LERATO LELIA
A lack of access to services in the Free State and Northern Cape could be the reason for the two provinces having the highest proportion of persons with disabilities. This is according to the Director of the Association for persons with disabilities, Hendrien De Klerk who says some disabilities could be avoided with early detection and intervention.
“Our opinion is that there is no early detection. You know some of the people stay in remote areas and sometimes it is a small disability, if we can call it that, that can be made better with the right therapy and support if it is caught early. However, the services are not always available in those areas,” said De Klerk.
De Klerk added that there should also be more support, information and services offered to parents who have children who are born with disabilities. She explained that the proper support from government to disability associations to help reach communities to be able to offer services may lower disability statistics in the provinces.
The Northern Cape and the Free State were announced as having the highest proportion of persons with disabilities at 11% in a report released by Statistics South Africa.
