Christine Peta, a 2014 MMEG grantee from Zimbabwe, completed a PhD in Disability Studies at University of Cape Town’s Department of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, in 2016. She is now a powerful and passionate advocate for people with disabilities, in venues from UN headquarters and national government offices to rural villages in Zimbabwe.
Christine says “without support from MMEG, it would have been difficult for me to cover the costs of my PhD. I gained exceptional knowledge and skills that play a great role in the work that I do today, making a positive difference in the lives of persons with disabilities, including my participation in international discourse on disability rights. I will forever be grateful to MMEG.”
She was the first Zimbabwean to graduate with a PhD in Disability Studies, and the third person on the continent of Africa to hold such a qualification.
After completing a post-doc at Stellenbosch University in 2018, Christine returned to Zimbabwe under a Government of Zimbabwe–UNICEF partnership to lead the creation of Zimbabwe’s first National Disability Policy. The policy, launched in 2021 by Zimbabwe’s president, provided a clear roadmap for disability practice in the country.
Christine became Zimbabwe’s first substantive National Director of Disability Affairs and the first national focal person of the UN Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD), now the Global Disability Fund.
Christine champions the rights of persons with disabilities through the media as well as via interactions with diverse stakeholders. She has authored books, book chapters, and scientific journal articles that are used as learning resources in universities throughout the world. Christine also writes a weekly column for Zimbabwe’s Sunday Mail, raising awareness on disability rights.
Christine’s interest in disability issues dates back to her childhood. She was raised in a big family with parents who were always ready to welcome persons with disabilities into their small home, despite their meager resources.
Christine has devoted her life to working with and for persons with disabilities in rural and urban areas, including in such difficult circumstances as the 2019 Cyclone Idai and COVID-19. During both these events, Christine interacted with and assisted affected persons, including at the grassroots level, and worked to enhance the well-being of children and adults with disabilities.
Christine negotiates the complexities of the multilayered and multidimensional disability and development terrain with empathy, passion, humility, flexibility, expertise, and determination. She is just as likely to be found sitting under a tree talking to children with disabilities, their parents, or landmine victims in a rural community as making a presentation to executives in a city boardroom or participating in international dialogue on disability rights at UN headquarters in New York.
Other positions Christine has held since completing her PhD include Chairperson of the State Service Disablement Benefits Board under the State Service (Disability Benefits) Act, ex-officio member of the National Disability Board under the Disabled Persons Act, Chairperson of the National Technical Committee on Disability Rights, Co-chairperson of the Central Bank Persons with Disabilities Thematic Working Group (Financial Inclusion Strategy), Co-chairperson of the National Technical Working Group on Disability and Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH), gender-based violence (GBV), HIV/AIDS and harmful practices (HP) under the Ministry of Health and Child Care.
Asserting that disability is a cross-cutting interdisciplinary issue, Christine has been instrumental in forming a National Technical Committee on Disability Rights, which includes representatives from organizations of and for persons with disabilities; government; international development agencies; the private sector; and civil society and other stakeholders, thus creating a place of convergence for diverse actors to advance disability rights.
Christine works closely with the African Union Southern Africa Youth Council-Disability Chapter, which focuses on enhancing the well-being of youth with disabilities by using a twin-track approach of mainstreaming disability in various thematic areas, as well as establishing targeted disability projects.
Christine collaborates with Enable India on an international program to recognize innovative grassroots solutions of persons with disabilities. She is also making a significant contribution in developing the SADC Disability Protocol, which aims to ensure that states effectively cooperate in addressing issues affecting persons with disabilities in the SADC region.
Today, Christine is a world-renowned disability, policy, research and international development expert, with experience working in and with governments, academia, international development organizations, UN agencies, organizations of and for persons with disabilities, private sector, civil society, and additional stakeholders in diverse countries.
Christine’s experience enables her to advance the disability inclusive sustainable development agenda. Her achievements inspire and pave the way for diverse stakeholders to scale new heights in advancing disability rights across sectors and countries.
Christine is appealing for any kind of support and/or collaboration with diverse stakeholders, including other grantees in a wide range of sectors and countries, to collaboratively push forward the disability agenda. She can be contacted at developafrica2020@gmail.com
