Social Model Of Disability In Zimbabwe

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The UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (UNCRPD) utilizes a social model of disability and considers disability to be long term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which hand in hand with different barriers may hamper the full and effective participation of the people with impairments in the public sphere on an equal basis with others (UNCRPD, 2006). The view by UNCRPD places greater importance on the part society plays in making people with impairments disabled.

This focus on disability as a social construct has influenced the way various countries including Zimbabwe conceptualize disability. The influence is seen in One of Zimbabwe’s pieces of legislation which has been central to disability issues, …show more content…

There is frequently a misconception of three words identifying with the concept of “disability” that is disability, impairment and handicap. The confusion encompassing these words is frequently found in their use verbally or in written forms. Now and again they are utilized interchangeably to mean a similar thing. Impairment refairs to a loss of a part of the body like a limb or lack of function which might be sensory like loss of sight or physical. Handicap on the other hand refers to lack of assistive devices or such other mechanisms to enable a person to function without a limb or lack of sight. Finally disability, as hinted above refers to the failure of a person with an impairment to function like other members of the society due to barriers in the …show more content…

The arguments in most cases as hinted above usually originate from what constitutes disability. Globally, it is estimated that over one billion people live with some form of disability (WHO, 2011). Furthermore, according to WHO, 15% of any given population has various forms of disability translating to over 1 billion people with disabilities in the world, of whom 2-4% experience significant difficulties in functioning. Over 80% of people with disabilities are in developing countries. In Zimbabwe, the statistics are equally controversial (Choruma, 2007 and Mtetwa, 2012). On one side, WHO estimates indicate that there are close to 1,8 million people with disabilities in Zimbabwe, which is about 15% of the total population (WHO, 2011), whereas the National Association of Societies for the Care of the Handicapped (NASCOH) argues that disability prevalence in Zimbabwe is over 10% of the population (NASCOH, 2013). Whilst on the opposite side, the Government of Zimbabwe through its statistics agency, estimates that only about 130 000 or 1% of the people have disabilities in Zimbabwe (Mtetwa,

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