- Introduction
Persons with disabilities comprise 15 percent (WHO global data) of the population and are one of society’s most marginalized groups. Age and Disability Inclusion Needs Assessment (Camp level) found that disability prevalence differs by age group and location. Overall, 12% of individuals were identified as persons with disabilities which varied camp-wise, ranging from 6% to 19%. The cause of this marginalization has one common thread: barriers. Barriers to participation, opportunity and success exclude persons with disabilities across all sectors of society by limiting their ability to benefit from and participate in development on local, regional, national and global scales. Very few services within the camps are accessible to people with disabilities. The terrain of the camps makes movement between a person’s shelter to communal facilities and camp services difficult. A 2017 Age and Disability Inclusion Rapid Assessment Report found that all people with disabilities and older people who had been interviewed are reliant on family members to collect food and non-food items. None of the people interviewed who required accessible toilets had access to them.
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is a human rights treaty that contains a specific article on accessibility (Article 9), mandating State Parties to take appropriate measures to ensure accessibility in the physical environment, transportation, information, communications (including technology), and services. Accessibility is also one of the core underlying principles of the CRPD (Article 3).Bangladesh Disability Rights and Protection Act-2013 states to Set up appropriate facilities at all buildings and establishments and transports belonging to the Government, Statutory Bodies and private organizations to facilitate easy movements and communications for the people with disabilities. Bangladesh National Building Code 2020: to build a risk-free, safe environment for all.
The Aim of this technical Guidance document is to give an in-depth understanding of the minimum standards of the different accessibility measures for most used infrastructures in camps e.g. Ramps. Toilet, Stair etc. As well as this guidance document also listed a few examples from Handicap International- Humanity & Inclusion (HI) accessibility works from camp and host community. HI contextualized the different measurements as well as focused on the use of local resources considering the safety and protection of the beneficiary.