Challenges Facing People with Disabilities and Possible Solutions in Tanzania

Abstract

The first ever World report on disability, produced jointly by World Health Organization and the World Bank, suggests that more than a billion people in the world today experience disability Therefore, about 10 per cent of the world’s populations are PWDs. Out of the number said above, 80 per cent of PWDs live in developing countries. As for Tanzania in particular, the World Health Organization (WHO) and International Labour Organization (ILO)’s reports of 2007 estimated that there were more than 3 million people in Tanzania who have disability. Probably the number is still the same. The number includes both physical and mental disabilities. Reports and experience show that people with disabilities often face mistreatments in a number of ways and because of various reasons. In addition the World Bank has estimated that, 20 per cent of the most impoverished individuals are disabled. Evidently, women and children with disabilities are more susceptible to abuse, including physical and sexual violence as they may not receive sexual education and may be less able to defend themselves against sexual abuse and rape. Other reports indicate that, the mortality rates for people with disabilities are higher than persons without disabilities. Worse enough Tanzania Human Rights Report of 2010 which quotes the Disability Survey Report of the Government of Tanzania of 2008 confirms that, the current illiteracy rate for disabled persons in Tanzania is 47.6 per cent compared to 25.3 per cent of the people without a disability. That means almost half of the PWDs are not educated.

Key words: The civil, political, social, economic, charity and cultural rights to all people.