Living Conditions among People with Activity Limitations in Malawi

180 Pages·2004·0.62 MB·English

Photo: Jarl Ovesen
STF 78 A044511
REPORT
Living Conditions among People with
Activity Limitations in Malawi
A National Representative Study
September 2004
www.sintef.no
Federation of Disability
Organisations of Malawi
FEDOMA University of Malawi SINTEF Health Research
Federation of Disability Organisations in Malawi Centre for Social Research Living Conditions and Social Services University of Malawi
Address: PO Box 2284 Address: PO Box 278 Address: PO Box 124 Blindern
Blantyre, Malawi Zomba, Malawi 0314 Oslo, Norway
Contact:
SINTEF REPORT
TITLE

SINTEF Health Research Living Conditions among People with
Activity Limitations in Malawi.
Address: A National Representative Study.
P.O.Box 124, Blindern, NO-0314 Oslo/
NO-7465 Trondheim, NORWAY

Telephone: AUTHOR(S)
[phone] (Oslo)
[phone] (Trondheim)
Fax: ME Loeb, Arne H Eide (editors)
[phone] (Oslo)
[phone] (Trondheim)
CLIENT(S)
Enterprise No.: NO 948 007 029 MVA
Norwegian Federation of Organisations of

Disabled People
REPORT NO. CLASSIFICATION CLIENTS REF.
STF78 A044511 Unrestricted Jarl Ovesen
CLASS. THIS PAGE ISBN PROJECT NO. NO. OF PAGES/APPENDICES
82-14-03510-4 78g026 167/5
ELECTRONIC FILE CODE PROJECT MANAGER (NAME, SIGN.) CHECKED BY (NAME, SIGN.)
Malawi report ME Loeb Karl Gerhard Hem
FILE CODE DATE APPROVED BY (NAME, POSITION, SIGN.)
204-08-26 Arne H Eide
ABSTRACT

This research report provides results from the study on living conditions
among people with disabilities in Malawi. Comparisons are made between
individuals with and without disabilities and also between households with
and without a disabled family member.
Results obtained in Malawi are also compared those obtained in earlier
studies carried out in Namibia and Zimbabwe.
The Malawian study was undertaken in 2003.
KEYWORDS ENGLISH NORWEGIAN
GROUP 1 People with disabilities
GROUP 2 Living conditions
SELECTED BY AUTHOR Activity limitations

ICF

National study
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PREFACE
(Rachel Kachaje – Chairperson SAFOD)

As Southern Africa Federation of the Disabled (SAFOD), we feel
honoured to have been part of this study on the Living
Conditions among People with Disabilities in Malawi and we are
very grateful to the Government of Malawi i.e. the Ministry
Responsible for People with Disabilities, The Centre for Social
Research (CSR), Federation of Disability Organisations in Malawi
(FEDOMA) and all its affiliates, Disability Organisations for, and
the Disabled Persons themselves and other partners for
rendering their support for the realisation of the project.

Studies such as those that have been carried out in Namibia,
Zimbabwe and now in Malawi are very important as they
provide a more precise indication of the true living conditions of
people with disabilities than has previously been available.
Furthermore, the survey in Malawi, together with the earlier
Awareness Building Campaign, has aided in sensitising society
to the plight of people with disabilities and the importance of
their inclusion in all developmental activities.

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People with disabilities have played an active role in all aspects
of this study. While the Centre for Social Research (CSR) at the
University of Malawi had accepted the responsibility for
overseeing all research aspects of the study, FEDOMA had
maintained responsibility for project management at the local
level. People with disabilities have been equal partners in the
design process, in data collection and supervision, and in the
field have proven to be as capable as their non-disabled
counterparts. This is a very positive development.

It is common knowledge that people with disabilities in the
SADC Region and indeed in the whole of Africa are experiencing
problems and difficulties in carrying out their daily activities and
in their ability to fully participate in society. People with
disabilities experience barriers that may be physical, in the form
of reduced accessibility to local services (including schools,
hospitals and the workplace), and may be social, in the form of
discrimination and negative attitudes in society at large. These
are problems that can be avoided, or at least reduced, if the
development policies of governments, Donor Organisations and
Development Agencies were targeted towards inclusion and
addressing the specific needs of people with disabilities in
society.

