Central Province Focal Point Person for persons with disabilities, Clement Chanda, has appealed to the Ministry of Health to consider persons with disabilities in accessing chlorine and other disinfectants being distributed in efforts to eradicate cholera.
Mr. Chanda says there is need for the ministry to ensure that persons with disabilities, such as the blind and the deaf are included in the prevention and fight against cholera.
ZANIS reports that Mr. Chanda in an interview today also appealed to the Ministry of Health to ensure that messages on cholera and its preventive measures are also printed in brail material so that the visually impaired can also benefit.
Mr. Chanda said most of the information in the brochures are in print form, a situation he says deprives the visually impaired from accessing important information on the disease, its spread and prevention.
He added that even the messages that are being broadcasted on television exclude an aspect of sign language interpretation for the deaf who are unable to access the verbal information.
Mr. Chanda, therefore, said there is urgent need to ensure that the messages on the disease are all-inclusive because everyone is affected.
And Mr. Chanda has appealed to the visually impaired and the deaf persons to heed government’s directive by moving out of their begging points in the streets as they risk contracting the disease by not doing so.
He said while he understands their economic status, it is imperative that they leave the streets for now to avoid falling victim to the cholera epidemic.
He further advised all persons with disabilities in Central Province to partner with the government in the fight against cholera by maintaining high levels of cleanliness and hygiene practices.
