Creating a disability-inclusive handbook for disaster preparedness

The National Science and Technology Center for Disaster Reduction in Taiwan, with the help of various stakeholders, published a handbook on disaster preparedness for people with disabilities. More than 1,000 printed copies were distributed in 2021, and the digital version was downloaded 3,000 times in 2022.

The National Science and Technology Center for Disaster Reduction (NCDR) is an agency under the Taiwanese Ministry of Science and Technology. In 2020 the NCDR published a disaster preparedness handbook designed for people with disabilities to provide reference and guidance in case of emergency situations. The handbook was compiled with the help of various stakeholders, such as DPOs and public emergency experts. In 2021 more than 1,000 copies of the printed handbook were distributed though NGOs, and the digital version had 3,000 downloads in 2022.

Problems Targeted

Despite high disaster risks in Taiwan, government units do not have disaster preparedness guidelines for people with disabilities.

Solution, Innovation and Impact

Based on the policy recommendations of the Disaster Prevention and Protection Consultation Committee of Executive Yuan in Taiwan and supported by the CRPD National Report and the Central Disasters Prevention and Protection Council, NCDR developed a disaster preparedness handbook for people with disabilities. NCDR conducted literature reviews, interviews, workshops, and exercises such as wheelchair evacuations while developing the handbook. Once a draft was in place, NGOs and people with disabilities were invited to review. The process resulted in a handbook designed as a calendar with 31 pages. Each page has information on disaster management and includes topics such as emergency kits, disaster risk maps, evacuation, shelter, power outages, earthquake protection, etc. There are two versions of the handbook: one for people with physical disabilities and the other for deaf persons. The Center used online and offline channels to distribute the book to schools, organizations, and families while using Line, an instant communication service, to disseminate the content digitally. Between 2020 and 2022 over 3,500 families in Taiwan received physical copies of the handbook.

Funding, Outlook and Transferability

Since 2019, NCDR has received $60,000 in funding from the Ministry of Science and Technology to develop tools related to the policy. The Ministry reviews the results annually to determine the future course of the grant. Over the next three years the Center aims to develop another handbook for blind people and to distribute it to schools and libraries across Taiwan. It also plans to shift its focus to creating a train-the-trainer programme based on the books.

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