Religion, Disability, and Sustainable Development in Africa

This book investigates the interplay between disability and religion in Africa, and what this means in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The importance of meeting the needs of people with disabilities is highlighted specifically in several Sustainable Development Goals, as well as being emphasised as a cross-cutting issue across all the goals. Over 1 billion people are estimated to be living with disabilities, and 80% of this population live in the Global South, many within Africa. This book argues that within this context, religion must be considered, as people with disabilities often turn to religion for solace in confronting the daily struggles and pains that they face. Drawing on multiple disciplinary lenses, this book reflects on how traditional/indigenous, Abrahamic, and other African minority religions and philosophies interact with disability, and how this relates to the Sustainable Development Goals. The book demonstrates how religions in Africa conceptualise, imagine, or re-imagine disability in the context of key themes such as gender, ecological justice, health, poverty, education, employment, entrepreneurship, and migration.

Overall, the book invites researchers from across the social sciences to consider how African religious, theological, and philosophical ideas can help towards the inclusion of people with disabilities in the 2030 development agenda in Africa.

Chioma Ohajunwa is a Senior Lecturer at Africa Centre for HIV/AIDS Management at Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences and previously with the Division of Disability and Rehabilitation Studies, Global Health, Stellenbosch University. Her work is in the areas of disability, spirituality, Indigenous knowledge, wellbeing, decoloniality and more recently, their intersection with HIV/AIDS. She is published locally and internationally.

Kudakwashe ’AK’ Dube is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Africa Disability Alliance and has over 30 years of experience designing, managing, evaluating and monitoring development and disability programmes with international and grassroots movements. He is also chair of trustees of ADD International that fights for independence, equality and opportunities for disabled people living in poverty, alongside organisations of disabled people.

Ezra Chitando serves as Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Zimbabwe and Theology Consultant on HIV for the World Council of Churches. He is also extraordinary professor at the University of the Western Cape.