WASHINGTON, USA – The Organization of American States (OAS) today published the compendium “Attention to Persons with Disabilities in the Americas in the Framework of the Covid-19 Pandemic.”
This compendium, prepared by the Department of Social Inclusion of the Secretariat for Access to Rights and Equity (SARE) of the OAS, consolidates the best practices and initiatives implemented in 13 countries of the Americas intended to improve care for people with disabilities during the pandemic: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and the Dominican Republic.
The compendium is available here.
The compendium is intended to promote learning and international cooperation, as well as serve as a catalogue of multiple government responses to the pandemic as guides for the prevention the spread of COVID-19 and health care for people with disabilities, their families or assistants.
This includes initiatives such as, among others:
- Mobile applications developed to report abuses in the context of the pandemic;
- Hotlines for emergencies;
- Vaccination plans;
- Social assistance programs; and
- Care protocols during health emergencies.
“We hope that this instrument will be useful for the member states of the Organization, so they can replicate initiatives that they consider successful for improving attention to people with disabilities and their families,” said the secretary-general of the OAS, Luis Almagro.
The OAS expresses its gratitude for the support of the National Agency for Disability of the Republic of Argentina (ANDIS), that made the digital version of this compendium possible.
An accessible version of this compendium will be disseminated soon.