Covid-19 vaccination: Forum decries exclusion of persons with disabilities – Noticias

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Covid-19 vaccination: Forum decries exclusion of persons with disabilities – Noticias

5:50 CAT | 26 Aug 2021

Photo: Noticias

The Forum of Mozambican Associations of Persons with Disabilities (FAMOD) yesterday condemned their “exclusion”, so far, from the entire Covid-19vaccination process, despite its members being part of risk groups.

The concern was presented in Maputo yesterday by the chairman of the Board of Directors of FAMOD, Cantol Ponja, at a press conference called to discuss the mass vaccination process started on August 5th.

“Updates made available indicate that 80% of the total population expected to be reached at this stage has already received the Covid-19 vaccine. This milestone undoubtedly deserves a salute to the efforts of the government and the health professionals involved,” Ponja said.

The endeavour, he said, was intended to respond to the vaccination needs of people with all types of disabilities across the country, but, regretfully, the vaccination process was not inclusive, especially in relation to people with disabilities.

“Although most people with disabilities are not more likely to become infected or have serious illness from Covid-19, some groups may be more likely to become infected or develop serious illness because of underlying medical conditions, or due to the fact that they are living in institutions or due to systemic social inequalities and access to health services,” Ponja cautioned.

He stated that this concern had already been presented to the Ministry of Health, specifically last March, when vaccination began in the country, but so far the FAMOD has not received any response.

The issue had again been expressed in a virtual conference with Ministry of Health staff, he added, but again, no clarification was obtained.

The chairman of the Board of Directors of FAMOD said that the concern was reinforced when the World Health Organization (WHO) identified people with disabilities as a priority group for vaccination.

“This inclusion as a priority group emphasises that people with disabilities are particularly exposed to the risks of Covid-19 and, as such, require the adoption of specific measures to mitigate these risks and their impact,” Ponja said.

Unfortunately, he lamented, measures of inclusion and prioritisation of people with disabilities have not yet been taken in Mozambique, even in the mass roll-out of vaccination.

The Forum of Mozambican Associations of People with Disabilities is a non-profit civil society organization that works to promote and defend the rights of people with disabilities and represents more than 30 organisations of people with disabilities across Mozambique.

Source: Noticias