Pacific Disability Forum Chief Executive Sainimili Tawake (second from right)

Pacific Disability Forum Chief Executive Sainimili Tawake has called for people with disabilities to be recognised as agents of resilience helping design, deliver and monitor disaster- and climate-actions rather than being treated solely as beneficiaries.

Speaking at the 2nd Pacific Disaster Risk Management Ministers Meeting in Palau, Tawake said that persons with disabilities must not be viewed only through the lens of vulnerability.

She stressed that equity and inclusion must be intentional.

She called for disability-inclusion to be fully integrated into national disaster-risk-management and climate frameworks, insisting that accessibility and universal design be embedded in early warning systems, shelters and recovery programmes.

Tawake added that data must be disaggregated by disability, gender and age in order to produce planning and resourcing that are properly informed.

Tawake further highlighted ongoing barriers faced by organisations of persons with disabilities which include weak coordination and consultation with DRM policy-stakeholders, insufficient decentralised data systems and national budget lines supporting persons with disabilities, and an absence of targeted social-protection programmes for those in vulnerable situations during preparedness, response and recovery.

She urged national agencies and disability organisations to work together in planning, implementing and monitoring to ensure sustainability and accountability.

Tawake also emphasized regional coherence, stressing that frameworks such as the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction call for integrated approaches.

The CEO also proposed the establishment of a “Pacific Resilience Leadership Academy” to cultivate the next generation of DRM leaders—including young persons with disabilities—so that the future is inclusive for all.

She said the generational opportunity offered by the 2050 Strategy must be measured by equity and inclusion concluding that a true blue Pacific is one where persons with disabilities have equal voice in governance and where national plans and legal and policy frameworks reflect values of equity and inclusion.

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