Identifying opportunities for innovation in disability and older age inclusion in humanitarian action
This year, PIL takes its disability inclusion expertise to humanitarian crises contexts. A team made up of Lara Bezzina and Melissa Miller tag-teaming to lead the effort and field partners Benigno Balgos, Mehiret Habte, Peninnah Vulimu and Shah Jalal, are currently exploring the inclusion of persons with disabilities and older people in contexts where there are conflict-based or protracted crises, refugee and natural hazard-related crises.
In 2024 (and continuing to 2025), Elrha commissioned PIL to identify further opportunities for innovation in Disability and Older Age Inclusion within the humanitarian sector. The starting point for this work is looking at the Gap Analysis Elrha published in 2020 and identifying whether the current problems and gaps are the same or different than the previous ones. We will then explore the potential areas of innovation in solutions to disability and older age inclusion in humanitarian action.
For this assignment, the PIL team is adopting an Agile approach, allowing us to employ an iterative process throughout; and using research tools adapted from WASH methodologies, including a Problem Map to map the range of problems and a Solutions Map identifying existing and emerging solutions to these problems, as well as opportunities for innovation.
We are excited to be embarking on this new venture, not least because it allows us to engage with the lived experiences of persons with disabilities and older persons in such humanitarian contexts in Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Kenya and the Philippines. Through extensive consultations with affected populations, humanitarian coordination mechanisms and local authorities, the Country Research Leads will be discussing problems and co-creating recommendations for actionable solutions towards inclusion. The PIL team is supported in this work by a Steering Group set up by HIF and including representatives from international organisations working with persons with disabilities and older persons, OPAs, OPDs, and academia.