Disability and rehabilitation in Zimbabwe: lessons and implications for rehabilitation practice in the U.S - Disability and Rehabilitation in Zimbabwe

Journal of Rehabilitation, Oct-Dec, 2002 by Elias Mpofu, Debra A. Harley

Fourth, the evolution of modern definitions of disability is also owed to the influence of international organizations for and of people with disabilities on the Zimbabwean disability-related organizations. A large number of organizations for and of people with disabilities in Zimbabwe were set up with the help of "sister" organizations from the developed countries. The Zimbabwean official definition of disability reflects, in part, the influence of organizations for and of people with disabilities from the developed world. Organizations like the Disabled Persons International, Council for the Blind, Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), World Health Organization (WHO), Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), UNESCO Sub-Regional Project for Special Education in Eastern and Southern Africa, Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), Royal Commonwealth Society for the Blind (now called the Sight Savers), Horizon Trust, United States International Development Agency (USAID), and International League for Persons with Mental Handicap are among the international agencies significantly influenced disability-related policies and practices in Zimbabwe.

From a modern Zimbabwean perspective, rehabilitation is regarded as the restoration of lost physical, mental or sensory functions or their amelioration through medical and psychosocial interventions. It is aimed at circumventing or ameliorating the disability-related physical, cultural or social barriers to equal participation in society (Mpofu, 2001). Public and privately owned rehabilitation hospitals, schools, vocational training centers, and associations for and of people with disabilities comprise key rehabilitation service providers. These social agencies typically provide occupational therapy, physiotherapy and vocational training to people with disabilities. For example the Zimbabwean Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare provides grants for the vocational training of people with disabilities who are registered with training centers in the country. The Ministry of Health and Child Welfare has rehabilitation units at each of the 15 referral hospitals in the country. It also shares responsibility with the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare for rehabilitation services provided at the nine national rehabilitation centers. In this connection, the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare has responsibility over the administration and management of the centers as well as the vocational skills programs, whereas the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare runs the hospital within the rehabilitation centers. The Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare also manages the Workman's Compensation Fund (WCF). The WCF is an organization that was set up by the government in partnership with the private sector with the dual responsibility of providing vocational training to injured workers as well as administering their compensation claims. A majority of the large corporations in industry and commerce have rehabilitation departments for their workers. Organizations for and of people with disabilities are more involved with vocational and psychosocial rehabilitation than with occupational and physiotherapy.