Challenges with hygiene and personal protective equipment

• Non-transparent face masks create barriers to communication particularly for some deaf persons who rely heavily on lip-reading for communication with others. Clear face masks need to be manufactured and distributed.
• Some persons with disabilities experience difficulties in undertaking daily living activities, such as eating, bathing, toileting, dressing and wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), without close and constant support. Thus social distancing is not possible. There is a need to prioritise vaccinations for persons with disabilities and their carers, and to also raise awareness among carers with regards to adhering to prevention practices.
• Some types of disabilities cause some persons to chew their face masks or to drool, thus constantly wetting their face masks with saliva. There is need for governments to provide higher quantities of free face masks to persons with disabilities and their families and to distribute washable face masks, rather than disposable ones.
• Seeking balance by touching surfaces when moving around buildings increases the exposure of some persons with disabilities including blind persons to COVID-19 infection. The washing and sanitizing of handrails and surfaces should be mandatory in public places.
• Compared to their non-disabled counterparts, persons with disabilities also have to sanitize their assistive devices, such as wheelchairs and crutches. There is a need for governments to provide sanitizers to persons with disabilities for free.
• Not all types of sanitizers are appropriate for all people, some sanitizers may cause serious skin problems for persons with albinism. The hands of persons with disabilities should not be forcibly sanitized when they enter public spaces. 1

Access to information and support

• COVID-19 information is generally provided on most media platforms, but in formats that are rarely checked for their accessibility by persons with disabilities. For example, pdf should have alt. added to ensure screen readers can read them. Sign Language during news broadcasts, especially on health messages is not made available to persons with disabilities, thus reducing the likelihood that they can independently comply. There is a need to provide COVID-19 information in appropriate formats on all relevant platforms including media platforms.
• Persons with disabilities generally face exclusion and discrimination in the community and their lack of compliance with safety protocols (because they have not been able to access and comply with information) will increase their discrimination and exclusion in most facets of life. There is a need for duty bearers to ensure that COVID-19 information is provided in formats that are accessible to persons with all kinds of disabilities.
• Some officials who enforce COVID-19 lockdown restrictions in some low-income countries lack knowledge of disability issues, hence they may either ignore, beat or chase away persons with psychosocial impairments when they find them loitering during curfew hours. There is a need to train law enforcement agents on disability inclusion.

Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) and Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH)

• Generally, persons with disabilities are found among the poorest of the poor, and most livelihood sources of persons with disabilities in low-income countries are informal activities such as vending, begging in city centers, cross-border trading, buying & selling food items, clothes, selling airtime vouchers and begging on intercity buses. Lockdown restrictions resulted in persons with disabilities being unable to engage in livelihood activities, thus bringing about reduced income and intense suffering. Decreased income increases the vulnerability of persons with disabilities and in particular women with disabilities to increased levels of SGBV, especially in situations where they economically depend on the perpetrator. There is a need for governments to scale up social protection programs that reach persons with disabilities in both rural and urban areas.
• COVID-19 lockdown restrictions make it difficult for persons with disabilities to report SGBV — police in many low-income countries may take longer to respond as they may be assigned duties that relate to ensuring public adherence to prevention protocols. Delays in court hearings may also be experienced due to COVID-19 lockdown restrictions — persons with psychosocial impairments may then find it difficult to remember and recount what happened. There is a need for governments to ensure appropriate functionality of the justice delivery system within the context of COVID-19 albeit taking preventive measures.
• COVID-19 lockdown restrictions bring about the limited access to SRH services by persons with disabilities. Supply chain disruptions and shop closures reduced access to sanitary ware, contraceptives, and SRH information in appropriate formats that include Braille for blind persons and Sign Language for deaf persons. There is a need for governments to come up with initiatives that bring SRH services closer to the doorstep of persons with disabilities. 2

Access to Humanitarian Assistance

• Humanitarian officials at food distribution points rarely consider disability inclusion hence some persons with physical or multiple disabilities are made to stand for long periods of time to access food items. There is a need to train humanitarian officers on disability inclusion.
• Exposure of persons with albinism to direct sunlight whilst they queue for long periods of time for food aid or other donations increases their vulnerability to skin cancer and eye-sight problems. Humanitarian officials should ensure that persons with albinism are not exposed to direct sunlight at food distribution points.

Access to Education

• The temporary closure of schools due to COVID-19 has resulted in the offer of radio lessons in some contexts, but some learners may find it difficult to access such lessons — for example Deaf learners or some learners with psychosocial impairments. Radiofrequency does not cover all places in all countries, and some families cannot afford online learning due to the prohibitive cost of the internet and the required equipment. Moreover, not all online learning is accessible or appropriate for persons with disabilities. There is a need to ensure that education in the COVID-19 context is accessible to persons with disabilities in appropriate formats.
• Isolation from school and lack of interaction with peers may cause mental stress and additional mental health problems for children with cognitive impairments. There is a need to come up with initiatives that enhance interaction among children with disabilities and their peers in formats that do not increase their vulnerability to COVID-19 infection.