DRAC C0VID-19 Situation report 001

March 27, 2020

Highlights
 The new coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is a public health crisis, but it is equally a
social and economic crisis that poses a challenge of historic proportions to humankind.
 Nigeria confirmed its first case of COVID-19 on 27 February 2020.
 Persons with disabilities are disproportionately affected by all disasters and crisis
situations. They are usually forgotten and not prioritized in emergency responses.
 Containment measures, such as social distancing and self-isolation, may be impossible for
persons with disabilities because most of them rely on the support of others to eat, dress and
bathe, thereby making them even more vulnerable to contracting the virus.
 Many persons with disabilities depend on services that have been suspended. Also, stocking
up supplies of groceries and food stuff can be difficult due to poverty as many persons
with disabilities do not have any means of livelihood and some may rely on begging to
survive.

DRAC Priorities
 DRAC is first and foremost committed to the safety and security of its employees and has
reviewed policies to ensure staff wellness and safety in interacting with beneficiaries /
responding to needs of persons with disabilities during the period.
 DRAC is also very invested in ensuring that her workforce remain productive and
developed working from home guidelines
 Develop COVID-19 information materials that are disability inclusive to aid persons with
disabilities understand and adopt preventive measures.
 Sensitization of disability communities on COVID-19 preventive measures.
 Advocate for inclusion of persons with disabilities in all the emergency response plans
and actions by government.

 Provide guidance and support to government on how to target persons with disabilities in
their emergency response plans.
 Advocate for disaggregation of data by gender and disability to identify number of
persons with disabilities receiving government assistance.
Immediate Actions Steps:
 DRAC has set up an in-house COVID-19 Emergency Response Committee saddled with
the responsibility of monitoring and documenting the challenges and impact of COVID-
19 on persons with disabilities and the areas they need assistance to stay at home and stay
safe. These processes are carefully done in order to provide better recommendations for
improving the lives and wellbeing of persons with disabilities.
  DRAC updated our project risk registers to enable us identify potential risks and how to
navigate them
 DRAC conducted an informal assessment to understand challenges of persons with disabilities
in coping with federal government stay-at-home directives to curb COVID-19 pandemic. The
assessment revealed:
- Lack of access to government social protection programs and financial aid as their
major concern.
- Low awareness on COVID-19 symptoms and prevention methods
- Families of persons with disabilities fear falling into greater vulnerability or poverty
- persons with disabilities are not accessing the right information and find it
difficult to take appropriate measures in staying safe as most of them already live
in environmental conditions that predisposes them to the virus.
- Health and economic crisis they might face is more devastating than the virus
itself.

DRAC C0VID-19 Situation report 002

April 10, 2020

DRAC Response:
 DRAC is working to assist / respond to the needs of persons with disabilities especially those
at the grassroot level to enable them practice preventative measures, helping to reassure and
stabilize the panic within the communities, closely monitoring the impact of the pandemic,
and preparing to adapt to changes in circumstances as the need arises.
 To ensure that the COVID-19 response is disability inclusive, DRAC developed a video clip
highlighting practical steps government and service providers can take to ensure that
essential information and communication is targeted at persons with disabilities during this
pandemic. Most importantly, taking into consideration the peculiar needs of different
disability cluster.
 DRAC kick started weekly tweet chat to discuss and harvest responses from experts within
various fields of expertise the pandemic preparedness plan, challenges, lessons learnt and
impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable groups especially persons with disabilities.
 DRAC initiated a cash-based assistance of N10,000 naira to indigent persons with disabilities
and plans to procure 2-weeks food stuff for indigent persons with disabilities within the FCT
and Mararaba. this is made possible by donations from well-meaning individuals

Major Concerns / Challenges

 The gross lack of disability-disaggregated data for policy planning and decision-making is a
critical gap emerging during this crisis and requiring concerted efforts to address it.
 Persons with disabilities who are at the grassroot level / hard-to-reach communities might be
left behind in all the government emergency response preparedness plan.
 The lack of effective monitoring systems to track the disbursement of welfare packages
presents a plethora of uncertainties and possible challenges which could inhibit the entire
 process as there is no evidence that these palliatives are reaching those whom they are meant for
as there is no tracking system in place.
 There might be a spike in SGBV cases and a breakdown in the systems for protecting women
and girls especially those with disabilities. Also, apart from the anticipated COVID-19
related loss of lives, we will also experience loss of rights, opportunities and dignity.
DRAC C0VID-19 Situation report 003
April 24, 2020

DRAC Responses:
 DRAC initiated a mobile food drive to address the immediate challenge of food insecurity
faced by indigent persons with disabilities.
 DRAC is closely working with donors like CBM to provide needed assistance and
information to aid persons with disabilities have required support to stay safe while staying at
home.
 Due to the pandemic, schools have been forced to closed down including special schools.
DRAC recognizes how overwhelming this period can be to parents / guardians / caregivers of
children with disabilities and has taken adequate measures in providing information on how
to protect their children with disabilities from being exposed to the virus.
 DRAC also participated in online meetings by different Organizations and emergency
response actors where modalities for responding to the pandemic are discussed.
DRAC Continuity Strategies:
 DRAC has taken measures to ensure proper protocols are followed with work continuity
plans. After initiating a work from home order, DRAC developed a set of work-from-home
guidelines to monitor deliverables of its employees while identifying new ways to continue
engage with project beneficiaries and providing feedback to funders.
 Online meetings to re-strategize and develop innovate ideas for responding to arising needs
of this pandemic. Most importantly, to develop After Action Plans (AAP) for post-COVID
project implementation to meet up with lost timelines.
 DRAC is in constant engagement with actors working in the emergency response to identify
areas of collaboration and partnership.
 To maintain constant engagement with project beneficiaries, DRAC is exploring/testing
technological tools that can be used for virtual meetings and check on how the beneficiaries
are faring in this period.
 DRAC continues to use its online platform to educate persons with disabilities on what they
can do to stay safe, sensitizing the general public on needs of PWDs in the trying times and
mobilizing them to provide support for assisting the most vulnerable ones to practice
preventive measures.
Service Provision
 Since the outbreak began, DRAC has mobilized N1,063,000. This has been used to support
46 indigent persons with disabilities through cash transfers across the states and provision of
Miyausa Bag to 113 households of indigent persons with disabilities within the FCT. Each
Myausa bag contained food stuff that would last for at least 2 weeks and hygiene kits to
assist them in staying safe. The methodologies used for distribution of the Miyausa bags
included staging in the community and house-to-house delivery.