The South African Medical Research Council’s Forgotten Agenda study team member, Dr Jacques Lloyd has won the Discovery Health Clinical Excellence Award for Track 6: Policy, Finance and Ethics at the 11th SA AIDS Conference 2023 held at the ICC in Durban.
Over the last years Dr Lloyd has worked with the SAMRC Forgotten Agenda team conducting research to increase our understanding of the barriers that people with disabilities face when trying to access sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR) services. In this project, Dr Lloyd together with Prof Jill Hanass-Hancock, Senior Specialist Scientist within the Gender and Health Research Unit (GHRU) are combining science with direct knowledge translation to influence disability inclusive policy and practice.
Speaking at SAAIDS 2023, Dr Lloyds presentation revealed why people with disabilities are vulnerable to negative SRHR outcomes and what barriers they experience when they try to access SRHR services. He highlighted that vulnerability and barriers vary depending on type and degree of disability and its intersection with other characteristics such as gender, age or sexual orientation. He provided a framework to systematically close disability gaps and overcome ableism in governance and coordination of SRHR programming, policy making, service demand creation and health service delivery. He also explained the importance of developing disability inclusive policy and strategic plans through the full inclusion of people with disabilities in developing these documents.
Further illustrating examples of good practice, Dr Lloyd highlighted the Forgotten Agenda study approach, which enabled the South African Disability sector to actively participate in the development of South Africa’s new National Strategic Plan on HIV, TB and STIs 2023-2028. He highlighted as key factors the provision of evidence-based capacity building, a disability inclusion SRHR policy analysis and continued support for the sector during the development of the new National Strategic Plan.
Dr Jacques Lloyd said “The collaboration between a research institute such as the SAMRC and the South African Disability Sector has provided a marginalized group with a strong voice combining evidence with advocacy. We now have a new National Strategic Plan that is informed by evidence, mainstreams disability rights and includes a minimum package of services for people with disabilities. This package can now be costed and implemented with the disability sector. Considering that our people have been left behind in the response to HIV, TB and STIs it is NOW TIME TO ACT differently”.
Research does not only inform advocacy for disability inclusion in health programming, but advocacy can also call for disability inclusive research and surveillance. Participants at the conference engaged with Dr Lloyds presentation actively and learnt that the new National Strategic Plan includes has disability related indicators in its M&E section. Much must happen to ensure the country is able to report on these indicators as disability data collection is often neglected in mainstream health research and surveillance. However, participants learnt that good practice models exist both in terms of disability inclusive research as well as SRHR programmes.
Prof Hanass-Hancock: “We know that people with disabilities are two times more likely to be exposed to HIV and intimate partner violence and that this vulnerability is greater for women with disabilities then their peers without disabilities or men. We also know that different people with disabilities experience different types of barriers to health information and services. As a researcher it is not good enough to disseminate such findings in a journal article. In a world where Ableism is entrenched in our way of life, we must create ways to move towards disability inclusive and accessible policy and practice. Designing research in a way that directly informs policy and programming and empowers people with disabilities to speak for themselves is a starting point.
Participants at the conference applauded Dr. Lloyds determination and informative presentation, that revealed for many how important it is to change policy and praxis to be more inclusive and accessible.
Dr. Thato Chidarikire (Chief Director HIV, AIDS Programmes National Department of Health): “For as long as I have known Dr. Lloyd, he has been passionate about the need to improve access for people with disabilities. Seeing the barriers, he experienced in his own session, made me realize just how urgent it is to ensure inclusivity. His presentation and determination were very touching, and I hope this will lead to more awareness of barriers that people with disabilities are facing on a day-to-day basis. Moving forward I am planning to engage more, especially regarding programmes, which were very clearly articulated in his presentation.”
Read more about the Forgotten Agenda Study | HERE
Listen to the article audio