The Gauteng health department says it is accelerating efforts to build a more inclusive province for people living with disabilities, issuing more than 42,000 assistive devices in the first two quarters of the 2025/26 financial year.
The announcement comes as the world marks the International Day of Persons with Disabilities under the theme “Fostering disability-inclusive societies for advancing social progress.”
According to the department, the devices — which include wheelchairs, hearing aids, walking aids, podiatry devices, prostheses and Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) tools — account for a 78% issue rate out of the 48,000 devices on its register.
The department has also expanded community-based rehabilitation services by partnering with non-profit and non-governmental organisations to support blind and visually impaired people.
A further 1,578 assistive tools aimed at improving daily functioning were distributed, including:
- long canes;
- roller ball tips;
- talking Braille watches;
- money sticks;
- signature guides;
- needle threaders;
- liquid level indicators; and
- other devices designed to help people move safely, complete tasks more easily and participate fully in society.
Parents of children with special needs are also benefitting from reforms. The department has established a steering committee to strengthen primary health-care services through its One-Stop Clinic Community-Based Centre of Excellence model. The initiative aims to bring medical, educational and therapeutic services closer to communities, reducing the strain of repeated hospital visits and ensuring children receive early intervention.
The department said the model is already showing strong performance, achieving functionality scores of 80% during routine assessments. It has drawn interest from other provinces and international partners, including delegations from Limpopo, Uganda and the United Nations, who have conducted benchmarking visits.
The department is also working to improve access to medicines for children with special needs by integrating 22 specialised outpatient medicines into the Central Chronic Medicines Dispensing and Distribution (CCMDD) programme.
The move aligns with the World Health Organisation essential medicines list and aims to ensure consistent access to treatment that supports children’s growth, development and overall well-being.
TimesLIVE
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