Andrew
Disability Issues
Dr Christine Peta
IN this article, I continue to unpack the provisions of the National Disability Policy which was launched by President Mnangagwa on June 9, 2021.
The Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, led by Minister Professor Paul Mavima, oversees the implementation of the National Disability Policy, thus moving the provisions of the policy from paper to the real world to make a positive difference in the lives of persons with disabilities and their families.
The focus of this article is on Section 3.11 (Older Persons) of the National Disability Policy, which is set out as follows:
3.11 Older persons
3.11.1 Enable older persons with disabilities to make choices about their living arrangements in relation to housing options, personal assistance and support services and social protection measures, to ensure they can enjoy their right to live independently and to be included in the community.
3.11.2 Formulate guidelines for the establishment of services and support in the community for older persons with disabilities.
3.11.3 Eliminate barriers to access in relation to indoor and outdoor facilities, including personal mobility of older persons in ways of their choice.
3.11.4 Facilitate access to mobility aids and provide mobility training to older persons with disabilities and persons who work with them.
3.11.5 Enable access to information in appropriate formats, including Zimbabwean Sign language, braille and large print.
3.11.6 Community services and facilities must be accessible to older persons with disabilities.
3.11.7 Older persons with disabilities must be exempted from paying user fees (both consultation and treatment) in public healthcare facilities.
3.11.8 Older persons with disabilities have the right to free and informed consent in healthcare.
3.11.9 Design an all-inclusive old age pension fund and additional retirement benefits and programs.
3.11.10 Older persons with disabilities must not be charged when they use public transport (in-country road).
3.11.11 Older persons with disabilities must have access to free assistive devices.
3.11.12 Older persons with disabilities must have access to all relevant social protection programmes and poverty reduction programmes.
The rights of older persons are acknowledged in the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No.20) Act, 2013.
The age at which people experience disability influences their sense of identity, as well as social perception of them.
For example, people who acquire disability when they are older find it hard to identify with the constituency of persons with disabilities — they think that the bodily challenges they experience are because of the “normal” biological process of ageing.
For people who were born with disabilities or who acquired disabilities earlier in life and who have grown old, they regard old age as their secondary identity, hence their expectations about old age may be different. The disability rights movement hardly acknowledges older persons as persons with disabilities and neither does the older persons’ movement seek to understand and apply the human rights-based approach to disability, resulting in a situation where many older persons with disabilities fall through the cracks.
Yet, according to the UN, 46 percent of older persons (60 years and over) have disabilities.
In line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities [2006] and the principle of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (Agenda, 2030) of “leaving no-one behind”, the National Disability Policy acknowledges the intersection of ageing and disability, thus recognising that health risks accumulate across each person’s life span.
People’s experiences of chronic illness, disease or injury over time result in increased rates of vulnerability to disability in old age.
Along with women and children with disabilities among vulnerable groups, the National Disability Policy (2021) directs us to pay attention to older persons with disabilities as a “minority group within a minority group” to enable their full and equal participation in all facets of life.
In any case, our African culture affords great respect and honour to the elderly for many reasons, among them being their wisdom and values which they can pass on to the new generation if we live with them in our families and communities.
Our African culture should, therefore, not be eroded by “Western Civilisation.” Research has indicated that in Western cultures, youths are generally celebrated and the elderly are commonly removed from families and relegated to old people’s homes in a context where aging can become a shameful experience.
A study undertaken by scholars at Great Zimbabwe University in 2013 revealed that in Zimbabwe, the concept of old people’s homes is borrowed culture, which has largely been caused by a number of reasons that include:
Westernisation, urbanisation and lack of concern by family members who regard older persons as a “burden” that is hard to carry.
Such views and practices are generally not in line with our African culture of communalism.
Communalism is one of Africa’s greatest values, which emphasises communal existence of living beyond oneself, but as part of the African community.
The spirit of African communalism is rooted in the realisation that for people to exist, including older persons, they need other members of the community.
One of the implications of African communalism is the fact that a person, including an older person, can only be a person because he or she lives and acts in a community.
In other words, it is a community that gives a person, including an older person, his or her identity.
The “complementary” interrelatedness that is characteristic of African communalism makes it obvious that one is seen in others and others in one.
Based on this interrelatedness, John Mbiti describes the relationship between an individual and his or her community by saying: “I am because we are, and since we are, therefore I am.”
Let us all join hands and implement Section 3.11 of the National Disability Policy (2021) as outlined above.
There is need for all of us to promote, protect and respect the rights of older persons, including the rights of older persons with disabilities in our families and communities, whilst at the same time upholding the African principle of “Ubuntu.”
Dr Christine Peta is a disability, policy, international development and research expert who is the national director of Disability Affairs in Zimbabwe. She can be contacted on: [email protected]
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