ABSTRACT
In recent years, significant global and national policy developments have aimed at promoting the inclusion of persons with disabilities in humanitarian action during internal displacement. Few studies, however, assess the effective implementation of these policy commitments. This chapter examines how humanitarian actors in Vanuatu and Nigeria support internally displaced persons (IDPs) with disabilities. The study is based on a desk review of existing literature and qualitative interviews with key informants from both countries.
The case studies in Vanuatu and Nigeria demonstrate significant progress in disability inclusion in humanitarian programming at the national policy level. While awareness has increased among the humanitarian community, translating these commitments into inclusive practices is progressing slowly. Findings show that many humanitarian organisations have begun to remove environmental and institutional barriers within their programmes and improve the collection of disability-disaggregated data. The most significant remaining gaps are the lack of opportunities for meaningful participation for persons with disabilities and the slow progress in building the institutional capacities of self-representative organisations of persons with disabilities (OPDs). Additionally, humanitarian organisations continuously fail to tackle attitudinal barriers, such as stigma and misconceptions about disability. This underscores the need for sustained efforts to create inclusive environments and ensure that policy advancements are fully realised in practice.
