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Precious Manomano-Herald Reporter
People living with disabilities have implored the Government to prioritise them under the Covid-19 vaccination programme, saying they were at high risk of contracting infections that could cause severe illness or even deaths because of underlying medical conditions.
This was said by National Disability Dialogue chairman Mr Gift Mabhaudhi, while applauding the Government for making efforts to acquire more Covid-19 vaccines to save the lives of many people, including people with disabilities.
He said people with disabilities were vulnerable to infections, urging authorities to ensure that sites where vaccinations were delivered should be physically accessible since most disabled people had mobility challenges.
“We are happy that Government has included us in vaccination programmes, we are vulnerable to infections because most of us have underlying medical conditions. Accessibility of vaccination sites is a challenge to most of us, some of the areas are not easily accessible,” said Mr Mabhaudhi.
Mr Mabhaudhi urged the authorities to give first preference to disabled people when vaccinating, saying they faced challenges to wait in long queues.
People with disabilities are a key constituency in Zimbabwe and are estimated to be about 1, 4 million. However, they remain visible in all levels of society and face numerous challenges in accessing healthcare, jobs and education.
Zimbabwe was one of the countries to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2013 and remains one of the few countries in Africa with legislation that specifically caters for people with disabilities.
A report conducted by United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation(UNESCO) states that access to Covid-19 information in accessible formats of people with disabilities remains a challenge in Zimbabwe while 65 percent of the persons interviewed by UNESCO admitted that they have received regular information, 82 percent found the information not really useful.
According to World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates, 10 percent of Zimbabwe’s total population is disabled.
Recently President Mnangagwa also launches the National Disability and Labour Migration Policies to ensure everyone can participate.
The two policies are part of Government efforts to ensure inclusivity as the country embarks on its development path and the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) was disability inclusive and acknowledges Diaspora engagement.
The attainment of an upper middle income society as envisaged by Vision 2030 requires the contribution of everyone in society with no one left behind.
Online Reporter