The UNHCR–RIADIS report examines disability within the context of forced migration in Latin America, highlighting the causes of displacement, barriers to healthcare, and widespread discrimination. Drawing on surveys, interviews, and life histories from more than 700 participants across seven countries, it shows how disabled migrants face violence, exclusion, and systemic neglect that often force them to flee. Testimonies describe political threats, gang violence, and dangerous migration marked by abuse and discrimination. The report also exposes structural failures, especially inaccessible healthcare, that intensify disabled migrants’ vulnerability. Notably, it includes stories such as that of Manuel, a Guatemalan man whose leg was amputated after a violent attack and who was forced to flee shortly after his surgery.

The report examines the humanitarian crisis facing migrants who cross the Darién Gap, a dangerous jungle between Colombia and Panama. Although it does not focus exclusively on disability, it shows how the region’s migration system fails to meet basic health and safety needs, leaving people with chronic illness or physical limitations especially vulnerable. Panama’s restrictive policies and the withdrawal of organizations like Doctors Without Borders have made access to medical care nearly impossible. These conditions reveal the lack of structures in Central America to support or include people with disabilities. For the repository, this report highlights the broader structural neglect surrounding migration and disability across the region.

The Doctors Without Borders report shows that disabled and chronically ill migrants face extreme conditions while crossing the Darién Gap. MSF doctors treated people with cerebral palsy, mobility loss, heart disease, diabetes, and other chronic conditions as they struggled to survive the journey. The report, conducted before MSF withdrew from the region in 2024, provides direct evidence of how shelters and medical services are overwhelmed and inaccessible. It reveals how the humanitarian system in Central America consistently fails to accommodate disability, and leaves the most vulnerable migrants without adequate care or protection.

This report examines disability and inequality in Latin America, showing how disability intersects with ethnicity, gender, and poverty. It discusses the social model of disability, barriers to inclusion, and access to education, noting that about 85 million people in the region live with disabilities. The report highlights how discrimination and inaccessibility disproportionately affect Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities. For this project, it is valuable for both its regional statistics and its insights into the structural barriers disabled people face, helping contextualize the personal testimonies included in the repository.

This study examines disability, family labor, and poverty in Guatemala through interviewing 20 families. It shows how disability reshapes household survival strategies, placing emotional and financial burdens on all family members, especially women. Without adequate support systems, families resort to harmful coping strategies such as taking unsafe jobs or working long hours, and mothers and daughters often leave school or work to provide full-time care. The study highlights how structural neglect of disabled people in Central America affects entire households, not just individuals.