Mozambique: The Ministry of Health advocating for People with Disabilities

Abstract

The government of Mozambique has signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability (CRPD), but it has not yet been ratified. However, some of its neighbours have already ratified it. Namibia, for example, has the highest Gini coefficient of income inequality, and its legal framework is much less developed than Mozambique’s, nevertheless it has ratified the convention. This will help Namibia to raise people with disability (PWD) out of poverty. This is something that Mozambique needs to do. Therefore, the aim of this essay is to discuss why Mozambique should ratify the CRPD, and why and how the Ministry of Health should lobby the government to ratify it. The Ministry of Health has a specific role to spur the ratification of the Convention, which will also assist in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). We will identify possible key partners to be involved in the process. Consequently, we will speak about some practical ways the Ministry of Health should follow to implement the CRPD in the maternal and child health sector, and how to develop capacity building. The final scope is to understand the importance of ratifying such convention, and how Mozambique can improve the health care for PWD