Harare, (New Ziana) –The Zimbabwe National Association for Mental Health (ZIMNAMH) has reaffirmed its commitment to advancing disability inclusion and strengthening advocacy among organizations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) through the ongoing “Rights in Action” project, a national initiative designed to build sustainable and effective disability movements across the country.
Speaking during a validation meeting on organizational capacity assessment, ZIMNAMH Disability Inclusion Officer, Xoliso Msebele, said the exercise marked a crucial step in ensuring that OPDs are fully equipped to drive their own change and lead in human rights advocacy.
“We are here today to validate the process which was done on organizational capacity assessment,” said Msebele. “The project we are implementing, ‘Rights in Action,’ is a partnership between ZIMNAMH and the Federation of Organizations of Disabled Persons of Zimbabwe (FODPZ), with support from CBM Global Zimbabwe.”
She said six organizations of persons with disabilities are part of the project, representing often underrepresented disability groups such as those with psychosocial disabilities, intellectual disabilities, and deaf-blind disabilities.
According to Msebele, the Rights in Action project focuses on strengthening the capacity of these OPDs so they can effectively participate in national development processes and be recognized as leaders in advocacy and policy engagement.
“For our OPDs to be in the driving seat of advocacy, we need to support and capacitate them in areas such as organizational governance, sustainability, and human rights advocacy,” she said.
Before the validation meeting, ZIMNAMH and its partners conducted capacity assessments of all the participating organizations to identify their strengths, gaps, and capacity needs.
The current meeting, Msebele noted, was meant to review, validate, and agree on the findings of those assessments.
“We collected information from each organization, and today we are saying — this is what came out of the assessments. We are asking participants to validate those findings so that we can move forward to develop organizational development plans tailored to each OPD,” she said.
The validation process, Msebele added, ensures that the support provided aligns with the real needs and priorities of each organization. Once validated, the next step will be to design Organizational Development Plans to guide their growth and strengthen their role in disability advocacy.
Highlighting the national scope of the initiative, Msebele said the project is inclusive, as the participating organizations have a presence in all districts across Zimbabwe.
“This is a national project. The organizations we are working with operate across the country, ensuring that disability inclusion and advocacy are strengthened at every level,” she said.
The Rights in Action project represents a significant milestone in empowering OPDs to become more sustainable, visible, and impactful actors in promoting the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities in Zimbabwe.
New Ziana
