Humanitarian Aid

Humanitarian aid means emergency aid measures for victims of natural disasters, armed conflicts or wars. Primarily, the remedial measures shall secure the survival of persons concerned and are on short notice. They include for example division of food, drinking water and auxiliary material or medical care.
Humanitarian aid is provided by both governmental and non-governmental organisations.

Article 11 of the UN-Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities demands to take “[…] all necessary measures to ensure the protection and safety of persons with disabilities in situations of risk, including situations of armed conflict, humanitarian emergencies and the occurrence of natural disasters.”

People with disabilities are often concerned notably by such catastrophes because due to their impairment they are reliant on outside assistance. People with walking disability are not able to just walk away, people with speech impediment are not able to call attention or deaf people do not hear alerts.
On top of that, a lot of emergency aid measures do not consider the requirements of people with disabilities; refugee camps are not barrier-free. As a result impairments can aggravate and new ones can accrue.

In many cases, the situation of people with disability in emergencies can be improved significantly by simple means.