More than 25% of persons living with disabilities did not receive humanitarian aid assistance.

This was revealed during the Pacific Disabled Forum in Suva.

PDF Programme manager, Katabwena Tawaka, says the forum is based on the findings from field assessment from TC Winston.

“This is done together by the Pacific Disability Forum together with the Fijian Counterpart, the Fiji Disabled Persons Federation to try to get an assessment to set a landscape of the challenges faced by persons with disabilities. We went through a lot of discussions during cluster meetings and there was a great need for the inclusion of persons with disabilities.”

Tawaka says the forum is to strengthen disability inclusive disaster risk reduction practices in Fiji through a proactive review on response and rehabilitation by the Fiji Government and relief agencies after the devastation of TC Winston.

PDF carried out simultaneously surveys in 187 villages.