Re: https://www.hifa.org/dgroups-rss/chikankata-ngangula-disabled-farmers-as...
Dear Bosswell, Hajime and colleagues,
Thank you for your message relating to your work in Zambia. You say
"It is extremely difficult for us to establish the accessibility of health care services for children with severe disabilities...
"Most of these children come from very poor families [and] the death of such a child would be viewed as relief...
"Its very rare that such children would be assisted to have specialised health support..."
There are many important aspects of your message and to the subject of living with a disability, whether child or adult.
I refer also to Hajime's previous message: "American philosopher Michael Tooley, in response to the question "What is a human?", posited that only a "person" has the right to life as their criterion. According to this view, infants and those with severe disabilities who cannot express themselves are not a "person"..."
https://www.hifa.org/dgroups-rss/re-rights-life-children-and-adults-seve...
Disabled children have many disadvantages in addition to the physical or mental disadvantage relating to their condition. They and their caregivers have challenges to receive quality health care.
There is also social and cultural perception and stigma of children with severe disabilities and their families. How are such children perceived and cared for in different countries and contexts?
I have just read the abstract of a paper that says '[In the 1970s] it was common practice [in the UK] to bring about the deaths of some children with learning disabilities or physical impairments.' This seems quite shocking, especially as it is recent and in a country that has prided itself on quality of health care. What is the situation in other countries? https://www.jstor.org/stable/1410652?utm_source=copilot.com
We have only scratched the surface of a complex challenge. Please share your thoughts and experienceby email to: chifa@hifaforums.org
Many thanks, Neil
CHIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org