Disability worsens disaster

Cyclone Freddy devastated the Southern Region in March this year.

The torrents, floods and landslides affected more than 2.2 million people, including those with disability who lost their assistive devices such as wheelchairs, canes, hearing aids, spectacles and drugs.

Over 47 000 of them were displaced, reports the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma). But there is no official count of those who lost their aids.

These survivors now face challenges largely overlooked in recovery efforts.

According to the 2018 census, Malawi’s population of over 18 million includes at least 1.7 million persons with disability.

The cyclone has exposed gaps in national strides to meet the needs of people with disability amid calls for disability-inclusive approaches prescribed by the Disability Risk Management Bill that Parliament passed in April this year.

While some urgently require food and clean water, the displaced people with disability, who lost their assistive devices, face significant barriers to quality life.

Anecdotal evidence confirms that the marginalised population deprived of their vital props cannot access social amenities such as healthcare, schools, business premises, water, sanitation and hygiene.

Malaya Dyson, 45, of Muleno Village, Traditional Authority Ndamera in Nsanje District, fled to Jimu Emergency Evacuation Camp.

His life has become even harder as he struggles to fend for his family after his tricycle was crushed by a falling wall of his house on March 9.

Dyson recalls: “It rained heavily and the wall crumbled at midnight. We screamed for help until rescuers came and carried me to a safer place.

“When we returned to the house in the morning, my tricycle’s wheels were damaged. It doesn’t function well though a welder fixed it.”

Dyson can no longer travel long distances to buy and sell fish.

Eniya Sifa at Bangula camp is also in a similar predicament. The 50-year-old cannot  read, write or participate in public life after losing her eye glasses. This increases the risk of injury.

She says: “The cyclone left me destitute. With glasses, I could go anywhere and do anything by myself. I could cook, wash my clothes and clean dishes.

“Now, I depend on my children who cannot do things efficiently.”

Wynes Chirwa, 25, personifies the plight of persons with hearing impairments in the wake of the disaster. Since her hearing aids were washed away, the resident of Manase Township in Blantyre says she cannot hear what others say.

“Since many people in Malawi aren’t conversant with sign language, the hearing aids made everything easy for me. It will take long to replace them,” she laments.

During the tragedy, some persons with albinism lost sunscreen lotion, increasing the risk of developing sunburns and skin cancer.

Malawi Council for the Handicapped (Macoha) is working with local authorities to provide assistive devices to those in need and improve access to public infrastructure for all.

Macoha executive director George Chiusiwa says: “We appreciate that various humanitarian actors are assisting government to provide shelter, food, health care, child protection, mental health and psycho-social support.

“However, none of these efforts specifically target persons with disabilities, particularly those who lost assistive devices, which are fundamental to their enjoyment of the rights and accessibility.”

He stated that with new efforts to assess and mitigate the loss of assistive technology, the marginalised survivors are regaining their independence and adapting to life after the cyclone.

Still, more support is needed to meet the needs of survivors with disability.

The government has a primary role to include people with disability in disaster recovery and rebuilding efforts.

The disaster further undermined the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Disability Act of 2012. Article 11 of the UN convention requires the State to safeguard rights of people with disability during emergencies.

They include the right to life, health, education, livelihood, social protection, economic activity and rehabilitation.

In 2018, government rolled out the five-year National Disability Mainstreaming Strategy which requires all humanitarian interventions to protect, promote, uphold and fulfil the rights of vulnerable groups, including people with disability.

Cyclone Freddy could be a reminder not to leave people with disability behind during disasters.