Bulawayo Marks Rare Disease, Wheelchair and Birth Defects Days With Call for Greater Inclusion
Valencia Ndhlovu
Bulawayo on Saturday hosted a joint commemoration of three global awareness days focused on rare diseases, wheelchair use and birth defects, with organisers and government representatives calling for greater inclusion of people with disabilities in planning and policy.
The event was held at Stanley Hall in Makokoba and organised by the Rare Diseases and Disabilities Africa Foundation, known as the RaDDA Foundation, in collaboration with Nozizwe Mother of Nations Trust, Mothers of Special Heroes and Emhlane Kamama. It marked Rare Disease Day, International Wheelchair Day and World Birth Defects Day under the theme: “Celebrating the strength and resilience of all persons impacted by rare diseases, all wheelchair users, and all those with visible and invisible birth defects.”
Disability advocates, community members and government representatives attended the commemoration, which also included the distribution of wheelchairs donated by Nozizwe Mother of Nations Trust to individuals in need.
Delivering a speech on behalf of Bulawayo Mayor David Coltart, Ward 10 councillor Khalazani Ndlovu said the global awareness days highlighted the need to strengthen the inclusion of people with disabilities in development planning.
“So often these days go unnoticed, but they speak to the need to incorporate social inclusion of people with disabilities in our planning,” she said.
Ndlovu said the City of Bulawayo has adopted a disability policy aimed at mainstreaming disability issues across its programmes, policies and service delivery.
“As a city we recognise the importance of including people with disabilities in our programming, policies and service delivery so that disability issues are mainstreamed in the City of Bulawayo’s operations and strategies,” she said.
Guest of honour Rossy Mpofu, Special Advisor on National Disability Issues from the Office of the President and Cabinet, urged communities to recognise the capabilities of people living with disabilities.
“Disability does not mean inability. People with disabilities must know they are important and should not be discriminated against because of their condition,” she said.
Among those who received wheelchairs at the event was Lincoln Mguni, whose mother Isabel said the donation would have a direct impact on his daily life.
“I am happy that my son Lincoln now has a wheelchair, thanks to Nozizwe Mother of Nations Trust. It is going to make a huge difference as he will be able to move around easily and attend school like other kids. It is a big step forward for him,” she said.
Tinotenda Mudarikwa, Founder and Director of the RaDDA Foundation and lead organiser of the event, said the commemoration was aimed at promoting open dialogue on rare diseases, which he said remain poorly understood by communities and decision makers.
“We have a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Local Government and we want to start openly talking about rare diseases because it is not a topic many people, including decision makers, fully understand,” he said.
Mudarikwa said the foundation has historically worked within the disability community in Makokoba and Murombo but is now looking to broaden its reach.
“We still have a long way to go and this is just the beginning. In previous years we mainly worked within the disability community in Makokoba and Murombo, but now we want to reach out further and have a broader dialogue on these issues,” he said.
