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Persons with disabilities

Forced displacement disproportionately affects persons with disabilities. They are often at higher risk of violence, and exploitation, face barriers accessing basic services, and are often excluded from education and livelihood opportunities.

At UNHCR, we work to ensure people with disabilities have access to vital services and have the opportunity to apply their skills and capacities to benefit themselves, their families and their communities.

The World Health Organization estimates that around 15 per cent of the world’s population has a disability. Several million are thought to be displaced but often remain invisible within uprooted communities.

Persons with disabilities are not a homogenous group – they have different capacities and needs, and contribute in different ways to their communities. In times of crisis, they may be at heightened risk of discrimination, exploitation and violence, and face numerous barriers to accessing humanitarian assistance.

At UNHCR, we work to ensure women, girls, men and boys with disabilities have access to vital services and have the opportunity to apply their skills and capacities to benefit themselves, their families and communities.

We work around the clock to identify the issues they face and develop long-term solutions.

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Facilitator's Guide: Strengthening the protection of persons with disabilities in forced displacement


This Facilitator’s Guide on working with persons with disabilities in forced displacement is designed to support UNHCR staff, partners and other stakeholders at the field level to improve the protection of forcibly displaced and stateless persons with disabilities. It includes session objectives, learning points, activity descriptions and tools.

Access the Facilitator's Guide

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