Barrick Gold Corporation has supported the Tanzania Deaf Development Organisation with 10,000 US dollars to deal with challenges facing people with disabilities.
This support is part of the funds donated by the Nos Vies en Partage Foundation (NVeP) sponsored by CEO and the President of Barrick Gold Corporation, Mark Bristow.
NVeP objective is to tackling social development challenges which affect communities’ particular focus being on raising funds for those people, especially women and children, who do not benefit from the economic growth in Africa.
The Secretary of the Tanzania Federation of Disabled People’s Organisations in Rukwa Region, Ms Elina John said at the training offered to students and lecturers at Sumbawanga Health College on the use of finger signs that there is increased awareness among people with disabilities to seek health services.
“Most of the health care providers do not understand finger signs thus failing to provide perfectly health services to deaf people,” she said.
Persons with disabilities face significant hurdles when accessing health services. People who are deaf usually find it difficult to express themselves and show fear, mistrust and frustration when using healthcare services.
Therefore, they are unable to receive information in their mother tongue and access the information they need directly through the healthcare professional to make health-related decisions.
Deaf people often lack access to clear and efficient communication in the healthcare system, which deprives them from critical information and quality health care.
If the healthcare professionals do not provide sign language interpreters to be present during consultations, deaf persons sometimes have to bring family members to interpret for them, and that is a considerable responsibility to cast on them. In addition to this, family members are not medically trained to explain medical diagnoses.
Having the healthcare professional not possessing adequate knowledge about the deaf persons and their languages, can result in some severe implications for the life of a deaf individual.
Most of the doctors or any other healthcare professionals are not trained how to communicate to and ensure reasonable accommodation for deaf person.