disABILITY FOCUS

This week we continue looking at the provisions under Part III, which underscores on the rights of persons with disabilities and places obligations on Government and other stakeholders to ensure that those rights are enjoyed by persons with disabilities.   Article 25, in particular, focuses on prohibition or discrimination in health care institutions. The Article reads: (1) No person shall be denied access to health care services in any health establishment or be charged a higher fee for any such services, on the grounds of disability. Any person who contravenes sub section (1) shall be guilty of an offense and shall be liable, in the case of an individual, to a fine of K100, 000.00 and imprisonment for five years; or in the case of a body corporate, organization or association, to a fine of one million Kwacha. Article 25(3) stipulates that not withstanding the provisions of sub section (2), a court may, in addition to any penalty imposed on a person convicted, order in...

Part III provides for rights of persons with disabilities and places obligations on Government and other stakeholders to ensure that those rights are enjoyed by persons with disabilities.   The rights, among others, include health, accessibility to the physical environment, transport, information, education, housing and employment. Article 23 specifically focuses on prevention, early identification and intervention. The Sub-section (1) of the Article reads:   Government shall provide appropriate health services including prevention, early identification and intervention and services designed to minimise and prevent further disabilities. Sub-section (2) reads as follows: The Government, in liaison with local assemblies and with the responsible Ministry, with a view to preventing the occurrence of disabilities, shall (a) undertake or cause to be undertaken surveys, investigations and research concerning the cause and occurrence of disabilities; (b) create awareness a...

Part II provides for the general administration and implementation of the Bill when enacted. It gives powers to the Minister to set up committees, and establishes the Malawi Council for Disability Affairs (MACODA) also known as “the Agency”.   The Agency will be an arm of the Government and will be responsible for the promotion of the equalization of opportunities for persons with disabilities, advise the Minister on all matters affecting persons with disabilities, register persons with disabilities and regulate relevant organizations. Article 4 reads: The Minister shall be responsible for (a) coordinating policy formulation and review; (b) implementation, monitoring and evaluation of programmes; (c) promoting disability mainstreaming in all sectors; (d) mobilizing resources from both internal and external sources for policy development and implementation; (e) strengthening the capacity of organizations of and for persons with disabilities in order to enhance advocacy to fa...

Introduction Besides a list of definitions, Part I of the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities Bill also contains preliminary provisions on general principles to be used during implementation, as follows. Basic Principle 1   “The Government shall adopt policies and legislation on equalization of opportunities for persons with disabilities whose aim shall be to promote and protect the rights of persons with disabilities and to fully include them in all aspects of life to enhance their dignity and well-being so that they have essentials of life.” Basically, what we mean by this principle is that the enactment of the Disability Bill shall be a significant boost towards the empowerment of persons with disabilities in the country and a milestone in the history of disability rights in the country.  The law shall recognise the need for persons with disabilities to be involved in developing national programmes, projects and services. It shall promote the...

This week, we continue looking at some of the key definitions of certain terms used in the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities Bill, as follows: ·          Government – refers to all the three branches: The Executive, Legislature and Judiciary whose functions are enshrined in this Bill respectively. ·          Impairment – means any loss or limitations of psychological, physiological or anatomical structure or function. ·          Institution – means land, buildings or other premises in which an organization carries on work for the empowerment of persons with disabilities, and includes premises where persons with disabilities are supported by such organization. ·          Inclusive Education – refers to the process of addressing and responding to the diversity of needs of all learners thro...