Review of policy and legislative framework for disability services in Namibia.
Tonderai W Shumba, Indres Moodley
PMID 30135915WHAT IT FOUND
Community-based rehabilitation is Namibia's main route to disability services, but all policies except inclusive education lack monitoring, and the disability policy and council act are only partly aligned with the UN disability convention.
Key findings
01Community-based rehabilitation is the main strategy for driving implementation of disability and rehabilitation services in Namibia.
02The reviewed disability policies, except the Sector Policy on Inclusive Education, have no monitoring and evaluation framework.
03The National Policy on Disability and National Disability Council Act are only partly aligned with the UN Convention, and some rights articles are not reflected in either document.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The review analysed policy documents, not patient records or clinical outcomes, so it cannot show whether disability services improve health or function. It included only policies and legislation directly addressing disability, so related services may have been missed. The search was conducted in October 2016, so it may not reflect later policy changes. It did not examine how ministries, providers or persons with disabilities experienced implementation. The main policy and council act were developed before the UN Convention, so some alignment gaps may reflect timing rather than deliberate omission.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that community-based rehabilitation improves patient outcomes. The paper analysed policy documents and did not measure clinical results.