach to issues of PwD more hands-on’ Assam Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities talks about the challenges during and after the lockdown
• Samarthyam supported law student with disability to reach home during Covid lockdown
• Coronavirus Mandatory @SetuAarogya App not accessible to persons with disabilities
• Aarogya Setu remains inaccessible for disabled despite push from activists
• News on both websites---Pandemic and a lockdown: Persons with disabilities grapple with more challenges
• COVID-19 poses more challenges for PwDs
• Arogya Setu app is not useful for people with vision impairment, no download on ordinary phone

Useful Resources

• Commonwealth- Principles and Statement to Governments on Disabled People and the impact of Pandemic of COVID-19 Coronavirus
• ESCAP-SDD_policy_brief_COVID19
• IDA recommendations for disability-inclusive COVID19
• ILO- Five Key Points on COVID crisis
• Persons with disabilities during the current pandemic: suggestions for advocates and for transport personnel
• Preventing Discrimination in the Treatment of COVID-19 Patients: The Illegality of Medical Rationing on the Basis of Disability
• Wheelchair and Assistive Technology Users - Learn more about precautions for COVID-19
• WHO-Disability considerations during the COVID-19 outbreak
• Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Disability and Accessibility
• United Nations Policy Brief: A Disability-Inclusive Response to COVID-19
• COVID-19 and Persons with Disabilities
• Covid-19 and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Guidance
• No exceptions with COVID-19: “Everyone has the right to life-saving interventions” – UN experts say
• UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, COVID-19: Who is protecting people with disabilities?
• Leaving no-one behind: Considerations for children and adults with disabilities---Infographic from UNICEF
• UNESCAP Webinar on protecting and empowering persons with disabilities Covid-19 pandemic

Standing Operative Procedures (SOPs) to be adopted by States

Concrete suggestions and action plans to mitigate the COVID 19 outbreak in India

1. Persons with disabilities must receive information about infection mitigating tips, public restriction plans, and the services offered, in a diversity of accessible formats with use of accessible technologies
2. Additional protective measures must be taken for people with certain types of impairment
3. Rapid awareness raising and training of personnel involved in the response are essential
4. All preparedness and response plans must be inclusive of and accessible to women with disabilities
5. No disability-based institutionalization and abandonment is acceptable
6. During quarantine, support services, personal assistance, physical and communication accessibility must be ensured 
7. Measures of public restrictions must consider persons with disabilities on an equal basis with others 
8. Persons with disabilities in need of health services due to COVID19 cannot be de-prioritized on the ground of their disability 
9. OPDs can and should play a key role in raising awareness of peole with disabilities and their families. 
10. OPDs can and should play a key role in advocating for disability-inclusive response to the COVID19 crisis. 
11. Urge all District Magistrates/ Collectors to ensure that people with disabilities have access to essential support services (even for their daily living activities like caregiver support), supplies and medical aid at their doorstep.
12. Ensure availability of hand sanitizers to people with disabilities as many of them have mobility problems as a result they could not wash hands frequently.

Active Advocacy by Samarthyam

Samarthyam’s active advocacy with Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Government of India and State Governments to create official twitter handles for State Social Welfare Departments (nodal department of empowerment of persons with disabilities & senior citizens) for outreach during COVID19 and post pandemic measures

Official Twitter Accounts of State Secretaries/ State Commissioners for Persons with Disabilities, India

• Assam, State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities - @assamdisabilit1
• Meghalaya, State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities - @ScpwdM
• Nagaland, State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities- @scpdnagaland
• Telangana, Dept. for Welfare of Disabled & Senior Citizens - @wdscts
• Uttar Pradesh, State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities - @SKSriva74786646