Closing the Loop: Sharing Research Findings with Affected Communities for Disability and Older Age Inclusive Humanitarian Action
The recent publication and dissemination of the report Gap analysis: Identifying Opportunities for Innovation in Disability and Older Age Inclusion, brought to an end a 14-month research study commissioned by Elrha. PIL Associates, Lara Bezzina and Melissa Miller worked with Country Research Leads Benigno Balgos, Mehiret Habte, Peninnah Vulimu and Shah Jalal to explore the inclusion of persons with disabilities and older people across humanitarian contexts in Kenya, Ethiopia, Bangladesh and the Philippines. During the research, the PIL team consulted extensively with people with disabilities and older people, organisations of persons with disabilities (OPDs), older person’s associations (OPAs), local government, civil society organisations and local and global humanitarian organisations to gain a better understanding of the barriers to an inclusive humanitarian response. The report centres on the experience of the affected people the team spoke to and identifies the significant barriers that they continue to face in humanitarian crises which prevent access to essential services, decision-making, and tailored support.
In addition to identifying key challenges, the report highlights opportunities for innovation to drive meaningful change alongside practical examples of emerging solutions that have the potential to be scaled and replicated elsewhere. Actionable strategies featured in the report include:
- Enhancing accessibility to vital services such as education, healthcare and livelihoods through incorporating the provision of tailored support such as mobile aid delivery and cash-based assistance.
- Collecting and using disability disaggregated data to inform the humanitarian response.
- Improving accountability and funding structures to prioritise the inclusion of people with disabilities and older people.
- Adopting meaningful engagement practices that recognise the crucial value of local knowledge and experience.
- Facilitating timely access to assistive technology by building local capacity for assessment and device maintenance, while leveraging mobile technology to quickly gather data on AT needs.
Elrha and the PIL team hosted a session at UN OCHA’s Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Week in March to share the findings of the report and engage in discussion with humanitarian practitioners, OPDs, OPAs, and policymakers to discuss the systemic barriers that continue to prevent meaningful inclusion and the potential innovations that are needed for a more inclusive humanitarian response.
Given the sense of abandonment expressed by older people and people with disabilities during the consultations, it was extremely important to the PIL team that we took the findings from the report back to the communities that had entrusted us with their stories. Between January and February 2025, the Country Research Leads (CRLs) revisited the affected participants to disseminate the findings amongst those who had contributed to the research. Participants expressed deep appreciation for the commitment to follow up and share the findings, emphasising that this was one of the first times they had been invited to hear the results of research they had contributed to.
Full report and executive summary are available here.
Elrha's webinar is available here.