COVID-19

All COVID-19 material on CDPF gathered here.

Motion 1 CDPF Organisational Response to COVID 19 Pandemic.

The CDPF will continue to publicise and gather information on the impact of the COVID -19 Pandemic on disabled people and their families across Commonwealth Countries.

Campaign and advocate for equality of treatment and maintaince of human rights for all disabled people during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Influence and Educate DPOs, Governments, Funders and the population as a whole on the detrimental effects that the Pandemic is having of disabled people throughout the Commonwealth

Advocate and develop inclusive and sustainable futures that prevent the re-occurrence of the impacts of this pandemic and create a more equitable, environmentally sustainable and fairer world, based on the principles of human rights and disability and gender equality.

To achieve this the CDPF will establish a Covid-19 sub-committee, an advice desk/ worker and web presence with regular exchange of information between member organisations and CDPF and encourage the organisation and delivery of:-

a. Establish a Regional and Global level coalition to intervene with the emergency disability support services based on present lesson learned at national level responses.

b. Establish a very strong national level disability support and coordination mechanism to take spontaneous actions during the emergency situation and post-pandemic.

c. Commence a Regional and Global level policy dialogue and accessible guideline formation in order to better address the disability issues under any emergency situations and contingency planning based on future scenarios.

d. Request international donors/ funders to include disability as a pre-requisite in their funding application process during this period and aftermath of Covid-19 with a possible backing of international Organisations agencies including UN, World Bank and International Monetary Fund”.

Motion 2 CDPF Perspective on COVID 19 Pandemic Present and Future.

“We are facing a global health crisis unlike any in the 75-year history of the United Nations — one that is killing people, spreading human suffering, and upending people’s lives. But this is much more than a health crisis. It is a human crisis. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is attacking societies at their core.

The crisis requires a call to action, for the immediate health response required to suppress transmission of the virus to end the pandemic; and to tackle the many social and economic dimensions of this crisis. It is, above all, a call to focus on people – women, disabled and elderly people already a risk, and youth, low-wage workers, small and medium enterprises, the informal sector that are likely to be heavily impacted..

A. Socio economic measures

A large-scale, co-ordinated and comprehensive multilateral response amounting to at least 10 per cent of global GDP is needed now more than ever. This crisis is truly global. It is in everyone’s interest to ensure that developing countries have the best chance of managing this crisis, or COVID-19 will risk becoming a long-lasting brake on economic recovery.
Resist the temptation to resort to protectionist measures. This is the moment to dismantle trade barriers, maintain open trade, and re-establish supply chains. Tariff and non-tariff measures as well as export bans, especially those imposed on medicinal and related products, would slow countries’ action to contain the virus
Take explicit measures to boost the economies of developing countries Developing countries need international support, given that their ability to fund expansionary stimulus is already limited, and has been further limited in recent days by currency instability. This will require debt relief for many countries to create the domestic fiscal space. This will also require creative thinking about how to mobilize large injections of concessional finance – not only from multilateral development banks but also from private lenders such as pension funds, who will be in a hunt for low-growth investment opportunities.
Strengthen international public finance provision International financial institutions and regional development banks can play an important role in addressing the impact of the crisis and financing the recovery. A post-crisis coordination mechanism must be created to provide the resources to all countries to have adequate fiscal space.
Waive sanctions in this time of solidarity. Sanctions imposed on countries should be waived to ensure access to food, essential supplies and access to COVID-19 tests and medical support. This is the time for solidarity not exclusion.

B. Regional mobilization

Adopt “Do No Harm” trade policies, preserve connectivity, and ensure regional monetary-fiscal coordination
Engage with private financial sector to support businesses
Address structural challenges and strengthen normative frameworks to deal with transboundary risks

C. National solidarity is crucial to leave no one behind

Undertake fiscal stimulus and support for the most at risk
Protect Human Rights and focus on inclusion:

Human Rights and inclusion

Ensure access to testing or treatment is not denied due to discrimination, whether on grounds of disability, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, race or otherwise.
Monitor incidents of discrimination and xenophobia, and swiftly respond and publicize.
Disseminate accurate and evidence-based information and conduct awareness-raising campaigns.
Clear and timely information need to reach everyone, in particular formats e.g. Easy Read, Sign Language and Braille, national, ethnic or religious minorities, indigenous peoples, or LGBTI people.
Access to additional financial aid for disabled people and their families and ensure that disabled people under care, living in public and private facilities, are protected from neglect and abuse and provided PPE.
Reduce populations in prisons, jails, and immigration detention centers through appropriate supervised or early release of low-risk category.
Introduce moratoriums on evictions and deferrals of mortgage payments.
Ensure that homeless people and those living in inadequate housing are not negatively impacted by virus containment measures.
Adopt safe aggressive back to school strategies and create and employment opportunities for youth.

Whole societies must come together. Every country must step up with public, private and civic sectors collaborating from the outset. But on their own, national-level actions will not match the global scale and complexity of the crisis. This moment demands coordinated, decisive, and innovative policy action from the world’s leading economies, and maximum financial and technical support for the poorest and most at risk people and countries, who will be the hardest hit. Given the world’s extensive economic and social interrelationships and trade— we are only as strong as the weakest health system.

And when we get past this crisis, we will face a choice – go back to the world we knew before or deal decisively with those issues that make us all unnecessarily vulnerable to this and future crises. Everything we do during and after this crisis must be with a strong focus on building more equal and inclusive societies that are more resilient in the face of pandemics, climate change, and the many other challenges we face.

We call on all Governments and The United Nations family to support all countries, to ensure first and foremost that lives are saved, livelihoods are restored, and that the global economy and the people we serve especially disabled people emerge stronger from this crisis. That is the logic of the Decade of Action to deliver the SDGs. More than ever before, we need solidarity, hope and the political will and cooperation to see this crisis through together^[1].

^[1] https://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/sg_report_socio-economic_impact_of_covid19.pdf

2022

2021

2020

Motion 1 CDPF Organisational Response to COVID 19 Pandemic.

Motion 2 CDPF Perspective on COVID 19 Pandemic Present and Future.