Covid 19: Ratify disability protocol to protect PWDs

Hazel Marimbiza
IN the light of the Covid-19 pandemic and with the aim to support a disability-inclusive response to the crisis, organisations that deal with disability issues in Zimbabwe have petitioned Government to ratify the Africa Disability Protocol (ADP) to promote the rights of all persons living with disabilities (PWDs) in all facets of their lives, especially health.

Zimbabwe is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRDP), which has a three-tier disability regime comprising the blind, the deaf and the physically-challenged.

Addressing a workshop on the need to ratify the protocol in Bulawayo recently, Zimbabwe Down Syndrome Association (ZDSA) National Co-ordinator Sibonisiwe Mazula said the UNCRDP was alien to the African region. She said the UNCRDP was Eurocentric to the exclusion of a wider view of the world, thus there was a need to ratify the ADP that was designed specifically for the African region.

“We want a policy which is not segregatory. The UNCRDP is Eurocentric. In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, persons with disabilities may have increased risk for exposure, complications, and death because they are not well represented. If we have the African protocol ratified then we will have something which is in the African context because in Africa we have traditions and cultures which we abide by so that’s why this protocol most appeals to us,” she said.

She added: “Covid-19 is sure to affect persons with disabilities more significantly, yet little has been done to protect the most vulnerable in societies. We want the Government to take appropriate actions and protective measures and ratifying the ADB will ensure that PWDs enjoy their rights in the face of Covid-19.”

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the Covid-19 outbreak a pandemic just about three months after its emergence in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. Control of this explosive spread is now a global public health concern. At the time of writing, the strategy to lessen the Covid-19 spread is based on preventive measures. Zimbabwe’s health authorities and Government have adopted plans and policies to lower the virus transmission rate such as public awareness and advice, closure of educational centres and limitation of mass gatherings. The coronavirus pandemic crisis poses a more considerable challenge, however, to people with disabilities.

The WHO estimates that children and adults with disabilities may have underlying health conditions that increase their risk of serious complications from Covid-19.

As such Mazula said if Zimbabwe was to move towards a disability inclusive and barrier-free society by 2030, ratifying the ADP would show its commitment. Provisions of the ADP include promotion of equal recognition at health institutions, respect for inherent dignity and giving the right to live in the community especially in the face of Covid-19.

“There is limited and in other cases, no information being produced in accessible formats for persons with disabilities during this crisis. Persons with disabilities continue to remain a commonly “invisible” left behind population group during interventions, and this is true for most humanitarian crises and responses,” said Mazula.

Furthermore, people with disabilities are more likely to be unemployed. A lack of targeted financial support or exclusion from safety nets and social protection initiatives during the crisis exposes them and anyone who they may financially depend on a higher level of poverty and deprivation because in addition to expenses for drugs, assistive devices or personal assistance, they now also face potentially skyrocketing costs for protective equipment or sanitisers for themselves and their carers. And if they do live on their own, they may not have enough savings to buy sufficient supplies of food and medicines, especially now that food prices are increasing during this pandemic.

The national secretary of the National Council of Disabled Persons of Zimbabwe, Leonard Marange said ratifying the ADP would enable them to lobby Government to repeal some sections of the Constitution which would in turn ensure persons with disabilities get livelihood support.

“The Constitution of Zimbabwe spares the Government of its responsibility to adequately channel resources to PWD’s as it indicates that Government can only do so when it has adequate resources. I view that as improper because resources will never be enough. We need those resources especially now that we are facing a global pandemic. Another issue that concerns us is that most people who represent PWD’s are not disabled so you find that most times after acquiring funds for PWD’s they pocket those funds. They would rarely do that if they were also disabled; so it’s important to have more PWD’s speaking for their counterparts,” said Marange.

Bonlam Machiha, a ZDSA youth representative indicated that ratifying the protocol would ensure that more people living with disabilities have proper health care.

“Persons with disabilities generally have more health-care needs than others — both standard needs and needs linked to impairments — and are therefore more vulnerable to the impact of low quality or inaccessible health care services than others,” said Machiha.

Compared to persons without disabilities, persons with disabilities are more likely to have poor health. In a recent study carried among 43 countries, 42 percent of persons with disabilities versus six percent of persons without disabilities perceived their health as poor.

Another recent international survey on the impact of Covid-19 on people with disabilities found that they were very likely to be disadvantaged when it comes to accessing food supplies because they may be unable to get to food distribution points or wait in long queues, or to deal with large crowds. Not being able to access basic supplies can increase stress and anxiety for all, but particularly for those that have pre-existing mental health conditions.

Covid-19 is possibly the most tracked health emergency in history. Everyday, a huge amount of open data on the spread of the pandemic is generated and shared by authoritative sources such as the WHO, the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention and national statistical institutes. This evidence is crucial to tailor an effective emergency response and for informing decisions on how to build more resilient and inclusive health systems in the future.

The way Government addresses issues of inclusion and equity in the Covid-19 response will have an impact on containing the virus and on how many lives can be saved.