Targeting

Prepare inclusive targeting criteria for emergency relief distributions which take into account the disproportiontely higher disaster risk of some groups in the community.

Have the tools for inclusive targeting readily available so they can be applied fast during disaster. Train and sensitize staff and key stakeholders at local level to prepare for carrying out an inclusive assessment and targeting.

Inclusive targeting criteria should consider:

1. Demographic Characteristics: Whether the main breadwinner is a single woman, older person, a child or a person with disability; if it’s a large household with several children, pregnant or a lactating mother; whether household members belong to socially excluded and underrepresented groups; etc.
2. Socio-Economic Characteristics: Whether the household lives in poverty and manages food through daily wages; there are multiple dependents and single or no breadwinner in the family (do not consider automatically persons with disabilities or older people as dependent); household has no land for cultivation and productive assets; family lives in a rented place/is homeless; house is located in highly hazard prone area, is isolated from local market and is only accessible by foot; etc.
3. Impact of the Disaster on Household’s Coping Capacities: Whether the breadwinner was lost job, was injured or died in a disaster; physical structure of the house and facilities (e.g. WASH facilities) were destroyed; household had to sell assets or take new loans to sustain themselves; family members had to decrease meals due to the shortage of food; members requiring health assistance and psychosocial services have lost access to such services; members are experiencing increased mental health difficulties; household has member(s) with disability, chronic illness or older person whose access to regular medications or assistive technology have been interrupted due to the recent disaster; household has lost key documentation and cannot access humanitarian assistance; etc.

Persons from at-risk groups, especially those who face high stigma (e.g., persons with intellectual or learning disabilities, chronic health problems, HIV/AIDS, women and girls with disabilities), risk remaining invisible in the targeting process.

• Expect to identify around 15% of persons with disabilities, including older persons with disabilities, and the total number is less, raise the issue with the body who conducted the targeting and identify the reasons for it.
• Consider the intersectionality of different factors which can lead to a disproportionally higher disaster risk (e.g. being a women, having a disability and belonging to an ethnic minority multiplies the potential risk of being affected by disaster loss and left out from emergency aid). 
• Promote a representative community-based targeting process for defining eligibility criteria and recipients, where women and men with different types of disabilities, older people and persons from other at-risk groups participate in decision making (e.g., by setting up an inclusive targeting committee).
• Ensure transparent and accessible communication about the targeting process and -criteria.
• Ensure close monitoring and collection of regular feedback from the target communities through the inclusive and accessible community feedback and reporting mechanism set up in close consultations with persons with disabilities and other at-risk groups.
• Use the Washington Group Questions during needs assessment to identify the level of functional limitations of affected persons. 

Targeting persons based on their disability status alone does not comply with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and can have a negative outcome such as increased stigma and exclusion. A household’s need for assistance should be assessed holistically, taking into consideration that persons with disabilities, older people and persons who are chronically ill often have more limited access to emergency aid in general and face additional costs linked to accessibility, assistive devices, personal assistance, transportation and medical needs.