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    Inclusion of vulnerable groups in health policies: Regional policies on health priorities in Africa


    Schneider, Margie and Eide, Arne Henning and Amin, Mutamad and MacLachlan, Malcolm and Mannan, Hasheem (2013) Inclusion of vulnerable groups in health policies: Regional policies on health priorities in Africa. African Journal of Disability, 2 (1). ISSN 2223-9170

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    Official URL: https://doi.org/10.4102/ajod.v2i1.40


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    Abstract

    Background If access to equitable health care is to be achieved for all, policy documents must mention and address in some detail different needs of groups vulnerable to not accessing such health care. If these needs are not addressed in the policy documents, there is little chance that they will be addressed at the stage of implementation. Objectives This paper reports on an analysis of 11 African Union (AU) policy documents to ascertain the frequency and the extent of mention of 13 core concepts in relation to 12 vulnerable groups, with a specific focus on people with disabilities. Method The paper applied the EquiFrame analytical framework to the 11 AU policy documents. The 11 documents were analysed in terms of how many times a core concept was mentioned and the extent of information on how the core concept should be addressed at the implementation level. Each core concept mention was further analysed in terms of the vulnerable group in referred to. Results The analysis of regional AU policies highlighted the broad nature of the reference made to vulnerable groups, with a lack of detailed specifications of different needs of different groups. This is confirmed in the highest vulnerable group mention being for ‘universal’. The reading of the documents suggests that vulnerable groups are homogeneous in their needs, which is not the case. There is a lack of recognition of different needs of different vulnerable groups in accessing health care. Conclusion The need for more information and knowledge on the needs of all vulnerable groups is evident. The current lack of mention and of any detail on how to address needs of vulnerable groups will significantly impair the access to equitable health care for all.

    Item Type: Article
    Keywords: Inclusion; vulnerable groups; health policies; Regional policies; health priorities; Africa;
    Academic Unit: Assisting Living & Learning,ALL institute
    Faculty of Science and Engineering > Psychology
    Item ID: 16486
    Identification Number: https://doi.org/10.4102/ajod.v2i1.40
    Depositing User: Malcolm MacLachlan
    Date Deposited: 06 Sep 2022 14:41
    Journal or Publication Title: African Journal of Disability
    Publisher: AOSIS
    Refereed: Yes
    URI:
    Use Licence: This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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