This Advisory report on Guidelines for persons with disabilities on how to act in emergencies, aims to support persons with disabilities to prepare for, act during and recover from emergencies, as well as to guide support persons and communities in assisting with these activities. The report includes a Toolkit of practical templates to help put the guidance into action, also available separately on this page for ease of access. An Easy-to-read version of these guidelines is available below. This advisory report is complemented by the Advisory report on Guidelines for first responders on how to act in emergencies, which supports emergency services personnel to assist persons with disabilities during emergencies in a dignified and effective way.
Developed for persons with disabilities across Europe, the advisory report addresses anyone experiencing functional limitations, including those related to age, pregnancy or temporary conditions, regardless of formal diagnosis. Because persons with disabilities differ in their level of support needed, the Guidelines include a companion guide for support persons and communities. This reflects a principle recognized throughout: preparedness is a shared responsibility. While household and community preparedness can strengthen individual safety, they do not replace the responsibility of authorities, emergency services and support service providers to deliver accessible and inclusive planning, warnings and emergency communication, response actions, evacuation, shelter and recovery support.
The Guidelines in the advisory report reflect the lived experiences, requirements and support needs of persons with disabilities in emergencies. They are grounded in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and draw on consultations with the European Disability Forum (EDF), other organizations of and for persons with disabilities, civil protection authorities and emergency response professionals, as well as research and good practices from Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) Member States and Participating States.
The advisory report on the Guidelines for persons with disabilities supports the implementation of the EU Preparedness Union Strategy, in particular Action 33 under Population Preparedness, which calls for every citizen to have an active role in crisis preparedness and response. They form part of a set of three complementary documents that are intended to be read together. The European Union (EU) guidance on disability-inclusive preparedness provides the overarching framework, principles and practical direction. The two advisory reports, the one for first responders and the one for persons with disabilities, prepared by the World Bank Group serve as examples and offer detailed recommendations to support civil protection authorities, emergency services personnel, disability organizations, communities and persons with disabilities in applying the guidance in practice.
Version notice: The materials’ design is undergoing final revisions to improve accessibility. The final versions will become available on this page within November 2026.
This Advisory report on Guidelines for persons with disabilities on how to act in emergencies was prepared under Component 2 of the Technical Assistance Financing Facility for Disaster Prevention and Preparedness (TAFF), financed by the European Commission's Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO), implemented by the World Bank Group and managed by the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR).
