The guidelines set out essential actions that humanitarian actors must take in order to effectively identify and respond to the needs and rights of persons with disabilities who are most at risk of being left behind in humanitarian settings. 

The recommended actions in each chapter place persons with disabilities at the centre of humanitarian action, both as actors and as members of affected populations. They are specific to persons with disabilities and to the context of humanitarian action and build on existing and more general standards and guidelines, including the Core Humanitarian Standard, Sphere Handbook and Humanitarian inclusion standards for older people and people with disabilities.

The guidelines are designed primarily for use by national, regional and international humanitarian actors who are involved in policymaking, coordination, programming and funding. Notably: 

• Governments; 
• Humanitarian leadership (Emergency, Refugee and Resident Coordinators, humanitarian country teams);
• Cluster/sector leads; 
• Programmers (in humanitarian and development organizations); 
• Donors;
• Local, national, regional and international organizations of persons with disabilities (OPDs).
  
  The guidelines will also be useful to field practitioners and other humanitarian actors because they describe processes for including persons with disabilities and make recommendations to sectors.