A Paper presented at Mental Health and Deafness Workshop in Swaziland

7-11th February 2011

Frank Musukwa – Executive DirectorZambia Deaf Youth and Women

P.O Box 20369,Kitwe, Zambia- Southern AfricaEmail: zambiadeafyw@zambia.co.zm

Overview of this PresentationDEFINITIONSSITUATION ANALYSIS:

General Disability Issues – Gaps and ChallengesDeaf issues and development – Gaps and challenges

LEGISLATION AND POLICY ENVIRONMENTDEAF PERSONS – DEVELOPMENT AND INTEGRATION

MILESTONE

DefinitionsDeaf person: We use the term people who

are deaf in a general way when we are talking about people with all degrees of hearing loss

Community: a group of people living in a particular local area

Development: act of improving by expanding or enlarging or refining

Social integration: The bringing of people of different racial or ethnic groups into unrestricted and equal association, as in society or an organization; desegregation.

SITUATION ANALYSIS

The deaf community in Zambia:is insufficiently involved in community development andhas been minimally integrated in the developmental

trends and programmes despite the stead rising number – though unofficial – of people born with or acquiring deafness.

This however, does not apply as a general picture of what has accrued to persons of other disability categories especially persons with physical disabilities in terms of community development and social integration in Zambia as physically disabled persons have more opportunities in the developmental sectors than any other disability.

SITUATION ANALYSIS: Disability Issues and Development – Gaps and ChallengesThese are, among others:The Sixth National Development Plan (SNDP)

and its precursor the Fifth National Development Plan (FNDP) did/have not adapted cross-cutting disability issues in their development multi-sectoral indicators.

Hardly any research and data/statistics vis-à-vis cross-cutting disability issues, to inform policy and programmatic direction to developmental trends and programmes.

Cont’d Cross-cutting disability development

programmes are rarely and scantly funded with the umbrella DPOs having the monopoly of such funding at the expense of other DPOs which might do better.

Persons with disabilities are inadequately represented on all development fora, echelons, programmes. Consequently they find it difficult to influence policy direction vis-à-vis cross-cutting disability issues in sub national and national level development programmes.

Cont’dInadequate IEC/BCC materials as per

disability category Persons with disabilities especially the deaf

and the blind hardly access services/facilities on HIV/AIDS.

Low literacy rates among disabled persons hinder them from appreciating and participating in development programmes.

Cont’dEducation for the deaf is very pathetic in

Zambia as most schools and colleges do not provide support services such assistive devices and other tools for learning purposes of deaf pupils and students – in fact the University of Zambia has on many occasions failed to enroll deaf persons even when they had qualified from secondary school. This is due to having no appropriate support services and resources for deaf students.

Deaf issues – gaps and challenges Deaf persons encounter myriad problems in

taking part in the developmental process of all sectors in Zambia at all levels sub-national and national structures: Thus mainstreaming deaf persons issues in

development realm has been and remains a major challenge due to policies and programmes targeted for deaf persons are uncoordinated and incomplete;

Mere mention of disability issues – including issues for deaf persons – in the development trends (policies) by policy-makers and other government leaders does not remove these problems;

Deaf issues – gaps and challenges also putting vague advertisement on TV with

ambiguous sign language captions on many development programmes taking place across the country does not translate into deaf person’s great involvement and meaningful participation in the development processes/programmes.

Therefore, practical but well tailored development programmes for the deaf will be necessary to overcome the impediments to exercising the fundamental right of deaf persons in Zambia.

Deaf issues – gaps and challenges The above description makes deaf persons in

Zambia experience isolation regards community development and social integration, because they do not have the same access to information as the rest of the population, they lack deaf-medium provisions to understand the developmental programs or the discussions that are held before stakeholders undertake certain development programmes in a particular area. statistics in the country – as an alternative to the lack of data on deaf persons.

Deaf issues – gaps and challenges On the other hand, the barrier of lacking ways to

communicate with the hearing world, coupled with a tendency to avoid adversity, translates into insufficient information available to deaf citizens. Furthermore, the statistics concerning disabled persons including deaf persons in Zambia are scanty and in most cases not just available to put up interventions in the development realm including health, education or HIV/AIDS sectors just to mention a few for the benefit of the deaf. In fact most of the important studies such as the Zambia Demographic Health Survey (ZDHS) carried out by Government and key partners do NOT bring out disability-specific data.

Deaf issues – gaps and challenges DPOs or deaf persons themselves thereby

tend to use alternative statistics sometimes for their activities, from Zambia 2000 Census of Population Report Chapter – though its an official document it is a misrepresentation of disability data and has been rejected.

Deaf issues – gaps and challenges The community development processes beginning

from the government ministries, councils or agencies, and all other key stakeholders and players must bear in mind and practice the key principles of development system for the deaf in the following: Universality: Appropriate processes and facilities

should be devised to cater for deaf citizens in communities and for social integration, whose specific needs would make ordinary involvement unduly burdensome.

Information: the deaf should be able to obtain accurate information and statistics about themselves and should be sufficiently informed about development process and systems in the country and in ones community.

Deaf issues – gaps and challenges Deaf culture: deaf persons like any other

disability category have “culture” and “tradition” as per ones community. Deaf persons in Zambia like their “sociological cousins” the blind are gregarious ie they like being together generally regardless of ones social status.

