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UNPRPD MPTF supports disability-inclusion in Eswatini
Our national development agenda is not balanced if we are not including persons with disabilities
The United Nations Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD) Round 4 Multi Partner Trust Fund Project Team supported the Kingdom of Eswatini’s Deputy Prime Minister’s Office in holding the first National Disability Technical Working Group workshop on the 25th of August 2023. The meeting was held at the United Nations House in the country’s capital, Mbabane, and attended by 36 multi-stakeholders drawn from the Government, UN and Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs). The Technical Group was established to guide the planning, coordination, implementation, monitoring and possible expansion of the disability programme in the Kingdom of Eswatini.
The Department of Social Issues Director in the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office (DPMO), Mr. Mcusi Shongwe, opened the meeting and expressed appreciation to stakeholders for partnering with the Eswatini Government to advance the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
Eswatini Government is establishing systems to ensure that disability issues are well mainstreamed and coordinated, hence the Deputy Prime Minister's Office has recognized the need to establish the National Disability Technical Working Group committee in order to ensure that even when the project has been ended, disability issues will continue to be executed in the country
The Kingdom of Eswatini ratified the CRPD in 2012 and enacted the Disability Act in 2018, key measures meant to promote disability rights in the country. The UNPRPD Round 4 project will be working with the National Disability Technical Working Group to develop the next -five-year Action Plan to support the implementation of the National Disability Policy.
Ms. Sindisiwe Dube, UNPRPD Project Coordinator, highlighted that that the National Disability Technical Working Group will provide a platform for Persons with Disabilities and the Organizations that represent them to effectively engage in driving the national disability rights agenda as well as strengthening disability inclusion in national frameworks such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (2021-2025).
According to the National Population and Housing Census of 2017, the Kingdom of Eswatini has an estimated 146 554 persons with disabilities, representing 13% of the population. Umbrella Body, Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (FODSWA) appreciated the meaningful engagement of persons with disabilities in the National Disability Technical Working Group. Persons with disabilities in the Kingdom of Eswatini still face diverse challenges such as limited access to assistive devices which include wheelchairs and hearing aids.
The National Action Plan should help to implement services that benefit persons with disabilities. Leaving no one behind entails sitting down with persons with disabilities and see what has been happening. Persons with disabilities should be the core drivers of any Technical Working Group. Disability work is one of the roles that is not on the cosmetic side, but very sensitive, and requires a passion for persons with disabilities.
Representing OPDs in Eswatini, Ms. Nondumiso Shongwe, expresses concerned over the rate of stigmatization in the country.
Stigmatization is still a challenge in the country.
The UNPRPD Round 4 Eswatini Programme has been working in Eswatini since 2022, playing a key role in promoting a multi-stakeholder approach to advance disability inclusion and inclusive Sustainable Development Goals. The UNPRPD Round 4 Eswatini Programme is implemented jointly by UNFPA, UNICEF and UNESCO.
