Disability is a risk factor for malnutrition, but childhood malnutrition can also lead to disability. Children with disabilities are often at a greater risk of malnutrition, and in emergencies face significant barriers to accessing life-saving relief when they need it most. Additionally, childhood malnutrition can also lead to disabilities later in life. For instance, disabilities that appear in adulthood may be the result of being malnourished as a child. More needs to be done to prevent and treat malnutrition among persons with disabilities during emergencies.
The Disability Inclusion Working Group
The Disability Inclusion Working Group provides technical support, knowledge, and resources to nutrition practitioners in order to more adequately and appropriately address nutrition needs among children and adults with disabilities in emergencies and create more inclusive nutrition programmes.
Established in 2023, the Disability Inclusion Working Group aims to create a safe space for dialogue between professionals from different fields – including Nutrition in Emergencies (NiE), Disability Inclusion, Development, and more – to ensure frontline practitioners are equipped to improve nutrition outcomes for infants and children with disabilities and feeding difficulties. Partners active in the working group include Action Against Hunger, Emergency Nutrition Network, Save the Children International, UNICEF, and IFE Core Group. New members are welcome to join at any time.
Key Activities
- Provide technical support and advice to nutrition practitioners upon request
- Develop a FAQ guide for practitioners (available under Useful Links below)
- Curate resources on disability and nutrition in humanitarian action for practitioners
- Review Humanitarian Needs Overviews (HNOs) and Humanitarian Response Plans (HRPs) for disability inclusion and develop guidance and resources for practitioners to help create more inclusive plans
- Disseminate the newly created tool for field practitioners to better manage infant under 5 with disabilities who also suffer from acute malnutrition with no medical complications
Useful Links
- eLearning module on GNC Learn: Connecting Disability and Nutrition Practices in Humanitarian Contexts
- Nutrition: Including Children With Disabilities in Humanitarian Action
- Humanitarian Inclusion Standards For Older People and People With Disabilities
- IASC Guidelines on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action
- GNC: Nutrition & Disability FAQ
- Disability Humanitarian Inclusion Toolkit: Cluster Coordination Essential Actions on Disability Inclusion
- Disability Humanitarian Inclusion Toolkit: Essential Actions on Disability-inclusive Nutrition
- Article: 'Disability-Inclusive Nutrition Programming Saves Lives!' by Save the Children
- GNC ToR: Disability Inclusion
