Stellenbosch University
Bio
Author Biography
Xanthe Hunt is a senior researcher in global health at the Institute for Life Course Health Research in the Department of Global Health at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, and a consultant on childhood disability to the World Health Organization in Geneva. She has a PhD in Psychology, and postgraduate training in epidemiology and clinical research from Harvard and Stellenbosch universities. Her areas of expertise include early childhood development, disability-inclusive development, and evidence synthesis.
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Bio
Author Biography
Lena Morgon Banks is an Assistant Professor at the International Centre for Evidence in Disability at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. She is a mixed methods researcher with ten years’ experience in disability research. Her primary focus is on disability, poverty, and social protection in low- and middle-income countries. She has worked with and disseminated research findings to various United Nations agencies; the International Labour Organization; the European Parliament; and to a range of academic organisations; (international) non-governmental organisations; organisations of persons with disabilities; and government audiences.
Volume 53
Number 2
Published: April 26, 2022
People with disabilities are at a higher risk of poor health outcomes and face barriers to accessing health services, which may be exacerbated in humanitarian settings and during the Covid-19 pandemic. This scoping review explores how best to protect the health of people with disabilities in humanitarian contexts during the Covid-19 response. Forty-eight articles across the peer-reviewed and grey literature were identified. Key challenges include a lack of accessibility of mainstream Covid-19 prevention and response measures, disruptions to routine care pathways for people with disabilities, and double discrimination based on disability and displaced status. Specific priority areas include continuity of basic and specialised services, prioritisation of women and children with disabilities, the need to adapt mainstream recommendations for the Covid-19 response to be disability- and humanitarian-setting inclusive, and strengthening data systems.
