Community-based workers' capacity to develop inclusive livelihoods for youth with disabilities in Botswana.

Background: Youth with disabilities encounter multiple barriers to livelihood opportunities and socio-economic inclusion. Research focusing on identifying and evaluating evidence-based strategies that may facilitate their transition into socio-economic participation is limited.

Objectives: The study undertook to contribute knowledge and evidence to inform inclusive socio-economic development of youth with disabilities and capacitation of community-based workers engaged in implementing the livelihood component of community-based rehabilitation programmes advocating for inclusive development.

The complexity of rural contexts experienced by community disability workers in three southern African countries.

An understanding of rural communities is fundamental to effective community-based rehabilitation work with persons with disabilities. By removing barriers to community participation, persons with disabilities are enabled to satisfy their fundamental human needs. However, insufficient attention has been paid to the challenges that rural community disability workers (CDWs) face in trying to realise these objectives.

Determining the competences of community based workers for disability-inclusive development in rural areas of South Africa, Botswana and Malawi.

Introduction: Persons with disabilities and their families still live with stigma and a high degree of social exclusion especially in rural areas, which are often poorly resourced and serviced. Community-based workers in health and social development are in an ideal position to assist in providing critical support for some of those most at risk of neglect in these areas. This article analyses the work of community disability workers (CDWs) in three southern African countries to demonstrate the competencies that these workers acquired to make a contribution to social justice for persons with disabilities and their families.

The size, characteristics and partnership networks of the health-related non-profit sector in three regions of South Africa: implications of changing primary health care policy for community-based care.

Background: Health-related community-based care in South Africa is mostly provided through non-profit organizations (NPOs), but little is known about the sector. In the light of emerging government policy on greater formalization of community-based care in South Africa, this article assesses the size, characteristics and partnership networks of health-related NPOs in three South African communities and explores implications of changing primary health care policy for this sector.

Methods: Data were collected (2009-11) from three sites: Khayelitsha (urban), Botshabelo (semi-rural) and Bushbuckridge (semi/deep rural).