The impacts of COVID-19 on Persons with Disabilities in Ukraine (with a particular focus on internally displaced Persons with Disabilities)

Project Description

The proposed research will provide an in-depth qualitative assessment of the multifaceted impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on internally displaced PDWs in Ukraine by working with key stakeholders at the national and regional levels (including government agencies, international, national and regional NGOs led by and/or working with people with disabilities) and by setting up a system of written diaries or video-testimonies self-recorded by people with disabilities affected by internal displacement in Ukraine – a displacement further compounded by the impact of COVID-19. The project will assemble a mosaic of views and opinions of PWDs affected by displacement and those assisting them ‘on the ground’ to identify existing gaps in the provision of support services within the context of the pandemic, paying attention to its gender dimension. In doing so, the project will provide opportunities for groups to be heard who are often excluded from public debates about wellbeing, displacement and humanitarian/development assistance (particularly those who are the targets of these policies).