Institutional rehabilitation

Merits

• Creates cohesiveness among disabled people
• High degree of technical skills
• High acceptance, especially from non-disabled persons

Demerits

• Coverage restricted to urban areas
• Disabled people become segregated from families
• Needs good infrastructure, technology and professionals
• Costs are high
• Tends to be rigid, increases dependency
• Unsuitable for disabled people in rural areas

Community based rehabilitation

Merits

• Meets needs of all disabled persons, with comprehensive interventions
• Encourages innovative use of local resources
• Increases coverage
• Promotes social integration
• Changes negative attitudes of community
• More affordable to those with limited resources
• More flexible and creative
• Promotes community participation

Demerits

• No universal models
• Results are slow
• Acceptance is low because of low literacy and superstitions
• Rural disabled people are not well organised
• People expect permanent solutions from institutions
• Social, economic, cultural, geographical and political environment in rural areas are not conducive to initiating of CBR
• Inadequate knowledge and skills in the community
• Communities resist change regarding beliefs and practices in disability
• Lack of infrastructure, functional institutions and social organisations in villages