The interventions of the programs of Action Aid Palestine (AAP) which responded to the spread of COVID-19 in occupied Palestinian Territory (oPt) supported a number of initiatives seeking to empower young Persons with Disabilities (PwDs), provide them with assistive devices, build their capacities and integrate them in the society.
Those initiatives included targeting marginalized young women with disabilities living in southern area of Hebron to strengthen their economic empowerment, raise their awareness about their rights, issues of disability and means of adaptation. They were also trained on development of income-generating projects. Youth initiatives targeting young PwDs were also supported by building capacities of youth groups to lead and design lobbying and advocacy campaigns and hold accountability sessions to ensure that PwDs enjoy their rights and have access to services and information. Al-Dahria youth group was one of those youth groups that led an advocacy campaign in cooperation with the community organizations to claim the rights of PwDs, highlight the impacts of COVID-19 and demand an inclusive COVID-19 response for them. Some of those initiatives seek to support some of community organizations of PwDs as supporting the rehabilitation of candles workshop of Al-Raja’a center for special education in partnership with Palestinian Red Crescent based in Hebron.
The International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) is annually observed on 3 December to promote the full and equal participation of persons with disabilities and to take action for the inclusion of persons with disabilities in all aspects of society and development .The theme this year is “Building Back Better: toward a disability-inclusive, accessible and sustainable post COVID-19 World”. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, there were some 93,000 people with disabilities in the occupied Palestinian territory in 2019, and the unemployment rate for individuals with disabilities stood at 37% in 2017.
