Disability, Society and Theology: Voices from Africa

Chapter Twenty: Persons with Disabilities in Malawi: What are the issues?

Persons with Disabilities in Malawi CHAPTER TWENTY Persons with Disabilities in Malawi: What are the issues? Rachel Kamchacha Kachaje Introduction M alawi is a landlocked country in the south-eastern part of Africa. It borders Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the north and Mozambique to the east, south and west. The country measures 119,140 square kilometres of which 20 percent is covered by water bodies. Established in 1891, the British protectorate of Nyasaland became the independent nation of Malawi in 1964. After three decades of one-party rule under President Hastings Kamuzu Banda, multiparty elections were held in 1994. The foundation for the new era of democracy was elaborated in the 2004 Constitution of the Republic of Malawi. To achieve participatory democracy, the Decentralisation Act was passed by Parliament in 1998. This Act gives districts political and administrative authority so as to enhance a strategy for realising the country’s development goal of poverty reduction. The economy is predominantly agricultural, with about 90 per cent of the population living in rural areas.Agriculture accounted for nearly 36 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 80 per cent of export revenues in 2005. The main challenges facing the Disability, Society, and Theology government include developing a market economy, improving educational facilities and tackling environmental problems. Other problems of major concern are increased corruption, population growth, pressure on agricultural lands and HIV & Aids. Ministry of Persons with Disability and the Elderly Traditionally,disabilityissueswereplacedundertheMinistryofSocial Welfare. PWDs lobbied the government to move disability issues from the Ministry of Social Welfare to the Office of the President and Cabinet. This they did during celebrations to mark the International Day of Disabled People on 3rd December 1998. In response, President Banda who was the guest of honour directed that a Ministry for Persons with Disability be established with immediate effect. So in December 1998, the Ministry for Persons with Disabilities was formed. Seven years later, issues of the elderly were added to its portfolio. It is therefore called the Ministry of Persons with Disability and the Elderly. Malawi Council for the Handicapped (MACOHA) Malawi Council for the Handicapped (MACOHA) is a parastatal through which the Ministry Responsible for Persons with Disabilities and the Elderly implements its programmes. MACOHA’s aim is to implement government policies by providing rehabilitation programmes, services and promote the empowerment and inclusion of PWDs in society. It has adopted the Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) approach so as to promote public awareness and empower communities to accept PWDs and integrate them in society. The CBR programme is carried out in approximately 10 districts. The services include identifying families with PWDs and PWDs themselves, both at community and district level and supplying their needs. The NorwegianAssociation of the Disabled (NAD) has been supporting the programme in three districts – Blantyre, Machinga and Balaka, since 2003. The programme is well integrated in the context of the Decentralisation Act of 1998. 338 Persons with Disabilities in Malawi Policy and Legislation A national policy paper on Equalisation of Opportunities for PWDs was ratified by Cabinet in November 2005. The aim of the policy is to: …integrate fully PWDs in all aspects of life, thereby equalise their opportunities in order to enhance their dignity and well being, so that they have the essentials of life1 . The key institutions that carry out the implementation of the policy are as follows: • Ministry of Persons with Disability and the Elderly • MACOHA • Federation of Disability Organisations of Malawi (FEDOMA) • National Coordinating Committee on Disability Issues and Local Government. Malawi has drafted a DisabilityAct. PWDs through FEDOMAplayed a major role in the drafting of the Act. It is now with the Ministry of justice and will be taken to Parliament for debate and passing. In Malawi, the President has anAdvisor on disability issues.Although the political environment is not conducive for PWDs to campaign for a Parliamentary seat, one of our own is a member. He managed to get to Parliament by election just like everybody else. When the Malawi Constitution was being reviewed recently, we lobbied for special seats to be reserved for PWDs in Parliament. Malawi has ratified and signed the following United Nations declarations that relate to PWDs: • UN Convention on the Rights of PWDs (signed 27 October 2007). ________________________________ 1 National policy on equalisation of opportunities for persons with disabilities. 339 Disability, Society, and Theology • Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) – (signed 28 September 1960). • International...