Covid-19 Research Dissemination Webinar
The Southern Africa Federation of the Disabled (SAFOD) conducted regional research on The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Persons with Disabilities in Southern Africa. The research report can be downloaded here.
On Friday, 27th May 2022, from 10:00 am SAST, SAFOD welcomes different stakeholders to the Covid-19 Research Dissemination Webinar, so they can learn more about the key findings and recommendations from the study. Download the event flyer here.
The research sought to provide a broad understanding of diverse views and experiences of persons with disabilities in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic in Southern Africa and draw specific recommendations on addressing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on persons with disabilities.
SAFOD virtually conducted this research in Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) countries and physically documented community-level case studies in Lesotho, Namibia, and Botswana. Three qualitative data collection methods were used: interviews, focus group discussions (FGDs), and document analysis.
The findings confirm that the COVID-19 pandemic had merely amplified critical challenges that persons with disabilities were already facing before the pandemic emerged, such as worsening poverty, poor and inadequate social protection, rising unemployment, and poor access to services. Furthermore, the research confirms that disasters and emergencies often disproportionately impact the disability community, and the COVID-19 pandemic is no exception.
Despite the risks to COVID-19 infections among persons with disabilities, some COVID-19 national responses have rendered persons with disabilities to become worse off and more excluded.
For instance, containment regulations in Lesotho, Botswana, and Namibia caused disruptions in the livelihoods of persons with disabilities; their primary sources of income mainly were piece jobs and small-scale businesses in the informal economy.
SAFOD acknowledges that any research is of no use unless it gets to the people who need to use it. Dissemination of research findings is an important part of the research process, ensuring the benefits of research conducted are passed on to others.
In this context, SAFOD is committed to getting the findings of its research on the “Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Persons with Disabilities in Southern Africa” to the people who can make use of them, to maximize the benefit of the research without much delay.
To register, use this Zoom Link: