Cape Town - The Health Department is grappling with a wheelchair backlog crisis, Health Minister Joe Phaahla says.
In a parliamentary response to EFF MP Naledi Chirwa, Phaahla said the department has a waiting list of more than 6 000 wheelchairs across the country.
International Wheelchair Day is marked on March 1.
According to the UN, people living with disabilities make up 15% of the global population.
Phaahla said there was a waiting list of 5 140 wheelchairs in the Eastern Cape, 181 in Gauteng, 789 in Limpopo, 67 in Mpumalanga; and 244 in North West.
There is no wheelchair backlog in the Western Cape or the Free State.
He said the department was taking steps to address the waiting list.
“The Eastern Cape has placed orders and is awaiting delivery. It will also manage wheelchair supply as a project to reduce this waiting list.
“KwaZulu-Natal has placed orders and is awaiting delivery which will clear the waiting list.
“Limpopo will arrange that deliveries take place at district offices for hospitals to collect nearby, thereby reducing the turnaround time.”
Phaahla said Mpumalanga would prioritise procurement early in the beginning of the financial year. He added that Mpumalanga’s waiting list came as a result of the expiry of a “relevant transversal contract”.
North West will increase the budget in the 2023/24 financial year, while the Northern Cape committed to place orders by the end of April.
Gauteng is yet to advise his office about its plans over the waiting list.
“We are informed by the provinces that the backlog will be reduced by the end of July,” Phaahla said.