In a significant move towards inclusive governance and human rights-based development, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), in collaboration with Unicef and UNFPA, recently held a comprehensive training at the Senegambia Beach Hotel.
Organised under the United Nations partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD), the training focused on the inclusion of persons with disabilities in national disaster risk management policies and interventions.
The training brought together key stakeholders, including government agencies, civil society organisations, the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA), Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs), and development partners, with the primary goal of integrating disability-inclusive strategies into national disaster preparedness, response, and resilience-building frameworks.
According to NHRC, despite progress in human rights advocacy, persons with disabilities in The Gambia remain disproportionately affected during disasters due to a combination of physical, environmental, social, and institutional barriers.
Delivering the opening remark, Jainaba Johm, Vice Chairperson of the NHRC, emphasised the necessity of a rights-based approach to disaster preparedness and risk reduction.
“I want to reaffirm that effective disaster preparedness and response must be inclusive, equitable, and grounded in human rights. We are at a point where the frequency and intensity of natural and human-induced disasters continue to grow. If our national mechanisms and strategies are to be truly effective, they must be inclusive of all segments of our population, especially the most vulnerable.”
Johm further highlighted the disturbing reality that persons with disabilities are often neglected not due to their impairments but because of structural barriers.
She referenced a recent flood incident in Bundu where a boy was reportedly carried away, warning that such disasters do not discriminate, but their impacts do. “The real question we must ask is where are persons with disabilities placed in our emergency response systems? Are they part of our planning? Are we thinking about their mobility, their safety, and their dignity?”
Nafisa Binte Shafique, Unicef representative in The Gambia, drew attention to the often-invisible suffering of children with disabilities, particularly girls.
“Imagine a girl with a physical or intellectual disability, experiencing a flood while menstruating. What is her situation? Who is there for her? We must make disaster preparedness not only accessible but empowering for every child,” she said. “Children and adolescents with disabilities must not only access services they should become responders and leaders. That is true empowerment.”
Shafique underscored that the ongoing development of the National Disaster Risk Management Policy offers a once-in-a-decade opportunity to integrate inclusive principles into national systems. “This is not just a document it is a blueprint for action. We all need to come together, from government institutions to civil society and the UN family, to ensure that no one is left behind. Persons with disabilities must be seen, heard, and included at every level.”
Representing the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA), Executive Director Sanna Dahaba highlighted the importance of aligning the training with Strategic Priority Area 8 of The Gambia’s National Disability Strategic Plan 2023–2033. “At NDMA, we understand that inclusive disaster risk reduction is not charity it is about human rights, dignity, and justice,” Dahaba said. “Our policies and operational frameworks must reflect the lived realities of persons with disabilities. It is not enough to talk; we must act.”
Dahaba called for all stakeholders to approach the training with a mindset geared toward institutional transformation. “Let this not be just another workshop where we discuss the same issues year after year. Let it be a catalyst for change. Let us use this space to reimagine how disaster risk planning can be done differently better and more inclusively.”
He concluded by emphasising that true national resilience can only be achieved when all citizens, regardless of ability, are included in planning, implementation, and response. “Disasters may not choose their victims, but systems do. When persons with disabilities suffer more during emergencies, it’s because our systems failed them. That is something we can and must change starting now.”
