LocationsSo that help reaches everyone in emergency situations
Rescuers from across Serbia improved their skills for providing assistance to persons with disabilities.
October 5, 2026
Photo: UNDP Serbia
Belgrade, October 5, 2026 - More than 50 members of fire and rescue units, volunteer fire brigades and other actors of the protection and rescue system from all over Serbia participated in a two-day training dedicated to improving knowledge and skills for providing assistance to people with disabilities during emergency situations, which was held on October 1st and 2nd at the United Nations building in Belgrade. Members of the protection and rescue services learned directly from experts from organizations of persons with disabilities what obstacles they face during emergency events and how to adequately and effectively respond to them.
The training was organized by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in partnership with the Department of Emergency Situations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Serbia and the National Organization of Persons with Disabilities of Serbia (NOOIS), with the support of the European Union (EU) as part of the "EU for the Health System of Serbia" project.
Luka Čaušić, Assistant Minister of Internal Affairs and Head of the Department for Emergency Situations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Serbia, said that people with disabilities should not be seen only as beneficiaries of aid, but as active participants whose knowledge, experience and needs must be included in the creation and improvement of plans, procedures, training and exercises.
"For us, it is very important that members of both professional and volunteer fire and rescue units, as well as all other participants in the protection and rescue system, know how to approach a disabled person, because in an emergency situation, the way of communication can be as important as the intervention itself. This workshop represents another step in that direction. I am especially glad that most of it is based on interactive work and practical exercises, because our goal is not only to learn something new, but to be able to apply that knowledge when most necessary, in a real extraordinary event," Čaušić pointed out.
Photo: UNDP Serbia
The permanent representative of UNDP in Serbia, Yakup Berish, recognized the firefighters and other services that respond in emergency situations for their exceptional work, especially during this year's summer fires, when members of these services throughout Serbia worked tirelessly in extremely difficult conditions to protect people's lives and their homes and property.
"At UNDP, we see our role as supporting those who protect others. This means not only providing equipment, but also helping to ensure that, when you face complex situations in the field, you have the necessary knowledge and confidence to act effectively. When you better understand the ways of communicating with people with different types of disabilities and know how to provide them with help according to their needs, it makes your job easier, your interventions more effective, and our communities safer," added Berish.
During emergency situations, people with disabilities may face additional challenges when it comes to accessing information, evacuation and assistance. Therefore, it is important that members of the protection and rescue services are trained to recognize their needs and provide appropriate support, so that help reaches everyone who needs it.
Through interactive lectures, practical exercises and case studies, the training participants were introduced to the specific obstacles, risks and needs of people with disabilities before, during and after emergency situations. A special focus was on communication with people with different types of disabilities - intellectual, physical, sensory (blind, visually impaired, deaf and hard of hearing people), and handling during assistance and evacuation.
Among the presenters were representatives of the National Organization of Persons with Disabilities of Serbia, the Association of Associations for Helping Mentally Underdeveloped Persons (MNRO), the Association of the Blind of Serbia and the Association of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing of Serbia.
Photo: UNDP Serbia
"Persons with disabilities represent one of the most vulnerable groups in emergency situations, primarily due to the insufficient inclusion of the specific needs of this vulnerable group in the existing plans for alerting, information transfer, evacuation and other types of protection. In addition, persons with disabilities are not a homogeneous group, so the response in emergency situations must take into account the needs of individuals with different types and degrees of disability, including accompanying health conditions. Such activities significantly contribute to the awareness of participants in the protection and rescue system towards this category of citizens, so that they can to provide adequate assistance to people with disabilities, all with the aim of acquiring new knowledge that can improve their work on the one hand, and increase our safety on the other," said Ivanka Jovanović, executive director of NOOIS.
According to the World Health Organization's estimate, between 700,000 and 800,000 people with disabilities live in Serbia, which is the average number of people with disabilities in EU countries (between 8-12% of the total population), and more than half are women with disabilities.
The training was organized within the project "EU for healthcare in Serbia", which, with the support of the European Union, is implemented by UNDP and the World Health Organization in partnership with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Health. This is the ninth in a series of trainings organized by UNDP with the aim of strengthening awareness of risks in emergency situations in order to contribute to the greater safety of all citizens throughout Serbia.
Photo: UNDP Serbia
