The landmark partnerships—with Fiji Disabled Peoples Federation (FDPF) and Disabled Peoples’ Association of Solomon Islands (DPASI)—aim to deepen our commitment to inclusion for all people with disabilities in these countries.
With an estimated 15% of the world’s population—more than 1 billion people—living with disabilities, there’s a huge need for improved accessibility and inclusion. Around 80 per cent of people with disabilities live in the global south and, despite being among the most vulnerable, people in this community are often disadvantaged and excluded during disasters.
Strengthening our commitment to disability inclusion
RedR Australia’s Director of Strategy and Partnerships, Jenny Lee, says the new partnerships are significant for RedR Australia. Both of the new partnerships were ratified through the signing of new memorandum of understandings (MOUs).
“These are significant partnerships. They are the first MOUs we have signed with organisations of people with disabilities (OPDs) in the Pacific and they represent agreements of mutual respect and understanding,” said Jenny.
These new partnerships enable the organisations to work together on equal footing.
“They are designed to strengthen the OPDs through technical support on disaster risk reduction activities and humanitarian response and are working to ensure people with disabilities are not left behind during disaster events,” said Jenny. “We are also exploring opportunities to provide training for these organisations and their members.”
“It’s all about supporting first responders at the grassroots level.”
Two landmark agreements
Fiji Disabled Peoples Federation (FDPF) and Disabled Peoples’ Association of Solomon Islands (DPASI) are both national umbrella bodies for people with disabilities. They advocate for the full recognition and expression of the rights and responsibilities of people with disabilities in Fiji and Solomon Islands.
FDPF has member organisations which advocate for the wellbeing of people with spinal injuries, hearing impairment, eyesight impairment and psychological trauma, while DPASI has member organisations which oversee the rights of people with hearing impairment, eyesight impairment, psychological trauma and women with disabilities. DPASI also provides support and advocacy for young people with disabilities, para-athletes, interpreters and people providing legal aid to people with disabilities.
Both organisations are founding members of RedR partner, the Pacific Disability Forum.
Creating a more inclusive future
RedR Australia is committed to helping people with disabilities to live full lives and ensuring they are always included in disaster preparedness, response and recovery.
We understand the urgent need to improve disability inclusion in humanitarian settings and we play a unique role by deploying humanitarian specialists who can support national and local actors to make their humanitarian efforts more disability inclusive. We also offer training for people working across the sector, to better incorporate inclusion in their work. We also encourage people with disabilities to apply for our roster and provide mentoring and reasonable accommodation support to enable disability inclusion.
By partnering with strong organisations like FDPF and DPASI, we’re making practical steps towards ensuring no one is left behind during humanitarian crises.
