Ms Catherine Naughton:

It is easier to illustrate disaster risk reduction with a story. One of my colleagues working on inclusive disaster risk reduction in Thailand spoke about doing evacuation practices with the army and emergency services and including organisations for persons with disabilities. What she said, which will not surprise anyone, is that people with disabilities from among the population were the ones who helped to find the answers. Wheelchair users know how they can get out of a building with a bit of help or support. The police or army does not have to invent it. They work with people and ask how they usually manage, what should be put in place to make sure it is safe and how to reach the person. Organisations for persons with disabilities know where their members are. They know where they are living. They have their phone numbers. Doing this together meant that the solutions were found much faster and targeted towards the people living there. They knew the risks they faced and the biggest problems for them when there was a flood or typhoon. People with disabilities should be involved in practices and simulations to help find solutions and be part of it. This will also contribute to what was mentioned earlier by Senator McGreehan about the ablest attitude. It will overcome this. People with disabilities are used to being creative in how they need to get around within their communities because of all the barriers that are there.

Active contributors were mentioned. In the first week after the invasion of Ukraine, we put on our website links to our members who are working on it so people could support their work directly. Organisations for people with disabilities are providing cash assistance to people with disabilities in Ukraine. They are helping people to find accessible shelter as they travel across Ukraine and to find accessible transport. It is the humanitarian responders and UN that should be going into dangerous places and making sure people have food, water and medical assistance. In fact, the disability community has been doing this proactively. I was discussing this with our Hungarian member, who explained they do not have much accessible transport themselves but they had lent their buses to evacuate people from Ukraine to get through Hungary to get to another safe place. They did this with an open heart but in the meantime they have no transport. They knew the transport was needed to get people with disabilities out of Ukraine. We see many examples. I am not sure whether I have included for the committee links on our website to the work of our organisations but if not I will send them. We have weekly meetings co-ordinating our work and helping people find solutions and link up together. We also link up with humanitarian organisations so they are in a better position to do their job. They are the ones who usually have the means and resources to be there in conflict and difficult settings.