If the COVID-19 pandemic did one thing for the world, it was to highlight the importance of
public health initiatives and moving towards a healthier global population. There were countless
individuals who were at unnecessary risk during the COVID-19 pandemic, due to poor life
decisions like smoking which put them at risk of the respiratory damage of the disease.
However, a continuous inequality when it comes to things like public health is the way that
disabled people are treated as part of the population.
The COVID-19 pandemic, for example, showed a lot of inequality surrounding public health.
Most countries had an admirable and comprehensive attitude towards public health, and they
were able to provide services for vaccinations, specialist areas to treat COVID-19 patients, and
other similar facilities. However, not all of this support was accessible to people with disabilities.
Many of them struggled a lot with getting to vaccination centers or simply getting around in a
time when public transport was heavily restricted and segmented.
The problem that we see with public health is that when things become difficult, life gets
uncomfortable. Many people are forced into uncomfortable ways of living and positions that they
can just about tolerate, but don’t like. For disabled people, this is very difficult. They don’t have
the freedom or flexibility to endure uncomfortable situations as well as other people can,
because they might have specialist mobility aids or specific requirements for living.
When schemes and initiatives to help with public health are launched, it is sadly the disabled
community who struggles more often than not. They find it hard to access some of the support
being offered because it’s in a hard-to-reach location, or it isn’t accessibility-friendly.
As disability support providers Gold Coast, we see again and again the challenges which are
faced by people with disabilities when the matter of public health comes up. It is sad to see that
these people often don’t get the support they should have and struggle to find the necessary
tools for success. The result is often disabled people who often find themselves without key
support and they struggle to get proper resources and aids. They would probably benefit from
many of the public health schemes launched around the world, but they just aren’t in a position
to take advantage of them. It’s very sad to see, and it can be quite problematic.
Ultimately, we need more support when public health schemes come out for those with
disabilities. Considering just how many people live with a disability everyday, the fact that they
don’t have access to the right schemes and tools means that they will struggle when it counts.
We can only hope that governments will recognise their responsibility towards public health for
everyone, and then take the appropriate steps to make meaningful changes. This will ultimately
help them to make schemes which are accessible for everyone, regardless of what disabilities
they have.