Introduction
The fact sheet brings to light irregularities and challenges faced by
persons with disabilities (PWDs) in accessing medical healthcare services
and facilities in government hospitals in Zimbabwe. When persons with
disability
access
health
care,
they
often
experience
stigma
and
discrimination and receive poor-quality care. There is an urgent need to
scale up disability inclusion at all health system levels, mainly primary
health care. ZPP is concerned that the decline in social services in the
health sector has continued to infringe on the rights of persons with
disabilities. Persons with disabilities are in the vulnerable groups
category, yet they fail to access medical health services in most
government institutions. There is no medication, and if available is out of
reach for many. There is inadequate expertise when dealing with
disability issues, case in point is the unavailability of sign language
interpreters or resources and amenities to cater to disability issues. In
line with the National Disability Policy, the Ministry of Health and Child
Care has done much but not enough to ensure that persons with
disability have access to free healthcare services in public health
institutions, including in sexual and reproductive health and populationbased public health programmes.
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