Are the rights of people with disabilities included in international guidance on WASH during COVID?

Everyone has the right to WASH services and facilities, but people with disabilities often face difficulties with access. These challenges include barriers in the physical environment (such as inaccessible facilities), social (not having a voice in decision-making) and institutional (government-led COVID plans fail to make efforts to reach them). Good water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and social distancing practices are critical to reduce the transmission of COVID-19.

This study completed by Water for Women partners WaterAid and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, aimed to assess how global guidance documents on WASH during the COVID-19 pandemic included information on the rights of people with disabilities to WASH services and facilities.

The study has two objectives:
1. To examine the extent to which guidance documents on WASH during the COVID-19 pandemic incorporate the rights of people with disabilities
2. To identify the rights of people with disabilities that are most commonly valued and neglected in guidance documents on WASH during the COVID-19 pandemic

Download the briefing note now to learn more.  

Huggett, C., Scherer, N. Pheng, P., Rahman, M. and Wilbur, J. (2021)

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