How Can Systems-Thinking Address the Barriers to Implementing the Right to Health and Rehabilitation in South Africa

AbstractHow can systems thinking address the barriers to implementing the right to health and rehabilitation in South Africa? This chapter will use systems thinking to understand barriers to implementing the UN Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in South Africa. It will first examine the rights of persons with disability as a global health issue and how disability is constructed within global health systems. It will then identify major barriers to implementing the health and rehabilitation articles of the CRPD in South Africa including negative attitudes, competing political priorities, lack of available finances, cumbersome organizational structures, inaccessible physical environments, and poor communication practices. It is necessary to look at structural inequality and how historical legacies perpetuate disparities in the health system that make it difficult to implement the CRPD. Furthermore, this chapter illustrates how underlying negative attitudes toward persons with disabilities influence barriers within the health system.