GWERU residents have urged their council to consider equal access to health and education for people with disabilities (PWDs) in next year’s budget.
Speaking yesterday at a Gweru Residents and Ratepayers Association (GRRA) 2024 budget review meeting on education and health sectors, GRRA director Cornelia Selipiwe said last year, council promised to improve access to both education and health in the city, but never mentioned PWDs in its budget.
“In last year’s budget, council spoke of improving access to education and health by constructing more school blocks and health clinics, respectively,” Selipiwe said.
“However, council only mentioned sites where it intended to build schools and the need for more clinics, unfortunately, nothing was mentioned about people with disabilities in either the school or health project.
“So as residents, we are saying as we consult and craft the 2025 budget, let us ensure that there is inclusivity in both education and health.”
Speaking at the same meeting, Young Voices Disability Zimbabwe director Nyasha Mahwende said most schools and health facilities in the city were not disability friendly.
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“We can talk of building more schools and clinics, but as long the infrastructure in the city is not disability friendly we will continue to have health and education that is not inclusive,” she said.
“If you go to council schools and clinics in the city, there are no ramps to allow people using wheelchairs and those with other walking difficulties to easily enter and exit buildings.
“So basically, we are saying in the 2025 budget, council should seriously consider equal access to education and health facilities by PWDs.”
Mahwende said despite Zimbabwe having a disability policy developed three years ago, PWDs continued to face marginalisation and discrimination in the national development agenda.
Disability advocate Nigel Tahwa weighed in saying communication barriers in schools and health institutions make it difficult for PWDs to access the services.
“It’s high time that it’s made mandatory that officials at health institutions and schools are trained in sign language so that we have facilities that are disability friendly and allow access to education and health services,” Tahwa said.
Residents unanimously agreed at the meeting that council should have policies in education and health that compel officials to implement programmes in the two key sectors.
The residents also said the council’s budget next year should ensure the availability of basic drugs at its clinics as well as mobile clinics in areas where people struggle to access health services.