NCDs cause most disability in South Africa

NCDs cause most disability in South Africa

The leading cause of disablity in South Africa is hardly a surprise, HIV/AIDS. And, the good news is that there is a 10% reduction compared to 2007.
But what this image shows is that NCDs (the blue dots) remain the largest group illnesses to cause disability irrespective of age. What is alarming is the for 6/8 NCDs listed, the increases are in double digits. 

Disability measure =YLD

Disability is measured as by the amount of time, in years,that people lose to diseases and injuries = years of life lost to disability (YLD).
A disabling condition does kill you but takes its personal and societal toll.

Calculating YLD

Mulitipy a disability’s severity by the time it lasts. This means that a short-term, severe health problem and a long-term, relatively mild health problem could both result in the same number of YLDs.
For example, someone who needs two months to recover from a car accident but then regains their full health and someone who experiences relatively mild but lifelong back pain could end up losing the same number of years of their lives to disability. YLDs take into account all disabilities, including lower-visibility ones that result in daily pain, lost work time, or an inability for someone to thrive as they otherwise might.

Source: Institue for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME)

Disability Rights Awareness Month 2017

The Cabinet of South Africa in 2013 approved the annual celebration of National Disability Rights Awareness Month from 3 November to 3 December, and 3 December as National Day of Persons with Disabilities on the national events calendar.  The focus for DRAM2017 will fall on the 20th Anniversary of the release of the INDS and the 10th Anniversary of ratification of the UNCRPD and its Optional Protocol as important building blocks towards achieving our 2030 National Development Plan Vision.

Attached herewith the DRAM2017 poster.  Please circulate widely within your environments and also assist by placing it on your institution/department/organisation’s notice boards.

 

Just a reminder –

 

The National Disability Rights Machinery furthermore agreed that a specific focus for DRAM2017 be on young persons with disabilities.

 

Theme and Sub-Themes

The theme for the DRAM2017, consulted widely, is ‘Strengthening Self-Representation: Young people building on the legacy of OR Tambo and Friday Mavuso towards sustainable and resilient society for all’.

The following sub-themes will change the focus on weekly basis –

  • Week One:          Main Theme (Launch Week)
  • Week Two:          Building Resilient, Accessible and Sustainable Communities
  • Week Three:       Leave No-One Behind – The Right to Self-Representation
  • Week Four:         Rights and Recourse – Social Justice for All
  • Week Five:          Honouring our Stalwarts
  • Week Six:             Young People as Champions of an Inclusive 2030

 

We are requesting that our stakeholders share your thoughts, ideas, challenges with proposed solutions, events and other news with us during the month.

Please make use of any of the following platforms:

 

  • Please follow on Twitter: @Disability_SA; @The_DSD; @SABCDisability
  • On FB, follow on @SocialDevelopmentZA; @SABCDisability360
  • Use the following hashtags to enable us to retweet your posts: #Disability

 

‘Strengthening Self-Representation: Young people building on the legacy of OR Tambo and Friday Mavuso towards sustainable and resilient society for all’

 

To download all the media and information please use the link below: