CARIMAC Times 2016: The JREAM Edition Journalists Reviving Awareness of what Matters | Page 163

Climate change and the disabled
As Gloria Goffe, executive director of Combined
Disabilities Association (CDA), a non-governmental
organisation that advocates for people with
various disabilities, put forward, people with
disabilities are even more vulnerable to the
impacts of climate change.
Goffe, who is visually impaired, explained that
as climate change affects productivity in the
agricultural sector, food security is compromised.
“When there is a drought, food becomes scarce
and prices go higher. Less than 25 per cent of
people with disabilities in Jamaica are employed.
It would be difficult for them to purchase food.”
She noted that in the event of sporadic and
heavy rainfall, there is a likelihood of soil
erosion, which negatively affects a subset of
farmers who have disabilities, on a greater scale.
Much like farmers such as Douglas, who have
struggled with an inadequate supply of water,
Goffe emphasised that people with disabilities
are even more at risk of not having access to
the commodity. This is especially true for those
living in rural Jamaica.
She shared an excerpt of one experience she
has had.
“I live in Hamilton Gardens in Portmore, and I
remember, think it was after [Hurricane] Ivan,
we didn’t have water for days. [We had] one tank
and the tank was dry. If I didn’t have two sons
to push against this person and that person,
I wouldn’t have water still. First, I couldn’t
manage to lift up the big bucket and secondly,

by the time I am finished walking with the
water, it would have splashed out.”
She considers herself fortunate on the basis
that many people with disabilities live on their
own and do not have the support of family.
Depending on the kind of disability that affects
the individual, the inability to access water can
have far greater implications, with regard to
the quality of life. Goffe said there are those
who need to take medication, and shower more
often than others, for example.
The Global Partnership for Disability and
Development (GPDD) and the World Bank,
in 2009, concluded that, “Individuals with
disabilities are disproportionately affected in
disaster, emergency, and conflict situations
due to the lack of accessibility in evacuation,
response, and recovery efforts, and exclusion of
disability issues in planning and preparedness.”
Goffe concurred, as she shared that many
shelters across the island are not equipped to
accommodate people with disabilities. Instead,
she explained, there is an increased likelihood
that such members of the population , during
an emergency, will experience even more
disadvantage. These range from compromised
privacy in terms of bathroom use and access, to
exposure to sexual abuse, particularly among
women.
While Douglas’s immediate family does not
have members who have disabilities, he, an
able-bodied farmer, noted that the challenges
are far more impacting than many Jamaicans
recognise.

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