Abstract:
Children with disabilities in Zimbabwe faced several economic, social and
cultural challenges due to crumbling economy and socialisation. Their plight
further deteriorated with the advent of COVID-19 pandemic that struck the
world economy. Zimbabwe was not spared from this as most parents of children
with disabilities are in the informal sector that was badly hit by COVID-19
lockdown measures that prohibited them from trading. This affected children
with disabilities to access their basic needs. The study was conducted on children
with disabilities in Chiredzi South which is a rural community. The
study used qualitative methodology in the form of desk review and virtual
questionnaires and key informant interviews. These virtual interviews used
the ODK application and ONA server. The main findings of the study were
that there are eight disabilities types in Chiredzi South that are prevalent to
children, lack of movement enablers, lack of telecommunication infrastructure
hindered education and health access for children with disabilities. The
main conclusions were that children living with disabilities in Chiredzi did not
receive meaningful help from government and non-governmental organisations
during COVID-19 pandemic; they are further excluded from accessing
basic services such as education and health. The recommendations of the
study are making sure that special teachers are at schools during lockdown
with government providing them with protective equipment, introduction of
subsidies to assist children with disabilities in schools, accessibility of appropriate
medication for those who live on special medication, and many other
recommendations as outlined at the end of the paper.
