The Visual Hearing Impairment Membership Association, VIHEMA Deafblind Malawi, has called on Government, partners, civil society and the private sector to recognize deafblindness as a distinct disability and to invest in tactile training, assistive devices, and inclusive education and health systems.
VIHEMA joined the global community on Saturday, 27th June 2026, to commemorate the International Day of Deafblindness under the theme: “Connected by Touch: Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges.” The day is observed alongside Deafblind Awareness Week.
In a press statement, VIHEMA Advocacy and Research Director Hawkins Munyenyembe said the organization remains committed to ensuring that no person living with deafblindness in Malawi is left behind, unseen or unheard.
Munyenyembe explained that deafblindness limits a person’s ability to access information, communicate, and move around independently.
“Deafblindness is not just the sum of being deaf and blind. It carries its own identity, terminologies, communication methods and education approaches that many systems in Malawi still lack,” he said.
According to him, Deafblindness requires tailored services, tactile communication, and inclusive spaces so that persons with deafblindness are
Since its establishment in 2008, VIHEMA has recorded several milestones.
It enabled deafblind citizens to vote using tactile sign communication during the 2014 Tripartite Elections, through advocacy with the Malawi Electoral Commission and the Malawi Human Rights Commission.
The association also implemented inclusive education projects in Chiradzulu and Mzimba North, which led to the establishment of a dedicated Deafblind education department at Montfort College.
Other work includes ECD advocacy in Machinga with support from the Disability Rights Fund, and a Pass-on Goat Project funded by the ABILIS Foundation that has boosted livelihoods in Mzimba and Blantyre.
The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the International Day of Deafblindness through resolution A/RES/79/294 to raise awareness of deafblindness as a distinct disability.
The date, 27th June, coincides with the birthday of Helen Keller, born in 1880, a global symbol of advocacy for persons with combined vision and hearing loss.
