For Fear Of Being Mocked By Healthcare Workers At The Hospital
By Oretha Bundoo She
Liberia-Persons with disabilities (PWDs) face significant challenges in Liberia, including access to education, health, discrimination, environmental, and societal barriers, making them one of the most disadvantaged and marginalized group globally.
Over 16% of Liberians have a handicap, with 61% classified as “physically challenged.” The Liberian civil crisis is attributed to the failure to enforce human rights law and lack of inclusive health and education policy, leading to thousands of disabled individuals being unable to self-fend, lacking independence, and among the poorest citizens, according to the Center for the Rehabilitation of the Injured and Disabled (CRID).
“Not only the hospital is not alright, but the way these doctors talk can frustrate you. Mary Brown said: “I don’t know if it is because of our condition, but they are always shouting at us whenever we are sick the worst one is you shouldn’t be pregnant my daughter, you will feel bad about yourself.”
Mary Brown is a visually impaired woman, who shares her experience accessing health services in Liberia.
The national disability data initiative shows that 14.1% of adults over 15 experience functional problems, with women being more common (14.6%) and older age groups having higher prevalence rates (6.8%). Vision and mobility issues are the most prevalent, but limited healthcare access affects these individuals.
The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability emphasizes equal opportunities for PWDs addressing societal barriers like stigma, discrimination, and universal design, while addressing challenges like awareness among others.
“I have six children. All were home-delivered except for the first two boys. I stopped going to the hospital when I had my third pregnancy since then, I can’t remember the last time I ever went to the clinic because of how rule the people (nurses) at the hospitals are, I prefer buying medicine from the boys or I go in the drug store,” said Mary Brown.
The public health law could solve all of these issues, but regrettably, it is currently deteriorating in the Senate and has no chance of ever being taken up for discussion. The law suggests requiring all women and girls, including those with physical disabilities, to have access to sufficient and reasonably priced sexual and reproductive health care.
The Executive Director of the National Commission on Disability (NCD) is Samuel Dean. According to him, there is an issue with PWDs’ access to healthcare treatments because these services have a significant financial cost that they frequently cannot afford.
“There’s high discrimination and women with disabilities are usually mocked when they go for family planning and people at these facilities will be telling them, you’re old you can’t move from behind man business,” Dean said.
He claims that most disabled women find that humorous, and as a result, they would rather not receive healthcare services or health education to prevent embarrassment from medical professionals.
“There are still a lot of challenges and there is a need for some work and education,” Dean said.
While healthcare professionals here make fun of disabled women for obtaining family planning and other reproductive healthcare services, the situation in Nigeria is very different. In Nigeria, there are medical clinics dedicated to provide free inclusive and accessible sexual and reproductive health services for women with disability in Kaduna, Nigeria. For example, TBL Kakuri Gwari in Kaduna North, PHC Rafinguza in Lgabi and PHC Marabar Rido in Chikun are few of the facilities SRHR services at a little or no cost with trained staff on disability inclusion and gender equality to avoid pwd from experiencing attitudinal barriers.
“We used to receive free medicine from JFK during Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, but certain times they stopped during it under Geroge Weah. Mammie Smith said “For me, I don’t have a problem with buying my own medicine what I have a problem with is when you go to the hospital the people can’t want to look at us because of our condition and we did not beg for it, that sickness.
Explaining her encounter, Mammie claimed the nurses there talked down on her when she had gone to receive family planning service at a particular health center in Paynesville.
Ma Smith said that she is appealing to the government through the Ministry of Health to train doctors and nurses that will specifically focus on persons with disability who will be visiting the hospitals or clinics.
“Sometimes the way you talk to people can even make the sickness worse,” Mammie said.
In January 2023, the new National Action Plan (NAP) on disability inclusion came into effect. The plan was validated by stakeholders on 9 November 2022 with nine focal domains for disability inclusion: Livelihood Access and Economic Empowerment; Education; Health and Wellness; Agriculture and Food Security; Inclusive Governance; Access to Justice and Social Protection; Inclusive Sports, Recreation and Leisure; Accessibility; and Personal Mobility, Independent Living and Assistive Technology.
The new NAP reaffirms the Government of Liberia’s commitment to fostering an inclusive society and sets out ambitious targets for greater inclusion of persons with disabilities over the next five years. It has been designed to complement the National Commission on Disability (NCD)’s Roadmap for Disability Inclusion both of which, working in tandem, will attempt to meet the immediate needs experienced by persons with disabilities while simultaneously working to enact long-lasting changes in government policy.
While Liberia was among a few pioneer nations that developed a National Action Plan (NAP) to ensure that persons with disabilities (PWDs) were fully integrated and participating in various social, economic, and political activities five years ago, the country is largely yet to turn these good intentions into tangible actions benefitting persons with disabilities.
The evaluation of NAP 2018-2022, undertaken in tandem with the development of the next disability inclusion plan NAP 2023 – 2027, with support from UNDP, found that lack of political will, a systemic belief that disability is a low-priority issue, and a lack of accountability are grossly undermining the rights, wellbeing, and inclusion of people with disabilities.
However, the 2022 study highlights the government’s lack of financial commitment remains a significant barrier to the full inclusion of persons with disabilities, and the fulfillment of its obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). This report has been done under the Journalists Network on Disability Reporting Fellowship in Liberia funded by ALFO.