Impact of COVID-19 on the Lives of People with Disabilities: Insights and Stories from Bangladesh and Kenya

Leonard Cheshire's i2i programme supported disabled person's organisations (DPO) to complete a survey of 312 people with disabilities in Bangladesh and Kenya to understand the impact of coronavirus and measures to prevent its spread. 

The survey – a descriptive survey with a representative sample of people with physical, intellectual and multiple disabilities, visual and hearing impairments and mental health issues has been part of wider efforts by DPOs in the two countries to test and embed data driven advocacy processes towards realising CRPD, an initiative promoted by i2i.

The report captures the lived experiences of how the pandemic has changed lives, in terms of social protection, employment, economic impact, government support and in other ways. These are issues important to real people. And while the responses provide information for policy debates, higher-level narratives and datasets, the survey was designed to empower people with disabilities to engage with political processes that might otherwise seem very distant from their everyday lives.