Highlighting awareness on how the global Covid-19 pandemic has affected people with intellectual disability (ID), Zululand Mental Health initiated a campaign which ran throughout March to commemorate Intellectual Disability Awareness Month (IDAM).

Focusing on the theme ‘See me, hear me, include me: The impact of Covid-19 on persons with intellectual disability‘, mental health organisations embarked on raising awareness about the ways in which the pandemic has impacted people with intellectual disability, highlighted barriers to services, access and information, and how such barriers impede on the rights of a person with ID.

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Worldwide, it is estimated that 300 million people live with ID, which accounts for about 2% of all disabilities.

In South Africa , approximately four out of every 100 people are affected by some form of ID, yet it remains highly stigmatised and disregarded.

Persons with ID often have co-morbidities which affect their circulatory, respiratory and endocrine systems, thus making them more susceptible to health conditions including Covid-19.

As persons with ID often require assistance for day-to-day activities, this makes preventative measures for Covid-19, such as social distancing, more difficult for them.

With some people with ID having cognitive difficulties, this may lead to a limited understanding of some forms of information, such as long explanations relating to Covid-19 which they may not be able to grasp fully, leaving these individuals dependent on their caregivers to keep them safe.

Covid-19 has made these individuals even more vulnerable than before, owing to prolonged service interruptions during the various lockdown levels.

It is important for government, communities and organisations to work together to consider persons with intellectual disability and consider their human rights – their right to life, health and access to information to keep them protected.

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