‘Nearly 10 percent of Zimbabweans have functional difficulties’

‘Nearly 10 percent of Zimbabweans have functional difficulties’

Pretty Manyewe

The recently held 2022 Population and Housing Census showed that the country has a 9.2 percent of its population living with functional difficulties.
The disability assessment centered in difficulties in seeing, hearing, walking or climbing, remembering or concentrating, self-care, and communication.
The objective was to monitor the quality and outcomes of policies for persons with disabilities, address international obligations such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the United Nations Conventions on disability; and to determine the broader social needs of persons with disabilities, such as provision of technology for use in employment and education among others.
These findings were shared by the Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Monica Mutsvangwa during Tuesday`s Post-Cabinet Briefing.
She said Zimstat established that there are 1 207 140 (9.2%) persons with functional difficulties throughout the country.
“Women account for 718 899 (59.6%) of that population. Matabeleland North has the highest number at 11.4%, while Harare has the lowest number at 5.2%.
Rural areas have 74% of persons with varying degrees of difficulty in performing activities, while urban areas account for 26% of that population. Females have higher proportions of difficulty across the 6 domains of difficulty in both rural and urban areas. The prevalence of people with “a lot of difficulty” in at least 1 domain is 1.6%, while 0.3% are in the “cannot do at all” category,” said Minister Mutsvangwa.

“The country’s total population of 13 066 443 consists of persons aged 5 years and above. 1 in 1 200 people in this age group faces a lot of difficulty in both seeing and hearing. Illness and ageing are the largest underlying causes of difficulty in both seeing and hearing, while “born with difficulty” is the major cause for difficulty in communication. Prevalence of disability in children aged 5-17 years is 3,5%, with disability being more in rural than in urban areas,” said Minister Mutsvangwa.
These findings of the 2022 Population and Housing Census Functioning Survey are expected to go a long way in guiding Government’s efforts at targeting interventions across different sectors.