Background: The United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is a milestone
in the recognition of the human rights of persons with disabilities, including the right to health and rehabilitation.
South Africa has signed and ratified the CRPD but still has a long way to go in reforming policies and systems in order
to be in compliance with the convention. This paper seeks to fill a gap in the literature by exploring what the barriers
to the implementation of the health and rehabilitation articles of the CRPD are, as identified by representatives of the
disability community.
Methods: This investigation used a qualitative, exploratory methodology. 10 semi-structured interviews of a purposive
sample of representatives of disabled persons organizations (DPOs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and
service providers in South Africa were conducted. Participants were drawn from urban, peri-urban, and rural settings
in order to reflect diverse perspectives within South Africa. Data was analysed using a multi-stage coding process to
establish the main categories and relationships between them.
Results: Six main categories of barriers to the implementation of the health and rehabilitation articles of the CRPD
were identified. Attitude barriers including stigma and negative assumptions about persons with disabilities were seen
as an underlying cause and influence on all of the other categories; which included political, financial, health systems,
physical, and communication barriers.
Conclusion: The findings of this study have important implications for strategies and actions to implement the CRPD.
Given the centrality of attitudinal barriers, greater sensitization around the area of disability is needed. Furthermore,
disability should be better integrated and mainstreamed into more general initiatives to develop the health system and
improve the lives of persons living in poverty in South Africa.