International Day for Disaster Reduction in the Pacific to feature importance of engaging people living with disability, especially children

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International Day for Disaster Reduction in the Pacific to feature importance of engaging People living with Disability especially children

Suva - While the focus of the International Day for Disaster Reduction in the Pacific will be on people living with disability in disasters, event organisations across the Pacific hope more attention will be given to children living with disability.

“Children are already vulnerable to climate change and climate change related disasters and the susceptibility is higher when a child is living with a disability.’’ said Ms Roshni Chand, the Programme Manager, Disaster Risk Management (DRM), Foundation of the Peoples of the South Pacific International.

The IDDR celebration will be held tomorrow at the Fiji Disabled Persons Federation (FDPF) building on Brown Street.
The IDDR will be officially commemorated on October 13 which falls on Sunday, with celebration planned for Friday in Fiji, from Monday for the Solomon Islands and weeklong celebrations in other Pacific island countries like Tuvalu, Kiribati, Tonga and Papua New Guinea.

“We are indeed grateful to the support given by PLAN International Australia through the Child Centred Cliamte Change Adaptation Project implemented by FSPI network partners, the Solomon Islands Development Trust, Tonga Community Development Trust (TCDT), PNG - Foundation for the People and Community Development (FPCD), the Fiji Islands –Partners in Community Development Fiji, Tuvalu Association of NGOs (TANGO), Foundation for the Peoples of the South Pacific – Kiribati (FSPK) for their efforts in bringing to the public the theme of this year’s IDDR, “A Not So Obvious Conversation: Living with Disability and Disaster,” that aims to highlight the marginalization of persons living with disabilities especially children in particular the way in which disasters can worsen their plight.

“We have children who suffer serious problems of mobility in their legs and hands, children who have other forms of disabilities associated with learning, hearing and sight or seeing and these need to be considered when we are observing the International Day for Disaster Reduction. “We need to be more understanding to children with disability and view their disability as being differently abled,” Ms Chand said.

The role of society and the community is essential in supporting children living with disability in disasters. “At the same time our children who live with disabilities have the ability to contribute meaningfully through sharing their lived experiences on how evacuation plans and responses can be developed that best suits their needs and that they can adapt to,” she added.

It has been estimated that almost a billion people globally are affected by some kind of disability, and are disproportionately affected by disasters because disaster prevention measures are designed and implemented in many parts of the world without including or taking into account persons with disabilities.

“Events like the IDDR raises issues like accessibility, participation, social inclusion, and contribution are barriers that people living with disabilities face every day particularly for children living with disability who are often forgotten,” she said.

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) notes that persons living with disabilities are among the most excluded in society, and their plight is magnified when a disaster strikes and often their unique contribution to helping communities prepare for and respond to disasters is also overlooked.

The greater objective of the International Day for Disaster Reduction (IDDR) is to celebrate how people and communities are reducing their risk to disasters and raising awareness about the importance of DRR with a specific focus on living with disability and disasters.

UNISDR, Pacific Disability Forum and disability organizations around the Pacific region have provided great support in organizing this event around the region.

For more information please contact:
Ms. Roshni Chand
Programme Manager, Disaster Risk Management, FSPI
roshni.chand@fspi.org

Mr Akapusi Tuifagalele
UNISDR
+679 9934306/9749963
akapusituifagalele.unisdr@gmail.com