AN awareness campaign for rights of women with disabilities concerning sexual and reproductive health and HIV was launched yesterday in Bulawayo with a government minister revealing that people with disabilities still faced challenges in accessing family planning methods and maternal facilities in State hospitals. JUNIOR MOYO OWN CORRESPONDENT
In a speech read on her behalf, Bulawayo Provincial Affairs minister Eunice Sandi-Moyo said the Zanu PF manifesto sought to empower disabled and disadvantaged groups in society through indigenisation and the economic empowerment drive.
She noted that a special adviser to President Robert Mugabe and Cabinet on disabilities was appointed, adding that the Zanu PF government had made strides in redressing challenges faced by people with disabilities.
“I would like to applaud the strides made by our government so far, but also want to acknowledge with sincerity the predicaments faced by people with disabilities with regards sexual reproductive health and HIV. While we are all aware that the government has made sure that there is free access to family planning methods and material facilities in government hospitals, there are still challenges with regards the environment, particularly people with disabilities,” Moyo said.
She urged people with disabilities to work with Zanu PF in order for the government to address challenges besetting them, particularly women.
The campaign was preceded by an awareness march in the central business district led by the Federation of Organisations of Disabled People in Zimbabwe in collaboration with Disability HIV and Aids Trust.
The march was attended by scores of women living with disabilities.
