Jacob Ngwenya
On Zero Discrimination Day, 1 March, we celebrate the right of everyone to live a full and productive life and live it with dignity and free from discrimination.
Discrimination is the negative treatment of a person or group of people on the basis of gender, race, ethnic or national origin, religion, disability, sexual orientation, social class, age, marital status, family responsibilities, etc.
Discrimination discourages people from accessing health-care services, including HIV prevention methods, learning their HIV status, enrolling in care and adhering to treatment.
Women with disabilities face discrimination when accessing sexual and reproductive health services as society and some healthcare service providers falsely presume that people with disabilities are asexual as if disability renders them sexually inactive. Some people with disabilities will not receive treatment on time as the possibility of them having asexual related ailment is excluded.
More than a billion people live with some form of disability and about 10 percent of the Zimbabweans are people with disabilities. People with disabilities are four times more likely to report being treated badly by healthcare staff and nearly three times more likely to be denied health care.
As vulnerable groups that include people with disabilities, people living with chronic diseases, we call upon all individuals to treat people with respect and don’t discriminate them based on their race, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or their disease.
Individuals should also stand up for the rights of people left behind, including people with disabilities, people living with non-communicable diseases and mental health disorders as well as people living with HIV. To make an impact everyone should denounce discrimination through social media and other platforms of communication.
We furthermore call upon government to address discrimination in healthcare settings by strengthening and implementing policies, regulations and standards for the prohibition of discrimination on all grounds in connection with health-care settings, ensure that everyone enjoys the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, review and repeal punitive laws that have negative health impact and guarantee that access to justice is made available to everyone including the most marginalized.
Jacob Ngwenya (Pictured above) is a Disability advocate and writes in his own capacity.
