This operational practice paper explains the challenges people with disabilities experience in humanitarian settings, including barriers to accessing humanitarian assistance, protection risks, and stigma and discrimination. It notes that the World Report on Disability estimates around 15 per cent of the world's population has some form of disability, and that prevalence is likely to increase as populations age and as conflicts and disasters cause new impairments or worsen existing ones.

The paper sets out why people with disabilities are disproportionately affected by crises, drawing on evidence such as a survey of Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon in which 22 per cent reported an impairment, and notes that accurate figures are hard to establish because of differences in how disability is defined and measured and because families may be reluctant to disclose disability for fear of stigma. It recommends how to improve disability inclusion in humanitarian response, including for people experiencing intersecting discrimination based on identity and impairment type, and provides a list of further guidance and resources.