By Imfurayabo Pierre Romeo
People with different disabilities are requesting the government of Rwanda to put in place both tangible policies and measures which will be protecting people with different disabilities, in anticipation of intervention in times of emergency in the future, such as pandemics as witnessed in regard to many obstacles they have encountered during this period, when the whole world is facing covid-19 virus pandemic.
This message was disseminated through the talk show which was broadcasted live on both Radio Isango Star and Television Isango Star, among the invited guests included Sauda Mukamazimpaka, the Vice spokesperson of the Rwandan Orhanization for Women and Girls with Disabilities UNABU, Kamali Fulgence, the Director in charge of advocacy in Rwanda Bio Medical Centre (RBC), as well as Mutesi Scovia an investigative journalist in news pertaining to the protection of women and girls.
Most of the contents during this talk show highlighted on the problems and obstacles which still hinder both a woman and a girl with a disability, to access different services.
Under normal circumstances, it has been a tug of war to access services when there wasn’t covid-19, however, it was exacerbated when the whole world in general faced covid-19, thereby complicating further even the few services they have been accessing, seemingly becoming almost impossible to get them at all.
Most contentious issues during this talk shows highlighted on the problems and obstacles encountered a woman and a girls faces when she is looking for a service. Under normal circumstances when there wasn’t any covid-19 pandemic, accessing services by people with disabilities was difficult, however, it was exacerbated when the whole world was facing covid-19 virus, theirby complicating further the few services they used to access, seemingly becoming almost impossible to access them at all.
Kamali who seemingly represented the Ministry of Health during the talk show, admitted that such obstacles while service delivering to persons with disabilities, where he emphasized at health facilities where many health professionals don’t know how to used sign language thus rendering to misunderstanding between the patient and the person to treat him/her.
He had this to say, “We are aware that there are times when a person with disability visits the health facility probably when he/she can’t talk, and when he/she starts touching on the stomach perhaps showing the doctor that she is pregnant thus in need of medical advice and to test the health of the unborn child, where you find that the doctor is giving her medicine for de worming, probably thinking that she is suffering from the stomach.”
Sauda Mukamazimpaka says that as far as communication is concerned, no method has been earmarked for people with hearing disability as well as sight disability especially during this period for Covid-19.
She said, “ the first time the news was heard about the corona virus pandemic in the who world there wasn’t any tangible method of enabling persons with hearing, sight, and speech disabilities to know about this information, even during the period when the government was enforcing stay at home directive, most people with disabilities didn’t know what it was all about, and whenever there are many communiqués notifying people as to how they should be protecting themselves from the pandemic people with disabilities who are able to understand them or even see them are few.”
Other issues that were discussed is about the use of sign language in order to explain to persons with disabilities where Rwanda Television was mentioned as an example, nevertheless, they pointed out that a big number of people in the villages don’t have access to television, and even where they could get information from like market places, trading centres, because they were places where many people could meet, thus asking through the people surrounding him, during lock down and STAY AT HOME DIRECTIVE.
Mukamazimpaka reiterated that during stay at home directive, when others could go to get food assistance, people with disabilities experienced problems in Villages one of them being to be repulsed being told that they have other organizations which help them and those who would be told like that couldn’t understand, so as to get registered thus being able to get food assistance.
Kamali as a representative of advocacy in RBC an organization based in the Ministry of Health said that there is a Braille which used sign language as well as the books which are being made in order to help them in the future; understandably with regard to this pandemic they couldn’t grab the highlights about it.
As associations under one umbrella, especially this Rwandan Organization for women and girls with different hereby requests the government and other relevant bodies, to start devising means and putting in place measures which will be protecting all the people with different disabilities in times of pandemics like covid -19 and others.
