Experiences of the deaf, blind, and deafblind in sub-Saharan Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic

This SEI discussion brief provides insights about the impacts of the pandemic on those who are deaf, blind and deaf-blind living in four sub-Saharan African countries: Cameroon, Rwanda, South Africa and Zimbabwe. As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded in early 2020, many observers stressed our shared human predicament in combatting the virus, and in the global recession it has triggered. But the impacts of the both the pandemic itself and government responses to it have been far from equal; this pandemic, like other disasters, has again exposed and compounded pre-existing societal weaknesses and high levels of inequality and injustice. Disproportionate effects are borne by those who are deaf, blind, and deafblind living in developing countries. Like other people with disabilities, deaf, blind and deafblind people face enduring environmental, physical, and social barriers that hinder their ability to cope and effectively respond to risk, particularly when disasters arise.

Key messages: 

• Those who are deaf, blind, and deafblind living bear a disproportionate burden of the negative impacts of the pandemic, as shown by insights from four sub-Saharan African countries (Cameroon, Rwanda, South Africa, and Zimbabwe). 
• For people with these disabilities, the pandemic has exacerbated existing problems by elevating health risks, threatening livelihoods, and limiting access to key information. For example, wearing masks that are not transparent makes lip reading impossible, and social-distancing measures present difficulties for people with visual impairments who rely on guides. 
• The failure of governments to adequately respond to the needs of people with these disabilities in the pandemic and in other disaster situations underscores the important role played by organizations representing the deaf, blind, and deafblind in championing their rights. 
• Future research should strive to better understand the needs, perspectives, and priorities of the deaf, blind, and deafblind; and to gain better insights into ways to dismantle the political and cultural sources of discrimination in sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere.