2021: COVID-19 Impact on Persons with Disabilities in Southern Africa
I coordinated this SAFOD research into the COVID-19 impact on persons with disabilities in Southern Africa, as part of the Inclusive COVID-19 Responses Campaign. The study covered eleven SADC countries, with community case studies in Botswana, Lesotho and Namibia.
Southern Africa Federation of the Disabled (SAFOD)
The problem
Persons with disabilities in Southern Africa faced hardship long before COVID-19 arrived. Many depended on informal work, like small trading or craft, with no safety net. Social protection barely reached them, and services were hard to access.
COVID-19 made all of this worse. Lockdowns wiped out incomes from informal work and small businesses. Masks stopped people with hearing loss from reading lips. Isolation harmed people who need daily support for psychosocial disabilities. Health messages rarely came in sign language, Braille or other accessible formats, so many people missed vital information. And no country tracked infections or deaths by disability, making it hard to plan a proper response. This gap in data was one of the clearest signs of the COVID-19 impact on persons with disabilities across the region.
The solution
SAFOD set out to build a clear picture of what the pandemic meant for disabled people, in their own words. The research used three methods.
- Interviews: 55 conversations with disabled people in Botswana, Lesotho and Namibia, plus 23 more with key informants across eight SADC countries.
- Focus groups: seven discussions in Botswana, Namibia and Lesotho, so people could respond to each other’s views.
- Document review: reports and papers from SAFOD, UN agencies and other researchers, checked against what people told us.
The findings then fed straight into SAFOD’s Inclusive COVID-19 Responses Campaign, giving it real evidence to push for change. This is one of the development research projects I’m so proud to be associated with.
What my team and I achieved
Research delivery
Coordinated 55 interviews in Botswana, Lesotho and Namibia, plus 23 key informant interviews across eight SADC countries on COVID-19 impact on persons with disabilities.
Community engagement
In consultation wit the consultant, mobilised key informants for seven focus group discussions, giving people with disabilities in Botswana, Namibia and Lesotho a direct voice in the study.
Case studies
Helped the consultant with documenting community-level case studies on COVID-19 impact on persons with disabilities in Botswana, Lesotho and Namibia, capturing the real stories behind the numbers.
Evidence for advocacy
Through report review and proofreading, supported the consultant with producing the final report on COVID-19 impact on persons with disabilities with clear recommendations for OPDs and governments, published in September 2021 and used to launch the Inclusive COVID-19 Responses Campaign.
