Challenges with the Disability Policy Framework in Zimbabwe: An In-Depth Qualitative Analysis of Perspectives of Youth with Disabilities

Although Zimbabwe has made significant progress regarding a policy framework that caters for the needs of people with disabilities through various pieces of legislation such as the Disabled Peoples Act (DPA), ratifying the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability (CRPD) and adopting a new constitution which have provisions for disability rights, people with disabilities in Zimbabwe are yet to benefit from these policies as they are not fully implemented. Focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 youth aged between 18 to 35 with disabilities and 5 key informants in Gweru, to analyse their perceptions regarding disability policy framework in Zimbabwe. Most of the youth with disabilities lacked knowledge on the various policies on disability. This was attributed to poor implementation of such policies and a general negative attitude of society towards disability rights. Youth with disabilities are not fully benefiting from the current disability policies due to a lack of knowledge and some implementation gaps. The participants suggested full implementation of such policies and involvement of youth with disabilities in policy formulation and implementation.