The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on disabled people in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A literature review

This literature review examines the severe impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic on disabled people in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), focussing on the sectors of Health, Education, Economy, and Community, as well considering the management of the pandemic generally.

The literature review examined 113 texts consisting of 67 reports from non-governmental Organisations, UN agencies, governments, and Disabled People’s Organisations, and 46 academic research papers, including 14 on the impact of previous disasters and pandemic on disabled people. Most of the literature identified focused on health and economy, while education was the least represented in the literature.

The review highlights the significant discrimination disabled people have faced across all sectors of society: being deprioritised in healthcare, further excluded from education, facing significant poverty due to unemployment and a lack of social protection, and experiencing significant abuse and violence both in the community and in institutions. For many, these exclusions have been just as life-threatening as the pandemic. The report concludes that there is significant evidence that disabled people have been excluded and deprioritised from international and national government planning.