4Plus

Deliverable Π6β of 03.08.2020 Contract of ESAmeA with the union of companies "EUROPRAXIS μ.ΙΚΕ - EUROPEAN PROFILES Α.Ε." 

Every citizen has the right to education and training, employment, resources, housing, health care, social protection and cultural life. However, access to the above social and public goods and services is often restricted. People with disabilities/ the elderly are a group of people for whom unhindered and equal access to all aspects of social life has not been guaranteed. The responsibility for this exclusion is not attributed to the individual himself and his physical characteristics, but to the planning of society, which did not take into account the needs of people with disabilities / the elderly. The same arise in case of emergency disasters.

Even if natural disasters (floods, storms, earthquakes, droughts, forest fires and volcanic eruptions) or disasters from human interventions (explosions, major fires, aviation, shipping and railway accidents) happen frequently and societies have made great efforts to avoid the unpleasant consequences that arising, either through the improvement of the built environment or through preparedness exercises and information actions, there are many concerns that arise about the effectiveness protecting people with disabilities/ the elderly. That disability issues are urgently needed to be included in emergency evacuation and preparedness planning.

In the context of the Interreg programme 4Plus and the specific deliverable, it is implemented a pilot study of local preparedness and appropriate forecasts / specifications for people with disabilities/ the elderly and the elderly. This study includes on the one hand research (search for data from various sources) / field (measurements and autopsies), as well as a door-to-door identification process of vulnerable groups and areas where demographics indicate high concentrations of people with disabilities/ the elderly in Kolonjë Municipality of Albania.

The aim of this action is to assess the need for a strategy for the prevention and response to multiple risks disasters in the cross-border area, to identify the basic requirements of such a strategy, to record the needs of people with disabilities / the elderly and the shortcomings in terms of existing facilities, rescue equipment, etc., the identification of the available infrastructure and the potential needs to improve access to them and the proposal of possible design and policy solutions.

In this research, LB was responsible to help a) PB4 to evaluate any existing disaster management plans, procedures and teams (e.g conduct appropriate interviews, focus groups, etc.) and infrastructure (e.g perform accessibility autopsies) and b) PB6 to carry out door-to-door the requested identification / identification of the most vulnerable people living in Kolonje, in other words the cases of residents who need special a priori planning / preparation. LB was responsible to act as a coordinator of the above actions, to study the findings and to prepare the final report with specific suggestions / advice to the local authorities and intervention groups for the improvement and remediation of the problems and shortcomings.