MORE than 70 per cent of people living with disabilities surveyed in Fiji earn $200 or less a month, leaving many with limited capacity to prepare for disasters, according to new research.
The Fiji Disabled Peoples Federation (FDPF) launched its research report on Sunday, highlighting the disproportionate impact of climate change and disasters on persons living with disabilities and calling for greater inclusion in Fiji’s climate action and disaster resilience planning.
The study surveyed 115 persons living with disabilities across the Northern, Central/Eastern and Western divisions.
It found 91 per cent of respondents had experienced cyclones and 80 per cent flooding, while 90 per cent reported water shortages and 84 per cent food shortages during disasters.
About 83 per cent had never received post-disaster training and about 60 per cent said evacuation centres were not designed to meet disability-related needs.
The research also found 67.8 per cent of respondents relied on Government welfare assistance, while 73.9 per cent experienced some level of difficulty walking or climbing steps.
FDPF program co-ordinator Jay Nasilasila said disability inclusion needed to become part of climate financing, planning and implementation.
“This research gives evidence to what persons with disabilities have been saying from their lived experiences,” he said.
“Climate change does not affect everyone equally. When evacuation centres are inaccessible, when information and early warnings do not reach everyone in accessible formats, and when persons with disabilities are excluded from decision-making, our climate resilience is incomplete.”
The federation called for accessible evacuation centres, inclusive early warning systems, better disability-disaggregated data, sustainable financing and greater participation of persons living with disabilities in climate and disaster decisions.
