Have we forgotten our obligation to train health workers on disability? A policy analysis in sub-Saharan Africa

ObjectivesPeople with disabilities have worse health outcomes than people without disabilities, leading to a 10-20-year life expectancy gap. Health workers' attitudes and lack of training are barriers to health care for people with disabilities, yet current training initiatives are unsystematic and limited to specific cadres or institutions. Countries that have adopted the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities likely have legal obligations to train health workers on disability. We sought to explore how this obligation is included in disability laws and policies in sub-Saharan Africa, as this is an important indication of activities to close the health gap for people with disabilities.MethodsWe searched the two available databases on disability laws: WHO MiNDBANK and UN websites for disability laws and policies for each country to systemically extract information across 11 domains.Results57 documents in English, French, and Portuguese from 31 countries were included. No relevant documents were found for 18 countries. Of the most recent document for each country, nearly half (n = 16, 52%) had no mention of disability training, while the remaining countries required or mandated it (n = 15; 49%, respectively). Most laws and policies had limited details, though more robust ones had information on budget allocation, competencies, and cadres included.ConclusionsTherefore, several countries in sub-Saharan Africa include health worker training in disability laws, but more detailed policies could improve disability training initiatives.