The global village is overwhelmed by disasters coupled with other threats such
as HIV and AIDS which continue to challenge human populations, in particular
people living with disability. This review explores ways in which this group of
the population in Botswana can be empowered to mitigate the adverse effects of
disasters. Evidence from the authors’ work in this field as well as existing literature
is used to support some of the arguments raised. The main tenet is that people
living with disabilities in Botswana are secondary targets of services and
programmes and they are not adequately empowered. The work highlights several
methods of increasing resilience to disaster situations and related challenges
for this population group to include among others the inclusion of people living
with disability in disaster risk management to enable them to reduce their
vulnerability and build their capacity. There is need for community based capacity
building (special training), comprehensive disaster related information to suit
people living with disability and HIV and AIDS, and designing relevant early
warning systems.