Disability at the Centre of change, continuity, discontinuity and the protracted polycrisis in Southern African countries: a historical overview

Extensive historical commentary documents how most Southern African countries have grappled with a protracted and successive polycrisis encompassing economic, political, social, and environmental challenges since the colonial period. This article problematises the tendency to overlook disability as a useful analytical lens for understanding the impact of this crisis in countries such as Zimbabwe. Fundamentally, the article argues that this omission is a serious flaw that produces incomplete analyses and ill-informed policies that fail to address the unique challenges faced by persons with disabilities. Informed by an integrated Human Security and Social Vulnerability framework, the article demonstrates how persons with disabilities have disproportionately shouldered the repercussions of the crisis by experiencing heightened social exclusion, deepened poverty and inequality. Ultimately, the article provides a justification for foregrounding a disability lens into the historical analysis of the crisis of poverty and inequality, highlighting the positive policy implications of such an undertaking.