Eyewitness News interviewed several people with disabilities from different backgrounds about their experiences accessing healthcare in South Africa.
JOHANNESBURG – In December 2022, the World Health Organization published an article titled “A quest for dignified healthcare for women with disabilities” about Coumba Ndiaye, a disability activist and municipal councillor in Dakar, Senegal.
"We must guarantee the equal rights of people with disabilities to access healthcare and lifesaving procedures during the pandemic." Governments and health sector partners must consider health equity for persons with disabilities in all health sector actions. They can also include persons with disabilities in decision-making processes, and monitor how persons with disabilities are reached and benefit from health sector actions.
Mbalenhle Nkhumeleni is a T-4 paraplegic, which means she has complete injury of her spinal nerves at the T-4 bone. She said the disability bathrooms at her local clinic were used as storerooms, and that using examination beds was impossible for her. The senior administrative assistant said a lack of awareness around different disabilities, including comorbid disabilities and ableism, can impact a patient’s care.
“I think healthcare facilities need to look at their employee's attitudes before they hire them. Some employees don't give us the help we need, they can even jump you and help the person next to you because of how you look. They should consider a trial or assessment before they hire employees,” said Boitshoko Motaung, who has bilateral Blount virus. Blount’s disease is a disorder of the growth plates in the bones around the knee.