When compared to common people, Persons With Disabilities (PWD) face higher risks in emergency situations and are disproportionately affected by natural disasters. Mortality rate of the disabled population is also much higher than that of the non-disabled population in many disaster situations.
Fifteen-year-old Saim Rahman was born with physical disabilities, including hearing problem. He is used to live with his parents in city’s Mirpur-2 area. Once on a dreadful night, a fire broke out at his house as his parents were asleep. He became terrorized by sensing possible disaster and perplexed to understand what to do in such situation.
As tender Saim is sensing impending dire consequence to fall on them, suddenly the boy found his mother Salma awake and she had hurriedly been able to douse the blaze with the help of her husband. Not only Saim, many persons with disabilities and also their family members are unaware of how to get over the disasters and climate change as well.
Persons with disabilities are a unique resource of experience, which is often overlooked, that is needed to help reduce the risk of disasters and build resilient societies.
According to the National Taskforce on Disabilities-friendly Disaster Management Affairs, in May, 2018, a total 15,93,070 people with disabilities have been registered in Bangladesh. Of them, 4,33,000 are from 19 storm-prone districts across the country.
Experts focused on the need for inclusion of disabled people in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. Apart from the government efforts, family members of disabled people should be prepared on how they can ensure assistances to their disabled family members during any disaster.
They also urged all private entrepreneurs to make their own DRR plan with inclusion of disabled people for their respective business entities.
Executive Director of Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies Dr Atiq Rahman said the persons with disabilities (PWD) should be included in policymaking process of disaster preparedness.
There are numerous examples that show that if they get the proper opportunities they can contribute to society like other persons, he said.