All of these principles are of specific importance for Deaf citizens vis-à-vis community development and social integration. These principles all involve the Deaf citizen’s ability to access information and understand their role in the developmental process and ultimately translate it into great involvement, meaningful participation and social integration in such development trends and programmes by the deaf.

LEGISLATION AND POLICY ENVIRONMENT VIS-À-VIS DEAF PERSONS

Legislation and policies at country level are fundamental in promoting the rights of the people especially the marginalized or disadvantaged such as persons with disabilities including deaf persons. While the importance – and increasing role – of international law in promoting the rights of such people is recognized by the international community, domestic legislation remains one of the most effective means of facilitating social change and improving the status of deaf persons.

LEGISLATION AND POLICY cont.International norms concerning disability are

therefore useful for setting common standards for deaf-friendly policies or legislation. These standards also need to be appropriately reflected in policies and programmes that reach deaf persons and can effect positive changes in their lives within ones community.

 In this connection Government has taken an effective measure by enacting Persons with Disabilities Act No. 33 of 1996 – Zambia’s disability anti-discrimination law; and has also about 15 government policies that are inclusive of disability issues.

LEGISLATION AND POLICY cont.Furthermore, the Government has ratified, in

February 2010, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) to ensure that all persons with disabilities including deaf persons are entitled and able to exercise their right to development and social integration. This means that where activities are required, it should be facilitated and barriers or obstacles to such activities once in progress should not be imposed covertly or otherwise to deny deaf participation or involvement.

LEGISLATION AND POLICY cont.There also are certain cultural and social barriers

that have served to deter full participation of deaf persons. Changes in the perception and concepts of deafness will involve both changes in values and increased understanding at all levels of society even among deaf persons themselves, and a focus on those social and cultural norms, that can perpetuate erroneous and inappropriate myths about deafness. One of the dominant features of good governance – at whatever level of society – has been the recognition of law as a tool of social change. Though legislation is not the only means of social progress, it represents one of the most powerful vehicles of change, progress and development in society.

LEGISLATION AND POLICY cont.Despite some progress in terms of legislation over

the past decade, rights of deaf persons have not been systematically addressed in the Zambian society including among the major development stakeholders such as government, cooperating partners (multilateral and bilateral), political parties, civil society organizations (without the exception to Disabled Peoples Organizations) and private institutions or companies in the field of community development and social integration. Consequently the situation of deaf persons often will be addressed – by such key stakeholders – in terms benevolence, philanthropy or charity and worst of all haphazardly, arbitrarily or subjectively and illogically.

LEGISLATION AND POLICY cont.Therefore, a need exists for more

comprehensive, consistent and well coordinated legislation and policy to ensure the rights of deaf persons in all aspects of development – political, civil, economic, social and cultural rights – on an equal basis with non-deaf/disabled persons. Appropriate measures are required to address existing barriers that are prejudicial and discriminatory, and to promote thereby opportunities for deaf persons to participate on the basis of equality in the development of the country.

Deaf persons – development and integration milestone

Zambia has scored a number of milestone regards development and integration for/of deaf persons at sub-national and national levels including the following: government of Zambia in February 2010 ratified

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which is a very important tool to deaf persons rights in every aspect of development and integration;

deaf citizens of Zambia were represented on the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) by a deaf person – the NCC has taken on board a number of cross-cutting disability issues that encompass sign language for deaf persons among others;

Deaf persons – development and integrationfor the past 4 years or so sign language captions

during TV programmes such as events of the weekend and other important programmes have been implemented by both public and private TV stations this is one way of the deaf accessing information and be sensitized on various developmental issues in the last five years;

from time immemorial deaf persons who have graduated as teachers have been given equal opportunities with non-deaf teachers as such deaf teacher graduates being given preferential treatment by the Ministry of Education employing and deploying them to non-deaf schools as teachers;

Deaf persons – development and integrationFor the last 10 years or so deaf persons have been

– scantly – participating in voter education (civic education) and voter registration exercises in communities especially reaching out to their fellow deaf persons within the age of voting. Note that since 2010 early ZDYW has been spearheading a comprehensive voters programme for deaf persons in the country; Quotation: No right is more precious in a free country than that of having a voice in the election of those who make the laws under which, as good citizens, we must live. Other rights, even the most basic, are illusory if the right to vote is undermined. (Wesberry v. Sanders, 376 U.S. 1, 17-18 [1964]);

Deaf persons – development and integrationDeaf persons are represented in the national

HIV/AIDS response through deaf persons on the NAC Forum on HIV/AIDS for Persons with Disabilities;

Deaf persons are represented on Zambia Agency for Persons with Disabilities (ZAPD) Board. ZAPD is a government agency under the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services (MCDSS) is charged with the responsibility to coordinate disability issues in the country. It is established under the Act of Parliament i.e. Persons with Disabilities Act No. 33 of 1996;

Deaf persons – development and integrationThere is a proliferation of organisation for

the deaf in the last decade adding to the positive growth of deaf representation at a number of fora in the country and also strengthening the advocacy and sensitization.

ConclusionThis is by no means the exhaustive picture of

what is happening for the deaf in Zambia both positive and negative but rather it is a general picture that one would draw a conclusion that deaf persons in Zambia have been neglected in so far as practical community development and social integration is concerned.

May I acknowledge Mr. Harvey Ngwale – my friend and a disability human rights activist for helping me to put together my presentation.

Thank you all!Thank you all!