Global Survey Report on Persons with Disabilities and Disasters 2023

October 17, 2023

Global Survey Report on Persons with Disabilities and Disasters 2023 was recently released by UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.
The survey captured over 6,000 responses from 132 countries to evaluate progress on government policies that should be offering protection.
An initial survey focused on disability was conducted in 2013.

MAJOR FINDINGS

Persons with disabilities make up 16% of the world’s population and suffer an overall death rate due to disasters that is two to four times higher than the general population.

Persons with disabilities face a “shocking lack of support” with no progress in the last decade, despite a huge increase in climate disasters worldwide.
Specifically, 84% of respondents in 2023 reported not having a personal preparedness plan in case of a disaster, such as knowing evacuation routes, available shelters and stocking up on emergency supplies.
Even with sufficient advance warning, 17% PwDs face a lot of difficulties in evacuating.
86% PwDs reported no participation in community level DRR decision-making and planning.