“Vulnerable” or Systematically Excluded? The Impact of Covid-19 on Disabled People in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected disabled people across the globe. This review article maps the impact of the pandemic on disabled people in low- and middle-income countries (LMICS) during the first ten months of the pandemic, based on a semi-systematic review of 113 articles of empirical and “grey” literature. We highlight the multiple exclusions faced by disabled people across the sectors of health, education, economy, community, and pandemic management. Following this, we discuss the broader issues arising from the literature, including the systematic de-prioritisation of disabled people in emergency planning, the ongoing framing of disability as a medical rather than a social or human rights issue, a recognition of how the complexity of societal structures creates systematic disadvantage, and local, national, and global policymakers’ lack of engagement with disabled people during pandemic management. We identify the need for both stronger quantitative evidence on disability in LMICs to inform planning and policy processes, and the need for equitable collaboration with disabled people from LMICs across research, policy, and development programming, in the spirit of “Nothing About Us Without Us.”

Describing adolescents with disabilities’ experiences of COVID-19 and other humanitarian emergencies in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review

“…Initially, reviewers extracted data from the same five publications to check for consistency and develop thematic categories to chart the findings. We reported findings within themes of: health and wellbeing (including mental health, rehabilitation, and violence and abuse); education; livelihoods and social protection; community (how emergencies affect the ability of disabled children to participate in their community, including social care, support networks, transport and infrastructure, social life, and stigma), and inclusion in emergency responses (access to services, information, needs assessments and data disaggregation, disaster planning) [ 18 ]. Uncertainties were discussed in weekly meetings.…”

Disability and Social Inclusion: Lessons From the Pandemic

“…As disability studies academics, we recognise the continued issue of the dominance of westernised perspectives in researching disability. Kubenz and Kiwan (2023) contribute a useful counterperspective with their systematic literature review of the impact of the pandemic on disabled people living in lowand middle-income countries.…”

Spaces of Exclusion and Neglect: The Impact of COVID-19 on People With Disabilities in Bangladesh, Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, and Uganda

“…The COVID-19 crisis was shown to exacerbate existing challenges experienced by people with disabilities, as well as creating some new ones (Cahapay, 2021; Goyal et al, 2020; Huong, 2020). The extensive literature review by Kubenz and Kiwan (2021) documented the impact of the pandemic on people with disabilities in low- and middle-income countries. It shows that in COVID-19 times, people with disabilities faced increased discrimination across many sectors of society, including health, education, and work.…”

“…It shows that in COVID-19 times, people with disabilities faced increased discrimination across many sectors of society, including health, education, and work. The risk of violence and poverty also increased for this group (Kubenz & Kiwan, 2021).…”