What may however be retarding progress is a lack of clear data
in the form of statistics on the actual situation of persons with
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disabilities in our respective countries. This report should, at
least in part, redress that deficit.

And once research is completed and data are collected,
emphasis must be placed on utilising the results of research to
not only raise awareness but also to catalyse, to urge all those
who have something to do with disability including governments
and other relevant institutions to commit themselves, to
advocate towards bringing about changes in issues that affect
the lives of people with disabilities in Malawi and indeed in the
whole of the Southern Africa Region.

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Table of Contents
PREFACE ................................................................................. 3
Table of Contents ..................................................................... 7
Summary .............................................................................. 11
Introduction........................................................................... 23
1 Context ........................................................................... 27
2 Concepts ......................................................................... 37
2.1 Disability ......................................................................... 37
2.2 Living conditions............................................................... 41
2.3 Disability and living conditions............................................ 42
2.4 Combining two traditions and ICF ....................................... 44
3 Living conditions among people with activity limitations in low
income countries .............................................................. 46
3.1 Disability data in low-income countries................................ 48
3.2 Relevant studies in Malawi ................................................. 61
4 Design and Methods.......................................................... 63
4.1 Determination of Sample Size ............................................ 63
4.2 The Sampling Frame ......................................................... 65
4.3 Sampling Procedures......................................................... 66
4.4 Data Collection................................................................. 70
4.5 Questionnaires ................................................................. 71
4.6 The Research Teams......................................................... 74
4.7 Data analysis ................................................................... 76
5 Results............................................................................ 77
5.1 Results from the study on level of living conditions ............... 78
5.2 Disability study ...............................................................106
6 Discussion ......................................................................147
7 Conclusions ....................................................................157
8 References......................................................................161
9 Appendices .....................................................................167
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Tables
Table 3.1 Prevalence (%) of disability in selected countries ….… 45
Table 5.1 Number of households and individuals in the study ... 78
Table 5.2 Mean household size ............................................. 78
Table 5.3 Mean age of household.......................................... 79
Table 5.4 Gender, household type and Region ........................ 80
Table 5.5 Mean number of children (under 18 years) in household
by Household type and Region ........................................... 81
Table 5.6 Distribution of Disabled household members by region ..
.......................................................................... 82
Table 5.7 Disability by gender .............................................. 83
Table 5.8 Disability by gender by region ................................ 83
Table 5.9 Disability by age and region ................................... 84
Table 5.10 Marital status ....................................................... 85
Table 5.11 School attendance ................................................ 86
Table 5.12 School attendance by Type of disability ................... 88
Table 5.13 School grade completed ........................................ 89
Table 5.14 Languages written ................................................ 90
Table 5.15 Unemployment ..................................................... 91
Table 5.16 Skills................................................................... 93
Table 5.17 Monthly salary...................................................... 94
Table 5.18 Regional distribution of households ......................... 95
Table 5.19 Employment......................................................... 96
Table 5.20 Household income and expenses ........................... 97
Table 5.21 Housing ownership...............................................101
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Table 5.22 Age profile of person with disability........................106
Table 5.23 Distribution of the type of main disability by gender.107
Table 5.24 Cause of disability................................................108
Table 5.25 Age of onset of disability ......................................109
Table 5.26 Which of the services, if any, are you aware of and have
ever needed/received? .....................................................110
Table 5.27 Gap analysis (services not received) by type of disability
.........................................................................112
Table 5.28 Assessment of services received ............................114
Table 5.29 Type of school attended........................................116
Table 5.30 Accessibility at home............................................118
Table 5.31 Accessibility from home........................................119
Table 5.32 Type of assistive devices in use .............................121
Table 5.33 Assistance needed in daily life activities (N = 1574) .123
Table 5.34 Involvement in family life .....................................126
Table 5.35 Characteristics of the severity scales. .....................129
Table 5.36 Mean scores on severity scales by type of disability. 129
Table 5.37 Mean scores on severity scales by gender and region. ...
.........................................................................134
Table 5.38 Mean scores on severity scales by Self-evaluation of
Physical and Mental Health ...............................................136
Table 5.39 Mean severity scores on severity scales by indicators of
living conditions. .............................................................139
Table 5.40 Contrasting disability paradigms for research ..........141

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