Participants from around the world joined an online panel debate on 28 November 2022 about cerebral palsy in emergency situations.
People with cerebral palsy are caught up in man-made catastrophes and natural disasters — and are more vulnerable than most to the consequences. Members of ICPS shared their first-hand experiences of dealing with recent conflicts and catastrophes. The aim was to draw common conclusions as a basis to formulate recommendations about how to prepare better for such emergency situations in future.
The panel was opened by Ana Paula Carvalho, a Brazilian physiotherapist working for ICPS member Associação do Porto da Paralisia Cerebral (Portugal), who presented a review of the literature currently available from international humanitarian organisations on how to deal with disability in crisis situations. This was followed by three powerful testimonies from Abyr Massaad from Sesobel (Lebanon), Chitra Bahadur Pun who worked with the Self-Help Group for Cerebral Palsy (Nepal) and Ruslan Vasyutin from DCPHelp (Ukraine).