DSi has been working alongside other international organisations to advocate for recognition and inclusion of persons with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure their rights are protected.

DSi is a member of the International Disability Alliance (IDA) and a member of its COVID-19 task group, which is guiding its strategy in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic at a global level. On behalf of its members, on April 1st 2020, IDA sent an open letter to the Director General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

READ THE LETTER

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The response from the World Health Organisation 

The Director General of the WHO, issued the following Tweet : 

Thank you, @IDA-CRPD-Forum, for your urgent letter & strong collaboration with @WHO. #COVID19 poses a global threat & people with #disability must not be left behind in the response. All people need to be protected, regardless of whether or not they experience disability.

He continued by stating: 

@WHO joins @IDA-CRPD-Forum's call on governments to ensure that their #COVID19 response is inclusive of people with #disability, that they are not discriminated against in medical decisionmaking, and that their rights are protected.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General

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What you can do 

You can access the tweet and its thread here please share/retweet. 

Use the tweet to support your advocacy work in your country on this theme.

Let DSi know if you have been using the letter in your advocacies and if you have accomplished impact with your National Ministries of Health. DSi will collate and use these as impact examples, feeding them into global advocacy work through the IDA COVID-19 task team. You can let DSi know by email to [email protected] 

Read more about the rights of people with Down syndrome related to COVID-19:

Rights and COVID-19

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Other things we are doing to help

Read more about the other actions DSi is taking to help people with Down syndrome and their families:

What DSi is doing to help