NNWN/26-03-2020

Human  rights Watch says that Covid 19 poses risks to one billion differently challenged all over the world. The HRW added that governments should make extra efforts to protect the rights of such people in responding to the pandemic.
“People with disabilities are among the world’s most marginalized and stigmatized even under normal circumstances,” said Jane Buchanan, deputy disability rights director at Human Rights Watch. “Without swift action by governments to include people with disabilities in their response to COVID-19, they will remain at serious risk of infection and death as the pandemic spreads,” stated in a press release.
Globally, more than 1 billion people – roughly 15 percent of the world’s population – live with some form of disability. People who are older, people with chronic health conditions, or people with disabilities – that, for example, affect their respiratory capacity – may be at particular risk of serious illness or death from COVID-19 infection.
For others, having a disability does not by itself put them in at higher risk of infection, but they are in danger due to discrimination and barriers to information, social services, health care, social inclusion, and education.
In a rapidly evolving pandemic, information is essential for people to make decisions about how to protect themselves and how to access necessities and services during quarantine and self-isolation. Governments at all levels should be providing accurate, accessible, and timely information about the disease, prevention methods, and services.